[Wstar News | Reporter Park Yoonji] “Sexy concept”, “sharp formation”, “musicality” etc., these influential elements may be a huge dilemma for some idols but not for these independent musicians. They may look like your average idols on the outside but the rock band Royal Pirates say they are not.
Each one of them is good looking. These thoughts are on the right track but the boys also have their happy-go-lucky and serious personalities. They all hail from California and their teamwork is like none other. However after deeper inspection, evaluating them based just on their appearance and personality is not everything.
From alternative rock to metal, the Royal Pirates who are well versed in nearly everything have summed up their identity with their band name, which combines the elegance of royalty with the freedom of pirates. Their second EP album “Love Toxic” is the result of each member’s hard work towards lyricism and composition combined with their passion and feelings towards the opposite gender.
If you take a look at each song, they are not all about a single type of love. The Royal Pirates implement a broad spectrum of musical influence to stir one’s emotions with gentle melodies and strong rock beats. They are not simply following the trends and flow of the generation, but their greater goal is to grow into their dream of having a “Korean rock band future.”
The Royal Pirates had their interview with WStar News at a cafe located on Garosu-gil, Sinsadong. Members Moon, Sooyoon, and James introduced their new album “Love Toxic” and conveyed their firm aspirations to be a rock band group among Korea’s popular music industry.
A Tracklist With a Story
This album is made up of songs the members wrote themselves, and make out a charming story. The first track “Haru” is a sweet song Moon wrote for his former girlfriend. When asked, “As it is a song you’ve written for yourself, what if you were mistaken?” Moon answered, “It’s still a good song.” The members to the side joked around saying “As expected, he’s Moonsanova” and didn’t seem to mind. As it was an expected answer the members all smiled and grinned.
The title song “Fall in Love” was originally to be called “I Tried Loving”. Sooyoon speaks on this, saying, “It was a depressing song I wrote after I broke up with my girlfriend, but while working on the album it came to life. As it was targeted for a hotter season, I made it brighter.”
The Royal Pirates have a little differed way of communication, as they met with fans through busking. They made a once depressing song into something exciting so that it became something everyone could all enjoy together. Sooyoon explains, “As it’s a song with a bright atmosphere, it’s one that you can enjoy a lot more while making eye contact with the fans. While busking I saw their delight. Once, after a busking I went to the fancafe and saw that membership rose by one hundred members. So we decided to go for an exciting song for the title.”
The third track on the album is “Seoul Hillbilly”, which Moon wrote after having come back from filming “Laws of the City.” It’s a song written so that one can feel like they have the strength to to anything. The strong beat in the introduction is impressionable. Moon says, “I wanted to write something with a hopeful feeling; Write lyrics that could encourage people have the energy to face their challenges.”
The song James wrote and composed is called “Betting Everything” and is about the regret that one feels after having lost an opportunity for love. It is produced with the sad expression that if the opportunity were to present itself again now, “everything would be on the line.” The last song “You” is, of course, a song about love. It was explained that, ”There’s a bright side (to love) as well. It’s a song that can be played alongside the sad and melancholy ones.”
The members were all generally pleased with the album. Sooyoon revealed his affection for the new album by saying, “This album doesn’t even reveal one tenth of ourselves. However, I think I can be satisfied that the process let us know a little about the group’s color. Since we all participated in working on the songs, it shows a little of each of our personalities and preferences as well. I like to think that in the future in the music industry and the public, the Royal Pirates can make a basis that suits a rock band.”
Our Outing
The Royal Pirates prepared for their new album with the mindset that this was their debut. Whether it is idol, indie-rock band, or artist, they are as confused as to their identity as they were at the start. Their thoughts before and after appearing on broadcasts have not made it any easier. Everything sounds good.
As they lack awareness, the rock band Royal Pirates have started to gain some fame individually through variety show appearances. James spread his name as a cast member of SBS “Laws of the Jungle” and through “Laws of the City” Moon gained popularity through his love-line with Baek Jinhee and impromptu performances with Ailee. The two programs have already ended their run, and we’re curious as to what it’s left with the members.
To this, the first to speak was Moon, who said, “It goes without saying that the memories of the experience itself is precious, and realistically it has become an opportunity for the band’s name to be known, so it’s something that has a positive influence on album sales as well.” Sooyoon opened up about a past stage that has intimidated him, bragging, “I thought I wouldn’t exclusively do music and now we’ve become able to gauge other avenues. Our confidence is building up.”
In any case, Royal Pirates want to be a group that puts their faces out there. Whether that is while doing music or broadcasts. With the confidence he’s gotten from doing variety, Moon shares, “I entertained the dream of being a versatile entertainer”, and the rest of the members want to “gain a sense of accomplishment in music through collaborations.”
They have one more unique wish. Up until now they’ve been called a flower-boy rock band and an
idol band thanks to their sweet appearances, but they want to show the “one percent of themselves” that those words don’t cover. As their group name conveys, if they’ve shown the “royal” side to their appearances up until now, then the members’ wish is to show the closer side of “pirates” through the music on their next album.
“Working on the album together is like having a record of each of our lives, and I think that as
different as our lives are, it lends a broader spectrum to our music. It’s great to have lyrics that show our sincerity and even greater to have songs that people will want to listen to more than once.” (Royal Pirates)
WStar News Reporter Park Yoonji
