Having first been known overseas, the three member bang known as the Royal Pirates have returned after a year and a half under the name of RP.
RP is a band with a unique history. They first received recognition in America for the songs they uploaded to youtube, and after being scouted debuted in Korea in 2013. Since then they’ve been noticed for their releases of “Drawing the Line” and “Love Toxic”, and have even gone on tour with actor Lee Minho. The band with visuals and musicality is always rising in their number of fans.
There’s a reason for the band’s sudden change in sound and name. This past summer member James was involved in an accident involving an entry door which left his wrist in danger of being amputated. It is because of this accident that he had to let go of the bass he’s been holding for the past thirteeen years of his life. This accident is coupled with some difficult circumstances faced by the other members, however through their combined passion for music and strong bonds of friendship the three have overcome these crises and comeback even stronger.
The album “3.3” holds the meaning of transcending these difficult circumstances and becoming a lot more mature. “3.3” has risen to 33rd place on the American Itunes Rock Chart, surpassing even the Beatles and Bon Jovi. Not only that, but although they haven’t had any overseas promotions, the album had also rose to first place in the Singapore Itunes Rock chart.
Former SOLID member and producer, and producer of global group Aziatix Jae Chong also worked with RP to produce the 3.3 album, and was also involved in the MV making process. In the MV of the title track “Run Away” the members can be seen withstanding blizzards and storms, and standing through the darkness of the stage. Not only that, but each member’s individual story can be seen through EXSY’s covered eyes, Moon’s placement of a white rose on a bass guitar, and James’ broken bass guitar.
When asked what their goal of their promotions for this album was, the members answered as one. “There’s still a lot we want to show musically, and we hope this album can become the foothold for more to come. This album is one that we ourselves find pride and satisfaction in, so we hope many people can listen to it.” The album is one that they are confident of, an album filled with various genres that won’t leave you disappointed.
Q. Your musical style has changed dramatically. Please explain the making process.
Moon: We were inactive for about a year and four months, and in that time we had already completed an album but came to make a completely new one. Not only was there James’ injury, but after we me Producer Chong we began making a completely new album from the start. Since James became unable to play the bass, we added in a lot of electronic and MIDI sounds. Producer Chong also had a very good understanding of the rock genre so we were able to learn a lot and I think were able to develop a more mature sound.
Q. The team name and member names and profiles have changed slightly.
Moon Kim: There are many people who find “Royal Pirates” hard to pronounce, so we switched to using the first letters of the name, and are now “RP.” Rather than changing our name, you can consider it as using the shorthand for it. We’ve just added my last name to “Moon” so now I’ve become “Moon Kim”, as before when you searched “Moon (문)” on the internet “Door (문(門))” would pop up a lot. (laugh)
EXSY: I used to promote with my given name “Sooyoon” but I’ve switched my name to symbolize a new start. I took the “ex” with the meaning of “former” and added it to my name’s initials to make “EXSY.”
James Lee: The height on my profile was shortened to 188cm, but now I’ve returned to being 190cm. Ah, I think this is a little strane though… (laugh)
Q. After working with Producer Jae Chong, how would you say he’s influenced you?
Moon: For a while we were stuck making music of the popular and mainstream category, but this time I think we were able to get back to the band’s roots. We;ve filled the album with songs that are fun, that we can appeal to a lot of people with through our performances. We included sounds that we wanted to without any hesitation, and we were all satisfied with the end result. We used to wonder about what sort of content we wanted to put into our songs but now there’s a difference in that that content now comes freely.
EXSY: Our thoughts and stories, our philosophies are included in these songs. Working with Jae-hyung, even though we spent time working on melodies and guitar music, we also spent a lot of time just talking with one another. I think those times can be felt in the songs as well. With all of that, I feel that this is truly “the music that we wanted to make”.
Q. You had bright and light songs before but now it seems they have a sad and heavy mood to them.
Moon: Though the songs we’ve released previously may have seemed bright, there was always a slight sad feeling to them. I think we’ve become a lot more sincere this time, and I think a lot of people will be able to relate.
EXSY: There’s the injury, as well as each of our mentally burdensome stories. I did think that we needed some brighter songs, but rather than forcing the feeling, I think that the truthful emotions are a lot more important.
Q. How was the fans’ reaction?
James: A lot of them have said it exceeded their expectations. It’s been a long time since we’ve stood on stage, so I was really nervous. But after having a few shows, rather than feeling like it was just our performance, it’s like something that we’re all participating in together.
Moon: After our performances we had fan-signings, and at them the fans told us that this was the sort of RP they had wanted to see all this time. It felt really great to hear. We’ve included the electro-dance, retro-dance, hard rock, etc genres, so I think it’s plenty to listen to.
Q. Among the songs, what do you recommend?
James: Track 1. Let U Go, and Track 2. Too Fast
EXSY: Track 4. U&I and Track 5. Dangerous
Moon: Track 6. Without You. It’s all of them. (Laugh) All of the songs were just so good, it took us over a month to pick the title track. I want to have everyone listen to each and every track. Before, after the songs were released we felt a but of regret, but even after it’s been released now, we continue to listen to the songs and pick outpoints we’re proud of. For example, in Track 6 I really like the guitar solo.
Q. James has stopped the bass and has picked up the keyboard. It must have been difficult.
James: It was hard on me mentally. I’ve been playing the bass for thirteen years and in one moment an accident that could have cost me my hand. Composing’s become a lot harder now, too. I used to be able to think and play naturally on the bass, but now I have to plan it all out so it takes a lot more time. To be honest the past six months have been like hell. It’s still difficult, and the shock still hasn’t passed but all I’m thinking about it working harder, and more passionately. I learned a lot and got a lot of help from someone who I’ve been close with for a long time, and who has been promoting with us for this album, Enik-hyung.
Q. You usually communicate with fans through SNS, but is there anything you want to say to them?
James: They’ve waited for such a long time, so I want to say thank you, and I’m sorry, and I love you. How hard must it have been to wait for so long? I’m really sorry, but it was time that we all really needed. We’ll repay you with our more mature music.
Moon: On SNS, I’m mostly the non-communicative kind. I won’t use it for a long time and then I’ll post three times in one day. I want to reply to the fan’s comments, but I held back because then I would have to reply to all of them. I reply to each and every one of them in my thoughts.
EXSY: National fans are like this, but overseas fans as well are always asking when we’ll go to their country. I really want to go, and if there’s an opportunity I’ll take it and work hard.
Q. You’ve been performing and on been on broadcasts together. There must be some things you regret as a band on a music broadcast.
Moon: There’s the fact that we have to hand-sync. If you come to one of our concerts you will see us enjoying ourselves a lot more.
Q. How about a program like Yoo Heeyeol’s Sketchbook?
EXSY: We’d definitely love it if they called us. (laugh)
♦ SportsQ Reporter Oh Soyoung
♣ English translations by setsailroyalpirates. Please credit~~
James: A lot of them have said it exceeded their expectations. It’s been a long time since we’ve stood on stage, so I was really nervous. But after having a few shows, rather than feeling like it was just our performance, it’s like something that we’re all participating in together.
Moon: After our performances we had fan-signings, and at them the fans told us that this was the sort of RP they had wanted to see all this time. It felt really great to hear. We’ve included the electro-dance, retro-dance, hard rock, etc genres, so I think it’s plenty to listen to.
Q. Among the songs, what do you recommend?
James: Track 1. Let U Go, and Track 2. Too Fast
EXSY: Track 4. U&I and Track 5. Dangerous
Moon: Track 6. Without You. It’s all of them. (Laugh) All of the songs were just so good, it took us over a month to pick the title track. I want to have everyone listen to each and every track. Before, after the songs were released we felt a but of regret, but even after it’s been released now, we continue to listen to the songs and pick outpoints we’re proud of. For example, in Track 6 I really like the guitar solo.
Q. James has stopped the bass and has picked up the keyboard. It must have been difficult.
James: It was hard on me mentally. I’ve been playing the bass for thirteen years and in one moment an accident that could have cost me my hand. Composing’s become a lot harder now, too. I used to be able to think and play naturally on the bass, but now I have to plan it all out so it takes a lot more time. To be honest the past six months have been like hell. It’s still difficult, and the shock still hasn’t passed but all I’m thinking about it working harder, and more passionately. I learned a lot and got a lot of help from someone who I’ve been close with for a long time, and who has been promoting with us for this album, Enik-hyung.
Q. You usually communicate with fans through SNS, but is there anything you want to say to them?
James: They’ve waited for such a long time, so I want to say thank you, and I’m sorry, and I love you. How hard must it have been to wait for so long? I’m really sorry, but it was time that we all really needed. We’ll repay you with our more mature music.
Moon: On SNS, I’m mostly the non-communicative kind. I won’t use it for a long time and then I’ll post three times in one day. I want to reply to the fan’s comments, but I held back because then I would have to reply to all of them. I reply to each and every one of them in my thoughts.
EXSY: National fans are like this, but overseas fans as well are always asking when we’ll go to their country. I really want to go, and if there’s an opportunity I’ll take it and work hard.
Q. You’ve been performing and on been on broadcasts together. There must be some things you regret as a band on a music broadcast.
Moon: There’s the fact that we have to hand-sync. If you come to one of our concerts you will see us enjoying ourselves a lot more.
Q. How about a program like Yoo Heeyeol’s Sketchbook?
EXSY: We’d definitely love it if they called us. (laugh)
♦ SportsQ Reporter Oh Soyoung
♣ English translations by setsailroyalpirates. Please credit~~
