[INTERVIEW] LeeSSang member Gil

You look much better right now than you did for your last album. You look healthy.Gil : It's because of "Infinite Challenge." I hadn't exercised at all in the past but it was while doing our show on rowing that I realized I should work out everyday. We don't know what sort of challenges we'll be put up to in the show in the future so I told myself that I might as well be prepared all the time.Speaking of "Infinite Challenge," you talked about how hard of a time you had during your teenage years on the episodes you guys did on the singing competition. So I've been curious about your teens and twenties whenever I listen to your music from then on.Gil: My father was sick for a long time so our family always had a tough time. If we made one million won a year, it was a lot and I never even dreamt of getting allowance. It was then after graduating school and entering society that I became pretentious but doing music was my way of being pretentious. It was in 1996 that I met Gary but it was when people's thoughts of hip-hop was 'What's hip-hop? How can rap by lyrics?' so we didn't even get paid for the copyright of our raps even if they'd make it into someone's album. Nonetheless we felt we were extremely happy just to get to rap somewhere. Although when we said we'd form LeeSSang, people who heard 'Gary will write the lyrics and Gil will make the music,' people's response was "What? The two of you?" (laugh) We were two guys that got completely ignored by others not just because we were doing hip-hop but by everyone who does music.

So what did you do?Gil We recorded our songs at a studio where we recorded for over 400 hours straight. And nobody broke that record until the studio closed down. (laugh) People said we were crazy. Two guys -- one writing songs for the first time and one composing songs for the first time -- spent 88 million won just on borrowing the studio while we had a debt of 127 million won. But we had no other choice. Because we're the type that just goes for everything, we made some 50 love songs and sad songs from which we chose 16 songs that became our first album. That is when we finally had started to do our own music.When you look back on those times, what was it that you had faith in to be able to work like that? Gil: Honestly, we were thinking that we'll give up if that album fails. (laugh) We were going to go our own ways if the album failed because we'd done music for six years before that as well and I was already 27 by then. But we hadn't talked about it because we didn't want to be discouraging. Nonetheless, at the time, I was under the determination that we'll give it a shot until we take first place on a chart someday with the so-ignored hip-hop music.And yet that album was a success, selling over 60,000 copies.Gil: It was outrageous. We weren't even idols like H.O.T. or god so wow, it was huge for us. The problem came after that. We were preparing to work on our second album but having just the spirit or passion to wasn't going to cut it. We hadn't been able to decide on what the title track would be, although we'd done all the recording, but Gary left saying, "Hey, we're done. I'll leave the rest up to you." And my manager said, "I don't know either," and left me as well. Selecting the title track for our second album was sort of like deciding our path, mindset and how we'd live from now on but I chose "LeeSSang Blues." And when it first came out, half of the response was criticism and the other half, a lot of criticism. (laugh) But when people said, "What's this? This isn't hip-hop," we said, "Don't make such conclusions. We're LeeSSang now." And honestly, I don't really remember much about what happened after that. We worked hard and we thought we may have been going the wrong way but it was later on that the path we took was the process of us achieving the dreams we'd had since we were young.Like you said, your music started to gain a style of its own, outside hip-hop. What's behind you being a composer and producer who has a style that differentiates you completely from other singer-songwriters?Gil: Most composers have learned how to make music but I hadn't been able to and I even tried but it didn't work out that well. (laugh) However, I just started writing anyway and kept myself going while making some 170 songs. In the end, what you think is most important will show in your music and to me, it's emotions. There are set equations to making fancy chords or genres but I think a sad song isn't any good if it's not sad. That's why Gary says it's hilarious watching me make music because I'm a huge guy but I'll be so absorbed with the emotions that I'll frown one moment and be sad the next. (laugh) But when I explain how the song is sad, he gets me. I think that's why we're a team.Well, although you've never received proper musical training, you tend to strive for perfection in terms of the sound for your music, to the extent it seems like you're obsessed with it. I heard that you spent millions on just changing the electrical wiring for your studio in making your sixth album.Gil: Even for our "Ballerino" album, we got the mastering done in New York for a lot of money and then still reworked on it when we came back to Korea. And to that our senior musicians said we're like real lunatics. (laugh) But they understood right away once we had them listen to our work. You can't listen to our music for a long time if it sounds as refined as other artists' music these days. It's hard to materialize the vintage sound that we want even with a reel from the seventies and a rose piano. Even with "The Answer to Me is You," we rearranged it nine times before having Lee Juck, Jung Jae-hyung and Lucid Fall listen to it in the car. And they said, "You guys didn't make this." (laugh)

Just like your fellow musicians have said that you're the type that is good at arranging get-togethers and outings, it seems that you're good at creating settings for music as well and having people participate in it.Gil: It costs me a lot in terms of spending on alcohol. (laugh) Our family was poor when I was young and I only had three older sisters so I think I had been hungry to meet people. Just like you become happy when you're on a date and the radio plays a song you both like, you click easily when you meet people who do music. Sometimes, we might even say, "Hey, let's not talk about music today" but in a couple of hours, everyone will be talking about music which just shows how much we all like it. I think that's why if they felt 'I had a drink with LeeSSang and it felt good talking to the about music,' they almost all the time quite willingly accept our offers. Yet at the same time, we always tell them, "Call us whenever you need us. We will be with you till death." (laugh) That's why we do a lot of singing at weddings in particular... Because we're on contract for life with people like Dynamic Duo or BMK who have helped us in the past. (laugh)You've somewhat been recognized for your achievements in music now but the response you get on entertainment (variety) shows isn't as great. And this must be distressing to an extent.Gil: Whether I'm stressed about it or not isn't important. I have no choice but to work hard at both music and variety shows. If someone came to me and said that Gary is good at both but I'm only good at music, that only means I need to try even harder. The first year I was on "Infinite Challenge," I didn't know what I was doing, the year after that, I started wondering whether what I was doing was right, and now, I think I've come to the point where I'm seen as the guy who isn't funny even though he tries hard. Just like the other entertainers who've done variety shows for ten years, I don't think there's any other way to go about them except to put my all into them.Then what do you think you've gained by entering a field that isn't music?Gil: Getting to know great people. Everyone including the crew of "Infinite Challenge" and "Running Man" are really great people. The larger gain than the money I've earned by appearing on those shows is learning to have a good mindset. I've come to exercise by doing "Infinite Challenge" because of which I've lost weight and like our viewers gain hope by watching us, I too am learning not to give up. And that has a really good influence on our music.But I'm sure there's less time for you to focus on your music because of those shows. How do you make up for that?Gil I'm working hard because I don't want any regrets. I got scolded a lot in the past because I was a sleepyhead but I've cut down on the sleep a lot and instead work out, do music and appear on variety shows. We got a lot of text messages from our juniors saying thank you after we released this album. So many geniuses have left this industry we have been in for 16 years because you can't make money off of music. But those of them who were about to give up on music because they're about to become dads have told us, "I was going to give up on music but I've become hopeful again because of you guys. I see hope in how people who look like you can sweep music charts. (laugh)" We're grateful that people are telling us that they have dreams because of us.It looks like you really enjoy living life right now.Gil: I tell people that I'd like to live like this for just ten more years. That I'd have nothing more to wish for if I could live this way till I'm 45. But I'm sure I'll want an extension when I reach that age. (laugh)※ Any copying, republication or redistribution of 10Asia's content is expressly prohibited without prior consent of 10Asia. Copyright infringement is subject to criminal and civil penalties.10 아시아 Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Ga-on 10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@10 아시아 Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@<ⓒ즐거움의 공장 "10 아시아" (10.asiae.co.kr) 무단전재 배포금지>