Exclusive Interview: Xdinary Heroes Explore New Sounds With The Xperiment Project And Talk All About LIVE And FALL

Xdinary Heroes made a mark in the industry right from their debut with their unique sound and unforgettable aura. Every release since then has been even more special as Xdinary Heroes keep exploring their sound and pushing the bar further than we thought imaginable. They released their first full-length album earlier this year, and it instantly made it into our list of favorite releases of the year. But it didn’t stop there for Xdinary Heroes, because they topped themselves with the release of four of their best songs in preparation for the eventual release of LIVE and FALL. Before the big release, we had the honor to interview Xdinary Heroes about the Xperiment Project, what LIVE and FALL means to them, and much more!

Welcome to The Honey Pop! We’ve been following you since your debut so it is very exciting for us to be talking to you today! You’ve been teasing the release of LIVE and FALL for months with the Open Beta singles, and it has been such a different roll out compared to all your previous releases. Why did you decide to take this approach to tease this mini-album in particular?
Gun-il: Hi, thank you for having us. At the beginning of this year, we wanted to experiment with many interesting things that were in our head. We thought that having shows and releasing singles every month would be the perfect way to try out the things that were in our head and also to be able to challenge ourselves to level up. So we decided to make that happen with the “Xperiment Project.” Through the new experiences that made us level up, we were able to put together the new album LIVE and FALL.

These four songs have been some of our favorites in your discography. The most recent single, ‘iNSTEAD!,’ was your first ever collaboration, and with none other than YB’s Yoon Do Hyun! How did this collaboration come together? What did you learn from the experience and what has been the best about it for you?
Gaon: For the first time as Xdinary Heroes, we wrote growling parts. While thinking about how to make this sound perfectly, we watched the video of Yoon Do Hyun singing the PPORORO as metal version. Right after then, we all thought, “This part is definitely Yoon Do Hyun’s!!” Then we asked him about the collaboration, he accepted it so readily, and I was so excited. While working with Yoon Do Hyun, I learned about what is a real rocker and what’s a great song. It was great and I was very happy to work with him as he was very gentle and took care of us like a friend, even though we’re very fresh juniors compared to Yoon Do Hyun.
Jooyeon: While making the track and looking for someone to can work together for ‘iNSTEAD!,’ Yoon Do Hyun was the one that popped into my mind. Thankfully, we could get in touch with him and then this track was able to come out to the world. Every single moment that we had together was an honor and I was able
to learn about our attitude toward music and a lot of rock spirit. I love you again, Yoon Do Hyun!!

Talking about ‘iNSTEAD!,’ we’ve always noticed elements of hard-rock, metal, and post-hardcore in your music throughout your previous releases, in songs like ‘Hair Cut’ and ‘Bicycle.’ What about now felt like the right time to fully dip into that kind of music, with the instrumentals and, of course, the styling?
Gaon: Actually, I’ve been craving for metal and hardcore for a long time. I think that’s why our music is getting heavier and more rock based. Also, since we’ve been working on our music with a comfortable mind as we’ve had some time to spare, I think we’ve been able to make hard music that I’ve really wanted to do so far. Overall, we decided that this is the time to show new aspects of XH and made this track and styling.
O.de: We wanted to show a lot of different aspects and a variety of our music through Xperiment Project during this year. So I thought that it was an even more appropriate time to make this powerful/energetic track.

All the releases, ‘Boy Comics,’ ‘LOVE and FEAR,’ ‘Save me,’ and ‘iNSTEAD!,’ have had their unique color and styling. If you had to live sticking to only one of these aesthetics, which one would it be?
O.de: For me, ‘LOVE and FEAR‘ is the one. It’s really fun to perform this track on stage, and I think it fits my performance very well.
Jungsu: I’d like to talk about the music as XH and music of Jungsu. First, as Xdinary Heroes, I guess we have to stick to our concept as ‘Boy Comics,’ as it’s a song that melted the power of XH and also the humorous points. As Jungsu, definitely ‘Save me‘ is my style. It’s a very refreshing track which goes well with my voice
and color.

With the roll out of the Xperiment Project, it’s also been so exciting to piece the instrumental teasers together to form one full song, and we can’t wait to listen to the entire thing. What made this song so special that it led you to tease it in such a genius way?
Gun-il: We’ve always wanted to release an instrumental track, and we thought of an idea where we release a solo track of each instruments every month so the fans could have some fun stacking up the solo tracks each month. We also named those tracks like demos to make them seem like leaked tracks, haha.

Earlier this year, you released one of our favorite releases of the entire year with your first full-length album, Troubleshooting, and it is obviously a huge milestone. What would you say you have learned from the experience of making that album, and how has it influenced the making of LIVE and FALL?
Jungsu: We learned a lot about putting our story into the music while working on Troubleshooting. Before that, we tried to spit out more with the concept and the melody. But through Troubleshooting, we tried to tell people what we really wanted to say. It helped us grow up a lot, and it became literally a milestone to keep writing our own stories in the songs.
Jun Han: After the previous album, we could tell our story, and the melody was a bit more well-organized and unique. How lucky we are, though.

You’ve also been touring a lot between last year and this year! We can imagine bringing these songs live all over the world has been life-changing. How has touring influenced your recording and songwriting? Is there a song in your discography that has gained a whole other meaning for you with this tour?
Jungsu: Through the tour, I came to study the songs that we can enjoy on the stage and enjoy together with the audience, rather than only for listening. Since then, we made the track ‘Money On My Mind,’ which is very perfect for the performances and also made some chanting moves with the audience during the
‘Night of Fireworks’ stage.
Jooyeon: I’m inspired to make a song which is good to enjoy together with the audience during the performance. At this point, ‘Money On My Mind’ is very fun to perform.

We know you’re constantly exploring, innovating, and trying new things, but what’s a type of sound you’ve been dying to try out but haven’t exactly had the chance to do yet?
Gaon: At some point, I realized that the boundaries of the genre of XH’s music are not very clear. I think that we’re doing very special music, which is hard to categorize with any specific genre ,and we’re making the genre of Xdinary Heroes so far. As I’ve said before, we want to change any sound as our own style and
genre that only we can do.
O.de: I think it might be a very personal answer but someday, I’d like to do a DJ performance on stage!

Ever since your debut, we’ve seen you grow into an amazing band and incredible song-writers. What’s the song that you feel the most proud of in your discography, the one that feels the most special to you?
Jun Han: ‘Little Things’ became a special track for me, and it’s very hard to pick only one proud track…I have to keep working harder on it, haha.
Jooyeon: ‘Strawberry Cake‘ and ‘PLUTO’ are the ones. We could make us known to many people through ‘Strawberry Cake,’ and I can feel more of the emotion and scale of ‘PLUTO’ as the venue grows and more audience members come.

Obviously the release of LIVE and FALL is like no other before, but how do you think this mini-album will shape and influence your future releases?
Gun-il: I haven’t really thought about that yet. We will just keep on trying the things that we want to, just like how we’ve always done before.
Jun Han: I think it’s full of experimental songs. I think the genre and style to take as Xdinary Heroes will be decided depending on the reactions of this EP.

Finally, if you were to make a playlist to encapsulate LIVE and FALL’s energy, which of your previous songs and which songs by other artists would you add to it? What would you call that playlist if it couldn’t be LIVE and FALL?
Gun-il: If I were to add our previous songs it would be ‘Ghost’ and ‘Crack in the mirror.’ Also, if I were to add different artists’ songs, it would be ‘Sing for Absolution,’ ‘Space Dementia,’ and ‘Falling Away With You’ by MUSE. A new name for the playlist would be Last Hour.
Jungsu: Since it’s an album that talks about both sides of our lives, I want to add songs that we can listen to when we were happiest and least happy in our life. I want to add ‘Happy Death Day’ and ‘Paranoid’ as the previous songs of XH, and ‘Always Remember Us This Way’ by Lady Gaga and ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber as the
other artists.
Gaon: I think the previous songs that go best with this album are ‘Paranoid‘ and ‘Walking to the Moon,’ as the moods are very fitting to this album. And I want to name it Fly to Fall.
O.de: I’d like to add ‘until the end of time’ because it’s my personal favorite, and I think it’s very fitting to this album. How about naming of the playlist as BE Repeated?
Jun Han: ‘Paranoid’ and ‘until the end of time’ will be the ones. The name of playlist will be Part of under.
Jooyeon: I think ‘Paranoid’ is very fitting to this album’s mood. Also, ‘Clouds’ by Before You Exit. The name of playlist goes well with Last chance.

You can listen to LIVE and FALL now, here!

Which Xdinary Heroes song is a most in your playlist? What are you loving the most about LIVE and FALL? Be sure to let us know by tweeting us at @thehoneypop or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.

Need more K-Pop content? We got you!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT XDINARY HEROES:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE