Branding is a major influence in the Korean music industry of today. SM, YG, and JYP Entertainment each have their own famous producer as their own 'brand.' With one hit track after another, producer Bang Shihyuk (38) has turned 'HITMAN BANG' into his own form of confirmation. Each song he has released has shaken up the music market like no other. Starting off with 2AM's 'Can't Send You...' in the first half of the year and moving on to Homme's 'Still Eating Well' continuing the trend, he's stated, "I haven't released my representative track yet. I'm still hungry." He dreams of the birth of a Bang Shihyuk style Korean music industry.
- You get a lot of requests for songs, don't you? You seem to be very busy.
"Not quite. I basically play every day lately and torture the other employees. I've decided to only produce for Big Hit Entertainment artists for internal stability. My musical inspiration doesn't come from envy... and I do have to think about my age. (laughter) I've recently finished everything to be released for the first half of next year, starting from Im Junghee all the way to a new kids hip hop group. They're called 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts.' Cute name, right? I got it from my nickname, 'Hitman.' Their means that they'll be able to block my bullets.
- Where do you get your brilliant ideas?
"When I'm sleeping, or in the bathroom. It just comes to me in my mind because all I think about all day is just music. I do get influence from reading a lot of books. Ever since I was little, I read everything possible from comic books to novels."
- You get a lot in copyright earnings, right?
"Yes, it is true that I make a lot of money. But as a first-rate producer, it is on the lower end. To be #1 in your field in any occupation usually entails that you make that much more compared to everyone else. That's what drives people to become #1. But I suppose that's why the Hallyu Wave is doing so well."
- Can you predict a hit when you write songs?
"No. My personality lacks confidence. I'm also very sensitive. I asked myself many times after I finished 'Can't Send You...' whether it will work or not."
- You're a part of the JYPE foundation. Who is Park Jinyoung to you?
"He's a mentor and a teacher. If I'm curious about something, I don't hesitate to call him. Amazingly, 100% of everything he says is usually right. (Speak of the devil, (TN: No relation to my personal feelings towards the person that will be mentioned next) Park Jinyoung called Bang Shihyuk while we were talking about him and asked him to monitor a song, saying, "I think this 2PM song came out too much like 2AM's.")
- If you were to pick the three best singers of your life?
"To pick three... To pick by category, Baek Jiyoung as the singer that sings the best, Im Junghee as my technical best, and Park Jinyoung as the singer that expresses what he wants to say the most."
- Then what is a song that represents Bang Shihyuk?
"I always have the same answer for this question. I don't think it's out yet. I have hit tracks such as 'Like Being Hit By A Bullet' and 'Can't Send You...'... but if your new work does not surpass the former, you're pretty much out of it. I'm still hungry. And a bit scared."
- Please give some advice to those who dream of becoming a producer.
"I'd first like to tell them not to do it. It's a very torturous occupation if you're not born with the talent and passion for it. The success rate is also very low. I still live a life where I feel a sense of shame regarding my talent and am constantly buried in a sense of inferiority."
- But you still like music that much?
"Yes. If not music, everything else can only just come in second. I'm happy when I do music but also tortured because of inferiority. I'm thinking of getting married when I can no longer write songs. If I constantly get calls from home asking when I'll be home, or asking for money for baby milk powder, it is probably impossible to write a song like 'Can't Send You...' in such an atmosphere. Even our company told me not to date because I write lyrics dripping with despair better if I can't date."
Hit Tracks
GOD - Friday Night (1999)
GOD - I Need You, One Candle (2000)
Park Jiyoon - Song of the Moon (2000)
Park Jiyoon - I'm In Love (2001)
Rain - Bad Boy (2002)
Rain - Are You Glad That I'm Famous (2003)
Um Junghwa - Come to Me (2006)
Baek Jiyoung - Like Being Hit By A Bullet (2007)
8Eight - I Have No Heart (2009)
Baek Jiyoung - My Ear's Candy (2009)
Seo Inguk - Singing (2009)
Tara - Like the First Time (2009)
2AM - Can't Send You Away Even If I Die (2010)
Homme - Still Eating Well (2010)
CREDITS : IS SPORTS (SOURCE); hazyfiasco@2ONEDAY.COM (TRANS)
Post a Comment