[ize magazine] Taeyang: “The Last 4 Years – a Journey to find Myself”

By Kang Myeong Seok

A man named TAEYANG crouches in the dark. And then, he slowly walks out. This is what his title track “EYES, NOSE, LIPS” is like, from his new album <RISE>. Even his M/V takes him in an extreme close-up and then moves away to show his entire body. The song takes us through a very detailed and slow journey, one that guides us to slowly reach the feeling instead of immediately to the emotion. There are no high notes while the melody slowly lifts his emotion to climax, and he beat that was glued as one becomes separated in more details as the melody goes on. The journey that could even seem stuffy describes the bitter journey the singer had to go through. When the song ends, the man leaves the darkness of his heart and into the light. Leaving out all techniques and performances, TAEYANG became an ordinary man who sings about the long-gone love with his heart instead of his voice, getting out of the shell of a big star. This is the journey the star walked on for the last 4 years, producing this album. He embarked on a journey when he began preparing for the album, and now I am here with him, who returned with the new album. What kind of a person did he become, after the years of his journey?

How does it feel to release an album after  4 years?
TAEYANG: It is actually going really well, but it doesn’t feel real. When someone congratulates me, I feel like I should be congratulating another artist called TAEYANG. (laughter) Before I released it, I wanted to unveil it as soon as possible and move on to the next one.

Taeyang on Mnet MUST – Full (Unbroadcasted) Interview Transcript ( 131209)

This is the full interview with Yoon Do Hyun from the recording session of Taeyang’s guest stint on Mnet’s MUST last December.   Only a small part of this was included in the actual broadcast.

TY: Hi Everyone. I am Taeyang. Thanks for coming out today. Yoon Do Hyun-ssi should be here somewhere… Where are you?

YDH: I am here! Here! Wow! You look stunning! I almost lost my mind in admiration of you on the stage. I was like “wow…..” the whole time.

[Interview] Taeyang for Dazed & Confused Korea (Dec. 2013)

FAITH
Taeyang believes in himself as much as we believe in him.
Editor: Nah Ji Un
See the HQ scans here.

Have you ever walked the streets of Itaewon at night like this?
I used to come to Itaewon often. I practically lived here. Ji-yong used to live in this area, so I would always hang out and shop here.

It’s past 4AM, but you seem to be brimming with energy.
Doing the shoot gave me renewed energy. I had fun today.

Interview round up Part 3: Taeyang during Ringa Linga Promotions

Round 3 from the slew of press conference interviews during Ringa Linga’s launch.  This is the full interview from Star News published on 131112 (other translated interviews from the same period here and here.) As with the rest, there is some overlap with other publications but some new bits as well.

(Star News Reporter Lee Ji-Hyun)

IZE IDOL ITEMPOOL: TaeYang ‘Ringa Linga’ (131118)

From IZE: [IDOL ITEMPOOL]  TaeYang ‘Ringa Linga’
(Photos from 131117 Inkigayo Performance)

[Summary in 3 line]

CONCEPT : Emphasizing strong masculinity inspired by primitive tribes in Africa

MUSIC : Very simple message about ‘Lets have fun together’

STAGE : Urban hip-hop dance which emphasizes detail and groove

GQ’s Jang WooChul talks about Taeyang (131111)

GQ Editor Jang Woocheol was a guest on the Nov 11 broadcast of Lee Jin’s MBC radio show “The Morning Opens the World.” The guest chooses a topic of the day to discuss and JWC decided to talk about Taeyang :

Interview round up Part 1: Taeyang during Ringa Linga Promotions

As some of you may have noticed, there has been a flood of Taeyang interviews recently in connection with the Ringa Linga promotions. Most were part of a round table press conference involving different news agencies, hence a lot of the published interviews tend to overlap with a lot of repeated information but also some different questions in each.  We are going to be posting some of the major interviews in full, but also excerpts from other interviews to focus on the new information and minimize too much repetition. So here is the first massive post. Enjoy!

Interview round up Part 2: Taeyang during Ringa Linga Promotions

From: YG Life : (1, 2)

TAEYANG returns in 3 years after a delightful transformation

“It’s like fish sauce.”

[Interview] ELLE Korea (November 2013): SOLAR STORM

TaeYang is a man who wants to be remembered for Music. He is a man who burns himself to give impressive music. TaeYang is back. TaeYang’s stage will rise again.

Photographer: HongJangHyun
Stylist:  GeeEun
Fashion Editor: ChoiSoonYoung
Editor: MinYongJun

How was the shoot with ELLE?
I liked it. And the concept was good too.

You are going to release a new album.
I ended up preparing this album for a long time. I wasn’t inspired enough to make another album after my solo album 3 years ago.

Taeyang in JSDA’s “More Dance” Magazine (Scans and Interview)

“When I dance, I’ve never been conscious of anything. I just let myself go with the music flow.”