[INTERVIEW] FEBRUARY 2013 ISSUES OF CECI MAGAZINE

It’s Swagger Time

Dongwoo and Hoya who are known for being playful in INFINITE teamed up totally differently under the common denominator that is hiphop ! These charming two men’s name is INFINITE H. The start is somehow extraordinary.

Ceci : Today’s shooting concept was ‘Men who know how to play well’, have you ever had moments when you felt like saying ‘I play quite a bit’?

Hoya : I am a man who knows how to play when the time comes. It’s been a while since I’ve last had fun. Isn’t enjoying work like playing? Since my work is to sing and dance I don’t have any other hobby.

Dongwoo : Even without preparing myself, I think every place is my stage.

Ceci : What’s the difference between INFINITE and INFINITE H?

Hoya : First of all, schedules end much earlier. Also, we’re now splitting the work in half so our sense of responsability became stronger since Dongwoo hyung is the “lea” and I am the “der” (laughs)

Dongwoo : When the seven members are here it’s really noisy but when it’s just the two of us it’s a little bit more quiet and relaxed. 

Ceci : Today your second teaser got released and you’re holding your showcase tomorrow, how do you feel?

Dongwoo : Nervous. We’ve worked hard while preparing for it and we’re wondering about what we have to do to obtain an even more satsifying result.

Hoya : We’ve practiced self-control while rehearsing the title track choreography in order to look like a proper hip hop unit. We’re also a bit pressured. Since this is really different from our usual dance group image we have as INFINITE. We’re also worried about how we’ll shine through the camera. We’re confident but we’re still lacking in experience.

Ceci : What kind of song is your title track ‘Special Girl’? 

Dongwoo : It’s an extremely free and relaxed song. Men who are hesitating to confess their feelings will be able to relate to it quite well.

Hoya : It contains the sweet and sensible feelings of a guy who has a secret crush on someone.

Ceci : You seem to be quite familiar with this?

Hoya : It’s been a while since I’ve last been in a relationship so I also feel like I’m relieving my stress while singing or through raps.

(Ceci : Isn’t it possible to have crushes even if you’re not dating?)

Dongwoo, Hoya : Exactly, we always have crushes. 

Ceci : All the musicians who participated [in this album] are talented artists. Among the five tracks, which one did you like the most?

Hoya : (While looking at Dongwoo) Isn’t it “Special Girl” for the both of us? We’ve never had to voice our opinions for INFINITE’s title tracks. This time with the H album, our CEO asked us what kind of title tracks we wanted. It must have been really hard because all the songs were good. 

Dongwoo : [To the CEO’s question] we both replied “Special Girl”. We were really relaxed when we recorded it but I feel like it came out really well.




Ceci : It must be a big chance to be able to do the music you like as a member of an idol group.

Dongwoo : Of course ! When we first met with the sunbaenims we were about to work with for the first time, it really felt like a dream. Dynamic Duo, Primary and the others are musicians I really like and I usually rap or sing along to their songs. When we met them personally, it’s at that time we realized we were about to release an album.

Hoya : While promoting with INFINITE, we’ve never once thought we would ever have such a chance. The couple of months we’ve spent working on the album felt like we’ve learned for years.

Ceci : In this album there is unfortunately no songs you’ve personally wrote. Do you usually write lyrics steadily?

Dongwoo : Of course, I have moments when I think of lyrics when I’m given a beat. The two of us also work together. I tend to chat cheerfully and write teasing lyrics of the “rated” kind.

Hoya : We both have song lyrics in our phones’ memos. I’ve been writing sad stuff lately.

Ceci : If each of you could create another unit in INFINITE, how would you compose them?

Hoya : Let’s stop here with the units. (Laughs) Honestly, I am looking forward to seeing another member go solo like Sunggyu hyung. Especially Woohyunie hyung ! Sungyeol. L. Sungjong as well, I feel like rather than being paired with someone else, being solo fits them more.

 
Dongwoo : In Hoya and my case, we have a lot of things in common and we like the same things so that’s how we were able to create a unit this naturally.

Ceci : You said the birth of Hoya’s passion for gags, ‘Hodrip’ is quite the trend lately? (T/N: ‘drip’ is the Korean word for joke) How would you evaluate one another’s sense of humour?

Dongwoo : I’ve never intentionally tried to be funny so… As for Hoya, I wish he’d be a little bit more greedy than he is now when it comes to gags. You can sometimes see he’s hesitating when he’s saying something funny. He has to try more diligently for the gags to be funnier.

Hoya : Ah, would it be okay for me to be more greedy? (Laughs) I’ve never seen [Dongwoo] hyung try to be funny but with his natural tongueslips and whimsy thoughts, he’s really funny. Compared to him, I am quite more into planned gags.

Dongwoo : I sometimes only say what I think and the whole room just laughs so I’m surprised.

Ceci : If you do planned gags, you must be quite proud to see that ‘Hodrip’ is the current trend

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Hoya : I am extremely proud. I sometimes look at the ‘gag pictures’ our fans made and laugh by myself. 

(Ceci : You said there was a ‘Thank you, thank you’ trend?’) Ah, this one came out in the reality program we had that was called ‘Ranking King’. Because I had troubles with my eyes, I kept wearing sunglasses. I also repeatedly said ‘Thank you, thank you’ to what the members were saying and it came out really funnily.

Ceci: What your fans are the most curious about is their oppas’ life in the dorm. Who are your current rommates?

Dongwoo : Hoya’s is Sungjong. Mine are L and Sungyeol and our manager hyung also uses the room with us. For a few months, all the members’ schedules were so different we pretty much only saw each other when going to sleep. (Ceci : How are the other members doing?). They’re working on their personal schedules. They’re learning about things in the field they wanted to work in and each of them are busy. It seems like it’s a time during which each of us is making his own talents stronger. Hoya and Sungjong both like watching movies so they watch TV together.

Hoya : I am especially drawn into the emotional drama genre or melos. Is it the time for me to be sensible to sensitivity? It’s something I’ve yet to say to anyone but weirdly, I’ve been crying while watching sad movies or listening to sad music lately. I am definitely not the sort of person who cries a lot. I don’t know why I am like this.

Ceci: How’s INFINITE’s ranking lately? Not too long ago in an interview, Sunggyu said he was calling Hoya hyung.

Dongwoo : Sunggyu hyung likes this sort of jokes. To be honest, we don’t really check who’s the most popular or who has the most schedules. Since we’re all different.

Hoya : Lately, the members who’ve been the most free are Sungjong and Sungyeol. The rest is pretty much equally busy. These two are definitely in the lower ranks [when it comes to being busy] (laughs)

Ceci : Hoya’s high ranking helped him getting advertisement deals.

Hoya : Hm. I only got one. (Ceci : How was the kiss scene with the actress Lee Yoo Bi?) It’s something that came out from the producer’s head suddenly on the filming set. I think we’ve filmed it about five times. Since we were above a shaking rift I was nervous so I kept missing her cheek and did it next to it. And her hair stuck to my lips two or three times, making it a NG. (Ceci : What was the members’ response?) 

Dongwoo : We gathered in front of a notebook to watch it and we were jealous. They looked as lovely as a real life couple.

Ceci : What’s the biggest issue between you two lately?

Dongwoo : I think it’s rap. Since we were filming ‘Immortal Song’, we talk to each other a lot while writing raps.

Hoya : We also discussed about the album a lot. Also, whether it’s a teaser or a music video, don’t singers usually watch them first? But in our case, it’s the fans who told us about our two teasers. Dongwoo hyung asked ‘When did it come out?’ and we’ve replayed them 50 times at dawn. We also know that the editing of our music video is done. But we have yet to watch it. We’re probably going to watch it after our fans again.

Ceci : What’s the thing the two young men in their 20s Jang Dongwoo and Lee Howon need right now?

Dongwoo : Time to do what I want to. I am talking about what our peers generally do. I used to enjoy skate boarding in the past. I can’t do this anymore now. I wish days were 48 hours long !

 
Hoya : My family. I sometimes want to live with them. Even though since I am a Kyeongsang-do man by nature, I talk to them in a brusque way when I am on the phone with them. I’ve been missing my family lately. I can see how Dongwoo hyung looks sort of ‘recharged’ when he comes back after visiting his family. Since I can’t do this I get a little bit more lonely. Ah, my parents are coming to the showcase tomorrow, I am seeing them for the first time in 6 months. Will I even be able to meet them for five minutes? But I’m still happy.

HOYA

Name : Hoya (Lee Howon)
Position : Rap, vocal
Date of Birth : 1991. 03. 28
Height / Weight : 178 cm / 60 kg
Blood Type : AB
Speciality : Wake board, Choreography, Dance

DONG WOO

Name : Dongwoo (Jang Dongwoo)
Position : Rap
Date of Birth : 1990. 11. 22
Height / Weight : 175 cm / 59 kg
Blood Type : A
Speciality : Skateboard, Beatbox, Dance

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