Lunafly are the latest sensation to emerge from the Korean pop (K-pop) scene.
Made up of Sam, Yub, Yun and Jin, Lunafly have defied the conventions of their genre becoming the first K-pop band to record a Spanish album. Ahead of their debut Australian tour, Sam answered our questions.
When can fans expect the new album?
Well, we are currently writing and self-producing our new album. We have been influenced a lot by British bands and some songs we are writing at the moment would be classed as British rock. Whether we stick to just this style, we are not decided yet [sic], but certainly we will be going in a very different direction to our previous albums and it will be predominantly rock.
How do you set yourselves apart from other K-pop groups?
We self-write and self-produce our own music. We have released albums in Spanish and English. We have also sung songs in ten different languages for shows abroad. Our musical style is very much American/ British in terms of chords, melody and feel.
Your first Australian tour is coming up in October; what are your expectations for the shows?
We are very excited to see Australian fans for the first time. We have been waiting a few years for this, so it's going to be great we are sure. We hope the fans are super energetic for our show.
Off the top of your head, what do you know about Australia?
'Neighbours' and 'Home & Away' come to mind. I used to watch those shows a lot back home. Kangaroos and koalas are animals that we know. Rugby and cricket are very popular as well as Aussie Rules football. Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Hugh Jackman are people we like who are Australian. We also enjoyed the movie, 'Australia'.
Why did you choose to cover Spanish songs?
Without thinking about the language of the songs we kind of fell in love with the melody and musical side to the songs we did. Jesse Y Joy's 'Corre' for example. We then realised we would have to sing it in Spanish and luckily we seemed to take to it reasonably well.
Have you considered an album of Australian song covers? Slim Dusty's 'Pub With No Beer' comes to mind.
There are obviously a lot of talented artists from Australia. We like artists like 5 Seconds Of Summer, Kylie Minogue, Deltra Goodrem, Guy Sebastian. We may be possibly doing a cover of an Australian singer's song at our show, but we can't tell you what it is!
Is it difficult to transition between languages?
We are used to it now to be honest. We are more comfortable singing in English and sometimes it can feel strange singing in Korean! We obviously put a lot of time into producing and practising our songs that we now find it very natural to switch-up languages.
Can you explain the recent line-up changes? Who are the new members?
We have two new members: Jin and Yub. Yub is our lead guitarist and brings a lot of experience and great songwriting talent. He has fitted in very well and works many hours in the studio with me. Jin is our drummer and is still very young. He is gaining good experience and building on the natural talent he has.
Do you have a message for Australians prior to your shows here?
Firstly thank you for your support over the years, it is very much appreciated. We are very much looking forward to seeing you all in Australia. We hope you enjoy the show that we are currently working very hard on to prepare. See you soon!
Lunafly showcase at Party On The Park at the Korean Cultural Centre Australia 23 October (Sydney) and the New Globe Theatre 24 October (Brisbane).
