ORβIT International

― How have you been spending this time since the announcement on February 9th last year?

HEECHO: Now that I think of it, it went by so quickly, but a big part of 2020 was the fact that we couldn’t see each other. We could communicate via phone calls or video calls, but I’m sure it was hard for the members and the staff were also worried for the members. We did receive the songs to practice at home and think of the choreography, but there wasn’t much I could do on my own. I just kept thinking “if only I could be with them (the members)”. And Shunya was always crying. 

SHUNYA: I wasn’t always crying (laughs)! But, not being able to see each other was hard. With the ongoing pandemic, there was nobody you could blame for the hardships we went through, so I’d sometimes get annoyed on my own. That’s when the other members would talk to me and that was very helpful. I think we got even closer because we had the chance to speak so much more in this situation. 

JUNE: Yes, because we were able to talk a lot when things were hard. We’d discuss what we should do from now on when things were getting hard, have heart-to-heart conversations at the dorm, and spend time together. I think that’s why we’re so close now. 

SHUNYA: The video calls helped so much. Even though we were separated in Japan and Korea, we were able to speak while seeing each other’s faces, so it was good.

TOMO: Yeah. There are some of us who’d like some words of encouragement when things get hard or some of us who’d rather be left alone for a while, so we respect that and we spend time together, it was great.

JUNE: At the end, we were all like “there’s no use to overthink everything, so let’s just do what we can do!” and that’s how we got here. 

SHUNYA: Even for our music work, we’ve been helped a lot by the internet. We weren’t able to meet the people who bought our CDs to thank them, so we kept thinking what we could do instead. We were able to hold an online signing event, so I hope we were able to convey some of the feelings of gratitude we have.

HEECHO: But because the date of release got pushed back, we were able to spend more time on the production process of the album. There are some parts that we were able to be more particular about, especially because of the current situation.

The 7 of them with each their own different turning points in life

― You started off as an artist with the album “00”, but what were the turning points in your artist life?

HEECHO: I like dancing and I wanted to be a dancer, but my mother wouldn’t agree with it and she suggested that I become a singer instead. But I’m not good at singing, I can’t rap either, so I continued although I wasn’t sure of where I was headed to. When I was in highschool, I got sick and the doctor told me “you might not be able to dance and sing anymore” and I was very shocked. I realized that I must really like the job if I was that shocked. Then, I started taking it more seriously from there on.

JUNE: It was popular at the time and I would listen to Eminem at first because I happened to buy a CD, but I wasn’t planning on starting rapping at the time. Later on, K-POP came in from Korea and I felt a different charm from Japanese music that I had been listening to until then. I like music that mixes up different genres and rap and I found different groups from there. My impression on idols changed and it broadened my horizons. My brother joined a performing arts school and I joined as well. I think that was a turning point as well.

SHUNYA: I’ve always liked dancing ever since I was small, but I disliked singing and I wasn’t great at it. When I saw K-Pop artists in university, I thought I wanted to become someone who would be looked up to as well, so I got very interested in dance and music. Still, I was looking for a regular job like everyone else too. When I went to an interview for a promotion company for artists, I was told “When I hear about your experience and what you like and want to do, it seems like you are more suited to become someone who expresses themselves through art.” It made me realize again that I wanted to become an artist in the music industry.

YUGO: I liked K-Pop artists, so I’d copy them dancing. I usually get very easily bored out of things, but the one thing I’ve been able to continue is dancing. When I became a university student and started considering career paths, I decided to challenge what I want to do. Actually, I couldn’t get into any of my ideal universities and I went to the one where I can get in by recommendation. But if I had been accepted to the one of the universities I wanted to go initially, I would’ve continued studying and I wouldn’t have gone into the entertainment university. That’s why I think that failing entrance exams was a hard experience, but it was a turning point now that I look back to it.

YOUNGHOON: I got into university and I wanted to be part of a band as a keyboardist, but I was asked “do you want to become a vocalist?”. Then, I told them “Huh? Vocalist? I can’t.” and I gave up. After that, I tried getting into the tennis club but the seniors looked scary, and so I gave up (laughs). Then, I found a dancer I liked… Wait, where am I at in the story? Anyways, to summarize, I got into university and I wanted to be part of a band… (He keeps circling around the same story.)

Everyone except YOUNGHOON: It’s ok!!! We get it!! (Laughter)

YOUNGHOON: The seniors at the dance school were all very nice. I didn’t really have hobbies before, but I started having bigger dreams after starting to dance.

YOONDONG: Until I was 20, I never thought I would do a job where I had to appear in public, but my feelings of admiration grew gradually. My parents told me I couldn’t become a singer if I didn’t go to university, so I chose to study acting in university. After that, I attended for 2 months, but I realized I wanted to be a singer after all so I went ahead and got into the industry. That’s my turning point.

TOMO: Me too, just like Shunya, I never liked singing and I hated going to karaoke, but I became very passionate about it after I got into high school. I started to think that I’d be very happy if I could do a job where I could sing, so I attended many auditions after graduating high school, but never made it. Every time I’d go to an audition, I kept telling myself “If I don’t make it for this one, it’s going to be the last one”. After that. I decided I’d start working on myself and started a ship job to save up money for two years. Even then, I knew I still wanted to be an artist, but I couldn’t say it to my parents. I didn’t want to worry them about the tuition fees or the instability of the job. Still, I couldn’t give up in the end and I gave up my job completely to go back to doing auditions. My grandparents both came from musician families, so I was hoping I had some of their DNA flowing in me too.

HEECHO: Tomo definitely has some of it! (the DNA)

TOMO: It’d be great if I really did.

The 7 are now together as ORβIT - “We’d like to meet fans at a live event in 2021.”

― You came together as a group and you are now ORβIT, but could you please tell us about how and why you got together?

HEECHO: I had been listening to everyone’s concerns for a while, but “what we should do from now on” became a topic one day. That’s why I suggested we all work together with these members and that I’d take responsibility for it. Then, I started talking to people, looking for people who could help, and it became like this,

YUGO: When we became a group, I was mostly very happy to be able to do this with the people I like and I was hoping we can do what we want to do.

TOMO: When the talk about doing something with the 7 of us came up, all the other options I had previously were gone for me. Heecheon-san took the lead to do things like setting up an agency, but we try not to put all the weight on the leader. We each have our responsibilities which we established altogether.

― You started your activities in 2020 and 2021 will definitely be an even busier year for you. I’m sure EαRTHs are excited as well.

HEECHO: First and foremost, I hope everyone in the world can have a healthy year this year. As ORβIT, we have the general outline of the year set, so it would be great if we can follow those plans.

SHUNYA: I hope we can spend more time altogether compared to 2020. The time we are spending together right now makes me so happy, I keep wishing everyday that if only this time could continue forever.

JUNE: When we look back at 2020, the fact that we are together right now feels like a dream.

YOUNGHOON: I hope the virus will be gone in 2021.

TOMO: Yes, and I really want to do live events too.

― You haven’t been able to hold live events yet. I bet your feelings of wanting to be on stage must be blowing up?

Everyone: Yes, that’s true.

SHUNYA: We definitely have a lot of ideas (laughs).

HEECHO: It’s part of a singer’s job to sing at live events, so I’d like to work soon. It’s really just that.

TOMO: We haven’t been able to perform in front of EαRTHs yet, so it’d be great if we could soon.

― Is there anything you want to do at a live event?

SHUNYA: I want to throw signed balls! (Throwing pose)

YOUNGHOON: I want to jump into the audience! (Everyone: No you can’t do that~!)

JUNE: I want to throw water to the audience! Like in summer festivals! It’d be great to do our own event, or to be part of an outdoor event too, I hope we can be part of one.

YOUNGHOON: I want to do an outdoor concert during daytime.

YOONDONG: I want to do a night time concert outdoors. The lights will be very pretty. I can’t wait to be able to do concerts.

(Younghoon and Yoondong discuss whether day time or night time is better, while the other members laugh.)

Everyone: So it’s 24 hours! We want to do it all the time (laughs)!!

― We’re very excited for you to hold a live event as well! We also heard you are preparing for a mini album in April. Can you tell us about the theme and the songs?

HEECHO: I think there are many songs with mature themes. The release date is in spring, so there might be many sad songs. I hope we can show a mature side with the performance, including dance. “00” was a very complete album, so there is a little bit of pressure that pushes us to make something even better. Outside of that, considering what we want to express, we’d like to show a mature side as we are getting older. 

JUNE: Even as we are preparing the songs, we do feel like we all matured.

SHUNYA: There are also plants because it’s April… It isn’t set in stone yet, but I’ll keep the hint hanging (laughs).

TOMO: It’s still in preparation, but we’d like to practice a lot and bring up the overall quality since we have the chance to see each other like this.

◆ HEECHO Profile

◆ Music that forms HEECHO Q. What was the first CD that you bought in your life? I don’t really remember past things Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. LOVE / Musiq Soulchild 2. Slow Motion / Karina Pasian 3. Fallin' Out / Keyshia Cole

Q. Music that you listen to recently? Boby / Sinead Harnett Q. Please express in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT. Well... my feelings are always the usual ones. Q. What kind of you music activities you want to try? Well... steadily releasing albums.

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Right now, I think that’s still a matter for the future

Q. Your favourite Japanese artist? ONE OK ROCK-san Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? An artist who does what they want

◆ YOUNGHOON Profile

◆ Music that forms YOUNGHOON Q. What was the first CD that you bought in your life? There is none. Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. Stay / Post Malone（ポスト・マローン） 2. If I Die Tomorrow / Beenzino 3. WE LIKE 2 PARTY / BIGBANG

Q. Music that you listen to recently? Holiday / Bee Gees Q. Please express in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT. Let’s go Q. What kind of you music activities you want to try? (Original) Rap, Enka

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Aimyon-san Q. Your favourite Japanese artist? Yorushika-san Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? I want to become everyone’s life.

◆ YOONDONG PROFILE

◆ Music that forms YOONDONG

Q. What was the first CD that you bought in your life? Girl Generation “Gee” Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. Mirrors / Justin Timberlake 2. If I Die Tomorrow / Beenzin 3. 산소 같은 너（Love like Oxygen） / SHINee

Q. Music that you listen to recently? Run away / MINO（WINNER’s Song Minho) Q. Please express in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT. NICE~!!

Q. What kind of you music activities you want to try? I want to make a collab with a band and sing a solo song.

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Beenzino-san Q. Your favourite Japanese artist? Suda Masaki-san Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? An artist who can be a role model.

◆ SHUNYA PROFILE

◆Music that forms SHUNYA

Q. What was the first CD you ever bought? Morning Musume's "Renai Revolution 21" Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. 고백（Confession） / ASTRO 2. Lazurite / ORβIT 3. Renai Revolution 21 / Morning Musume

Q. Music that you listen to recently? Kimi Ni Todoke / flumpool Q. Please tell us in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT Resolution Q. What kind of music activities do you want to try? I'd like to express myself in solo work!!

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Katy Perry Q. Your favorite K-POP artist? ASTRO-san! Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? I am able to work as ORβIT now thanks to the artists I looked up to, so I'd like to become an artist that inspires others!

◆ JUNE PROFILE

◆ Music that forms JUNE Q. What was the first CD that you bought in your life? An album from Eminem Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. Me Like Yuh / Jay Park 2. LOSER / BIGBANG 3. Alright / Kendrick Lamar

Q. Music that you listen to recently? RIP / Arizona Zervas Q. Please express in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT. Start line Q. What kind of music activities you want to try I want to make songs with various rappers.

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Jonas Blue Q. Your favourite K-POP artist? BIGBANG-san Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? An artist who influences lives.

◆ TOMO Profile

◆ Music that forms TOMO Q. What was the first CD that you bought in your life? I don’t really remember it, but it was probably something from EXILE. Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. Lovers Again / EXILE 2. Saigo no Ame (The last rain) / Nakanishi Yasushi 3. Ame, melody (rain, melody) / Tamaki Koji

Q. Music that you listen to recently? I’m writing lyrics recently, so basically I’m listening to nothing but the demo I got. Q. Please express in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT. Change/Flow Q. What kind of you music activities you want to try? The world, world tour

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Brian McKnight, Kazuki-san from DOBERMAN INFINITY Q. Your favourite K-POP artist? Naul-san from Brown Eyed Soul, Shinee-san (Jonghyun-san) Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? We will become an artist that is popular worldwide.

◆ YUGO Profile

◆ Music that forms YUGO Q. What was the first CD that you bought in your life? ayaka “THIS IS ME ~ ayaka 10th anniversary BEST~” Q. Please tell us 3 songs that form you 1. Starlight parade / SEKAI NO OWARI 2. The beginning / ayaka 3. Hatsukoi (First love) / Utada Hikaru

Q. Music that you listen to recently? Marunouchi Sadistic/Sheena Ringo Q. Please express in a few words how you felt when it was announced that you will debut as ORβIT. It hasn’t sunk in (yet). Q. What kind of you music activities you want to try? Vocalist of a band

Q. An artist you want to collab with? Hirate Yurina-san Q. Your favourite K-POP artist? ATEEZ-san Q. What kind of artist do you want to become in the future? When talking about artist who sing well, I want ORβIT to be mentioned.

― The 7 of you are finally together for the first time in a long time, but how are you spending your time together? 

HEECHO: We spend our private time just relaxing together. Watching movies late at night, having deep talks. 

YOUNGHOON: We watched the movie “Midnight Runners”, it was interesting. We watch movies where we need to hold in our laughter.

YOONDONG: We watch Netflix together, but just simply being together is fun.

HEECHO: It’s been a long time since we’ve spent time together, so we try to have a fun time together. We can’t be together for a long time, so we are enjoying it with lots of laughs. 

TOMO: We made grilled chicken skewers with a special grill for it. Heecheon-san and I were the ones in charge of the grill (laughs). Other than that, Jun and I read manga often. 

JUNE: As for “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Demon Slayer”, we even went to watch the movie and cried together. I also liked “Chainsaw Man”, which Tomo introduced me to. 

TOMO: I like the “Weekly Shonen Jump” (weekly manga anthology) type of manga, and my all-time favorite one is “Hokuto no Ken”. I’ve been re-reading it lately, and my inner child is getting excited. My favorite move is “Hokuto Shichishi Seiten” (Seven Star Points of Death). Even the sounds when the enemy loses are funny, like the famous ones “abeshi” or “hidebu”, but there’s also minor ones like “nani wo para~” (the word “what” followed gibberish), it’s the funniest. (laughs)

― You spoke at the last interview that you wanted to eat Yoondong-san’s cooking, but did that come true? 

SHUNYA: Yes, we ate it! It was so good~!

YOONDONG: I made them kimchi fried rice.

HEECHO: Wait, when? I didn’t eat any (laughs).

YOUNGHOON: When everyone left for BUGVEL’s recording, Shunya, Yoondong and I ate together.

HEECHO: We were eating takoyaki that time at the studio. I love takoyaki.

― There were some comments from overseas fans on the last interview, but are any of you studying any foreign languages? What word did you learn lately?

SHUNYA: I read Korean vocabulary books sometimes, but I watch a lot of Korean drama and I’ve been starting to understand some words that are said a lot in drama. 

HEECHO: My hands are already full from learning Japanese and I haven’t been able to learn other languages. I still need to work on my Japanese…

TOMO: But all 3 Korean members have been naturally studying Japanese, so they are very good in Japanese.

HEECHO: All the Japanese words that the members have taught me were all bad words… (laughs). 

TOMO: Hey, that’s the other way around! (laughs) I ask them to teach me Korean, but they always teach me bad words. 

HEECHO: (laughs). The world out there is dangerous these days, you need to know some strong words (laughs). 

TOMO: Other than bad words, they taught me how to say 삼겹살 주세요, which means “can I have pork belly?”

SHUNYA: (Heecho whispers something in his ear.) Just now, I learned how to say 그렇게 하면 죽도 밥도 안돼, which means “it’s going to be half-baked if you continue like this”.

TOMO: This is the type of thing they teach us (laughs). 

YUGO: 멋있지？I look cool, right? (laughs)

Everyone: Yugo is so cute~!

JUNE: The word I learned lately is “kaibyaku”. It means the beginning of the world, of time. I found it while searching for a more complicated word during the lyric writing process because the expression felt off and I thought there was another way to say it. 

HEECHO: For me, it’s “mugi to kome no nimousaku” (double cropping of rice and wheat). I learned it while studying a kanji practice book for Japanese grade school students and it left a strong impression on me. 

YOONDONG: I learned the word “kyakuashi” (customer traffic). The meaning was different from what I intended to say, but I learned the word. Is it a bad word?

TOMO: No, you can use it as “customer traffic increased, or decreased”. It’s not a bad word. 

YOUNGHOON: For me, it’s “waruagaki wo suru” (futile resistance). I resist fate in a futile way. I learned it while writing lyrics. 

What about the debut date? “I felt emotional at the CD shop… It didn’t feel real.”

― You debuted on November 11, but how does it feel like to have debuted?

HEECHO: Nothing much changed just because we debuted, but we got here as a result of pursuing what we wanted to do. That is why there wasn’t any big change, but I hope we can continue with the same mindset.

YOUNGHOON: After releasing our debut album and seeing everyone’s reactions, I thought a lot about our situation and our responsibilities and it made me feel like we need to make even better songs and show an even better version of ourselves in the future. We are preparing for our next release with utmost effort. 

― For Heecho-san, Younghoon-san, and Yoondong-san, this is your second debut. Did you give any advice to the 4 others?

HEECHO: I think it’s just a number, and there isn’t much to mind about just because it’s our second time, but there are things we can say because we have experience debuting once previously. It is the first time (for the Japanese members), so I’d like to teach them what I know. 

TOMO: I think they do have a certain emotional leeway. There were hardships until we reached our debut, but there were a lot of moments the 3 helped and cheered us up. 

YOUNGHOON: If we could do more activities, I think there is more I can teach them, but there isn’t much we can do amidst the pandemic situation… Later, when we will be able to do more, I’d like to relay more of our experience. 

― How did you spend your debut date?

YUGO: Nothing much different, we just practiced as usual.

TOMO: I think we were doing voice training.

HEECHO: The Korean members were learning choreography and practicing dance. 

YOUNGHOON: Yoondong was buying pyjamas that day (laughs).

JUNE: We were just doing lessons as usual even though it was debut date, so although I was internally excited like “today is debut date!”, I was a little bit sad that the lesson menu was hard as usual (laughs). 

SHUNYA: The Japan members had the chance to go to CD shops for greetings. I was surprised seeing that the store decorations were, very, big? It made me really happy. It didn’t feel real. 

YOUNGHOON: I saw the pictures too and it made me really happy that the shop staff wrote descriptions of our songs in so much detail. If we have the chance, I want to cook for the shop staff (laughs). 

Everyone (laughs). 

YOUNGHOON: I also read the messages from EαRTHs in the notebooks placed at the CD shops. There were a lot of messages written in hiragana so that we understand too, it made me happy. EαRTHs are really nice. 

Struggles experienced especially because they are self-produced. “Thankful for all the support from many”

― The album “00” was definitely a challenging work, like you spoke about it in the previous interview. A lot of comments from fans were sent to Kstyle too. How were the reactions from fans after the release?

Everyone: Ohh~! (Clapping)

YOUNGHOON: We’re very grateful and happy. Every song was made with a lot of attention to details, so I hope EαRTHs listen to them a lot and enjoy it.

YOONDONG: My wanting to make something better and to perfect our performances got stronger, especially because we debuted. 

― Last time, we asked you about the recording process. How were the parts separated within the songs, and how were the solo songs and unit song “Mizutamari.” (written by Yugo-kun) chosen?

HEECHO: First, we all sing equal parts and then we adjust as we sing because some members suit some parts better. I chose the parts, but nobody complained. 

SHUNYA: ORβIT’s absolute leader (laughs). Heecheon-san knows everyone’s uniqueness and attributed the parts, so it turned out really nice naturally. 

HEECHO: For me, the part I thought over the most while making the album was attributing the parts. As for the solo song and unit songs, we just went with whoever wanted to do it. 

YUGO: I thought “Mizutamari.” could be the three of us (Yoondong, Shunya, Yugo) who don’t sing chorus parts often. I attributed the parts as the writer as well. It was my first time writing lyrics and I had never thought of doing it before, but after becoming part of ORβIT, I’ve been wanting to try new things such as piano as well. It’s a memorable song for which I challenged lyric writing for the first time. The track was composed first, onto which I wrote lyrics. 

― In Younghoon-san’s song “MOONCRYSTALPOWER”, the sole Japanese part amongst the Korean lyrics was also a hot topic. Many said that it’s a very “Younghoon-san like” song. 

YOUNGHOON: I always get the comment that the phrase “yuusha no sakebi” (a hero’s scream) is very “funny”, but I meant it in a serious way (laughs). At the time, there was a manga I liked a lot and I also thought of the word “boukensha” (explorer, adventurer), but it became this in the end. The lyrics are about a hero parting ways with his friends and waiting until they come altogether, but it felt like ORβIT and EαRTHs. I thought that maybe fans will understand if I put it like this, so I wrote the lyrics like that. 

HEECHO: It’s Younghoon’s scream, in the end (laughs). 

JUNE: When Younghoon-san asked me about the lyrics, I listened to him and gave advice. Every time people tell him that the lyrics are funny, he blames it on me and says “Jun said they’re nice!” (laughs). 

YOUNGHOON: It was all good as a result! (Younghoon and Jun exchange a hard handshake)

―You released from an independent label and even produced your goods on your own, but was there anything hard during the production process?

HEECHO: There were a lot of hard things, but we don’t want to make excuses about it because it’s something we chose to do. It was hard, but I think this was a good way to do it. It’s something we were able to achieve because of the members and staff we have now. 

TOMO: We separated the tasks between the 7 of us, and Shunya thought a lot about the goods and the CD jacket art. 

SHUNYA: There are many things I was able to learn because we are self-produced. For example, there’s a lot of scheduling in order to meet deadlines for production and other small tasks too. It has made me realize that making music isn’t just about singing, but there are a lot of people behind it who support it. I am glad I was able to realize this by releasing from an independent label. 

JUNE: The 7 of us are the ones on stage, but there are a lot of people behind it that you cannot see… Our work can only be done with the support of many, so we are very grateful.

How was living together during the StayHome period? “I was being a housewife (laughs)”

 ― Since the members were announced in February, you were not able to start you activities with the pandemic. How did you spend this period of time? 

SHUNYA: I was being a housewife (laughs). We live together in a dorm. At the time, Yoondong-san was also in Japan, so we would make food together. Other than that, I’d watch TV dramas or exercise.

TOMO: We would do what we each liked to do, but at the end of the day we are connected by our work and hobbies. Shunya would design the goods, Jun would write songs, Yugo would also be writing lyrics and he is also interested in composing now too. We would all do house chores and try to work hard without coming out on the front scene. 

JUNE: ”Now that I think of it, it might be an important period of time. Yoondong-kun and I put out some songs on Instagram and that also connects to our album. What we thought we could improve from then was useful in making the album. I think that’s why my cooking skills and lyrics writing skills got better. Actually, I think cooking more.

TOMO: As for cooking, Shunya is amazing.

JUNE: His braised pork belly is good!

TOMO: But in the end, carbonara is the best.

SHUNYA: The super dry carbonara?

JUNE: The mapo buldak too!

TOMO: Yoondong-san’s Korean food is good too.

YUGO: I really want to eat, it’s been such a long time~

JUN: I want to eat soondubu!

SHUNYA: I’m starting to miss it~!

YOONDONG: I will go to Japan soon again (laughs).

SHUNYA: Tomo-kun’s cutting speed is impressive too (laughs). Oh, right. There was a finger cutting accident! When I was slicing daikon, I cut my finger so Yoondong-san switched with me. I told him to be careful, but 30 seconds later I heard a “ouch!” (laughs).

TOMO: We saw him as the cool big brother before that, but too bad (laughs).

SHUNYA: We were 3 in the kitchen, but only Tomo-kun survived.

YOONDONG: They are good memories.

 ― Today we are communicating with the Korean members via the internet for this interview. How do you communicate between members and what do you usually talk about?

SHUNYA: I think we usually call.

TOMO: We had a call connected throughout the recording too, they were probably concerned about us. Other than that, they contact us often too. When Yoondong-san was in Japan, he took on the role of leader during dance practice and we were grateful.

The individuality of the 7 ORβIT members. “Something they can do specifically with these members” 

― We think ORβIT is unique because there are several differences in culture, generation and experience within the members. What are the moments you can feel these differences?

SHUNYA: We all have something we want to do and we each have our opinions, so there is no hesitation. For this album for example, we each had our thoughts like “I want to do this kind of song”, “I want to do it like this”, “I don’t want this but that could work.” We do collide at times since we are different, but I think that is the reason why we are able to work well. Each member has their own strengths and individuality. Our album has solo songs of different colors and we each sing differently when we sing as a group. If we sang in a different order, the song would be different. I think that’s what’s nice about ORβIT. It’s something we could only do with these members, so I’m glad.

TOMO: Earlier, we just talked about how it would be interesting if we shuffled unit songs and solo songs in the future. I want to sing “Double 20”!

JUNE: Everyone wants to try rapping (laughs). Instead, let me sing!

TOMO: I do want more people to listen to Jun’s singing.

SHUNYA: It would also be nice if Younghoon-san sang “Mizutamari.”

TOMO: Everyone has different possibilities. We have heard Jun sing during recordings right in front of us, so we know he is good at singing and we want to hear him sing more. Actually Shunya too, this time with the rap…

JUNE: It’s ok to say that!?

YUGO: That was nice~ For real!

TOMO: Shunya doing Jun’s rap would be nice too. It was his first time trying it this time, but he was very good. I couldn’t picture rapping at all, but Shunya was able to digest it well within him and it became a good accent to the song. I think it’s impressive. Shunya’s progress is really impressive, even for singing.

YUGO: There’s Shunya’s progress in singing, but Tomo’s progress in dancing is abnormal (laughs). There was a dance cut during the PV shooting, but he suddenly started improvising (laughs). That was super cool!

SHUNYA: Moreover, he added that on the day!

YUGO: When I asked him “what’s up?”, he said he wanted to try it.

JUNE: I guess he has talent. 

YUGO: That time, I thought “this person is amazing”.

TOMO: That’s true, I didn’t do it a single time during practice. I just thought this might be nice on the spot and I tried it, then Yugo complimented me a lot for it.

YUGO: I felt like he’s a genius.

― What is ORβIT’s charm?

HEECHO: The gap. Even now, if you saw us now, you wouldn’t expect much from us (laughs). But we get things done when we have to!

SHUNYA: That’s true (laughs).

TOMO: We have our on and off.

― Who in ORβIT has the biggest gap?

All members and staff: Younghoon!

TOMO: Well, he is a professional (laughs).

JUNE: He’s really cool when he’s working.

SHUNYA: Just when he’s working (laughs).

What’s the unexpected “necessary thing” for ORβIT?

― Doing this interview, we can feel that you get along very well. When do you feel like the bond between members is growing?

JUNE: Isn’t that it? Kebab!

TOMO: Yes that’s it! Kebab is a necessity for ORβIT.

JUNE: Let’s make our next album title “Kebab” (serious tone). Tomo and I both abnormally love kebab, and we go to that kebab store in Tokyo…

TOMO: Don’t say the name of the store! We go there for real (laughs).

SHUNYA: Yoondong-san has had some in Japan.

YOONDONG: It’s super good. Enough to suddenly birth a friendship (laughs).

YUGO: But I think the biggest part is living together.

SHUNYA: Since we had a lot of hardships too.

YUGO: Because we overcame all the fun moments and hard moments together with these members, we can say what we honestly think and we can also consult each other if anything. Us living together is a big part of it.

SHUNYA: I guess we keep a good distance between each other. We don’t intrude on each other, but we don’t neglect each other either. If I’m going through a hard time, they would help me and check on me. It’s surprising how people can get to understand each other so much in such a short period of time. 

JUNE: We’re all pretty mature. We do joke on the surface, but we understand as adults. It can exist because we all are understanding.

YUGO: We are also being helped by each other as well. I am the youngest and everyone is mature, so they give me kind words when I am having a hard time. I don’t think I would’ve been able to continue if it wasn’t for these members. Jun too, although he’s always so stupid…

All: (Burst out laughing)

JUNE: (Pose to say “please cut”)

SHUNYA: It’s ok, you don’t need to cut this part!

YUGO: (Pointing at Jun) He’s so stupid but he did rub my back when I was having a hard time. Everyone is really nice and I’m being helped a lot by that.

TOMO: We are all different though. Really, everyone’s completely different.

SHUNYA: Why did you say it twice!?

TOMO: We are all different but kebab ties us together. Kebab is what brought us here like this. 

SHUNYA: Hey, look at the faces of the Korean team.

Korean team: (Blank faces)

JUNE: But we also ate kebab together in Korea, right?

HEECHO: We did! But I’m sure it tastes better in Japan.

SHUNYA: Let’s eat it soon, the kebab in Japan!

“We were able to come this far thanks to these 3, hoping that we could catch up…”

― We’d like to know how strong your bond is. Korean members, please tell us the good points of the Japanese members, and vice-versa.

HEECHO: It’s the faces, the faces!

All: (Burst out laughing)

YOUNGHOON: For Jun, it’s his legs. His legs are pretty. I don’t know about the length…? That’s it! (laughs) Shunya is nice. He is caring and he takes care of the overall design. A mother-like figure. Yugo, he’s cute! Yugo’s face looks exactly like Satomi Ishihara. For Tomo, he is unexpectedly cute. He has nice muscles too, I want to exercise with Tomo when I see him.

YOONDONG: First, Jun has impressive language skills. He is good in English, Korean, and Japanese and I’m envious. Shunya’s fashionable side is nice. For Yugo, his voice and face are fraud. He has a cuteness nobody can win against. For Tomo, I like his face. He looks like an actor.

HEECHO: But lately, he looks like an actress.

Japanese team: Ehhh!?

HEECHO: First of all, all 4 are really good kids. I’m sure you can tell by looking. I’m currently the one who has a leader position, but that’s because everyone supports me and I’m thankful. Whenever they have something to consult, they don’t hide it and they contact me directly. I really like that spirit. All 4 are just very good kids. And of course, their faces, it’s their faces! (laughs)

TOMO: I said this earlier too, Yoondong-san is the youngest among the Korean members, but he really was a big brother to us when he was in Japan. He apparently didn’t have much cooking experience before we started living together, but he helped with that and tried to care for us all the time. It was nice seeing Yoondong-san acting as a big brother. In this time’s PV, Yoondong-san is just so cool! His every move and expression had something to learn from and I respect him. For Heecheon-san, it’s obviously his proportions. His face is tiny. The person who suits white-ish hair the most is Heecheon-san. I’ve done silver once too, but it did not come out like that (laughs). As a leader, he’s a reliable big brother who brings the members together, so I want to continue trusting him. For Younghoon-san, I like his voice the best. His voice is our strength. Younghoon-san is the oldest big brother, but his heart is like a young boy. The group’s moodmaker is Shunya, but Younghoon-san is also a moodmaker.

SHUNYA: No no, Younghoon-san can’t control it!

TOMO: But that’s also the good part. He’s a reliable big brother and also a funny big brother who makes everyone laugh.

SHUNYA: Yoondong-san is a nice big brother, especially because we lived together. He called me fashionable earlier, but Yoondong-san is also very fashionable. His everyday life is cool and he’s also cool on stage. He’s a nice and cool big brother. Heecheon-san listens to things we have to say and takes care of us during hard times, I guess since he is a leader. Heecheon-san checks on us often and that helped a lot. He also gave us advice during the recording and he’s truly a reliable leader. For Younghoon-san, he’s really unstoppable (laughs). Last time when I did an Instagram live for the goods, I did it for like 2 hours collaborating with Younghoon-san. In the end, we only talked about the goods for 15 minutes and the rest was just Younghoon-san talking non-stop (laughs). But that was really funny and I’m not sure if he is aware of it, but he is a natural born moodmaker who can bring up the mood. He’s a genius at grabbing your heart and not letting go.

TOMO: Younghoon-san is so funny to watch, but he never makes you feel uncomfortable even then, it’s impressive.

SHUNYA: There are people out there who are just plain loud, but Younghoon-san is really a nice kind. Even then, he switches when he performs and the gap is so big. He’s reliable. This goes for all the Korean members, but they are people I look up to and they stand at the front of the group. I look up to each of them for something different and I think that’s really nice.

YUGO: Everyone calls Yoondong big bro cool, but I think he’s cute. The other day when I messaged him on LINE, he called me around 2:30AM on the day before recording. I thought that was kind of cute (laughs). He talks to me a lot and he’s nice, he’s a big bro I like a lot. Heecheon-kun is really nice and he is a very sensible person. In Japan, Shunya is the person who brings the members together, but Heecheon-kun brings all the members together. Thanks to Heecheon-kun, we haven’t had a fight yet. I think Heecheon-kun’s influence, his existence, is big. Younghoon-san is a genius at softening the vibe. Everyone says so though (laughs).  Even then, the side he shows while working is cool. He’s really someone who I look up to. I am always thankful for these 3.

JUNE: All 3 are older than the Japanese team and we wouldn’t be able to do anything without them. If only the 4 of us gathered, we’d just be eating kebab (laughs). These 3 are necessary to the group, to the point I am surprised it’s working out while we are being separated. I haven’t been really communicating how thankful I am on a daily basis, but I am thankful. We need to improve our skills so that we can catch up to them. We can work hard since we have this goal.

“Yoondong is being a big brother! It’s just interesting (laughs)”

― You know each other since before debut, and even maybe while you were still normal people. Who changed the most between your first impression and after debut?

JUNE: Then, let’s point all at once.

SHUNYA: Here we go!

TOMO: 4 votes for me!? I wonder why.

JUNE: My first impression was one of a fine young man and at first, he only spoke in polite language. But now he’s always like “kebab, kebab” (laughs). He ended up being a normal funny guy.

SHUNYA: And he goes at his own pace! He’s just on his own.

TOMO: For some reason, people tend to think I’m mature. 

SHUNYA: Nowadays he’s just a kebab loving old man (laughs). And for some reason he won’t come out even if you call him (laughs).

YUGO: I didn’t think he would be such a funny person.

― Heecho-san you pointed at Yoondong-san, do you think you changed, Yoondong-san?

YOONDONG: I think I am the same. I haven’t changed much.

HEECHO: Yoondong hasn’t changed, but the situation has changed. I just find that situation very funny (laughs). It’s like, “Yoondong is being a big brother!” It’s just interesting (laughs). What do you think, Younghoon?

YOUNGHOON: Nothing comes to mind for me.

All: (Burst out laughing)

“We want ORβIT to advance in different types of paths” 

― Due to the pandemic, surely you haven’t been able to work as you want to. What’s the first thing you want to do when the conditions get better?

TOMO: The answer’s already set for that!

SHUNYA: Then, let’s say it all at once. Here we go!

Japanese team: Live event!

HEECHO: For me, it’s Disneyland.

Japanese team: Eh? Disneyland? That’s a lie for sure! (Burst out laughing)

YOUNGHOON: I want to go eat tom yum goong. There’s a good restaurant at Harajuku.

YOONDONG: I want to meet EαRTHs♡

― ORβIT’s debut album is finally releasing. Please give us a message for the fans who have been waiting. 

HEECHO: I only have words of gratitude. We can only work harder to make it up for the wait and we want to work hard to give back to you by thinking harder on how we could respond to your feelings.

SHUNYA: Heecheon-san said the same thing, but we have made EαRTHs feel uneasy for such a long time and I can only be thankful at how long they have continued to believe in us and wait. At last, our debut album is set to release. We want ORβIT to advance in different types of paths, so please expect more from us and please enjoy yourselves. All of us ORβIT will try our best to respond to that. Thank you for your continuous support.

― ― ―

At last, ORβIT is debuting! "Finally after overcoming difficulties..." 

 ― Congratulations on your debut album "00" (Ootsuu) release! Can you please give us a message to your fans who have waited this whole time?

SHUNYA: Since ORβIT has been formed, we have been making you wait for a long time, but I am very happy that we were able to work on this work, these 13 songs, during this long time. ORβIT cannot exist without EαRTHs (ORβIT's fanname). It is the best album, so please look forward to it.

YUGO: I am so thankful for you waiting for this long. Since fans have been supporting us until now, this time I want us to be the ones who make EαRTHs happy.

TOMO: It is a long-awaited album for us as well. There have been many hardships for us until now and we have overcome them. Now that we can finally deliver our songs to the world, it makes me very happy and it's touching. I think it's an album full of each of the 7 members' personalities. To everyone who has been waiting for us until now, I hope you can listen to this album as a gift from us because all our feelings were put into these songs.

YOONDONG: Truly, a lot happened until the album release and it was hard. However, after recording the 13 songs and shooting the MV, I think it's great that our work came out good. Please look forward to it!

HEECHO: It has been long (dry laugh). Although it ended up taking longer because we were separated in different countries and the conditions were not the best due to the pandemic, I think we worked our best! I hope you can listen to this album and be satisfied. We will make something even more perfect in the future, so please enjoy the path we are going to walk on from now on.

YOUNGHOON: Although we took a lot of time making this album, it became an album full of songs that we like. Especially because there are solo songs and some songs were written by us, I think it became an album that really shows our colors. EαRTHs who will listen to this album, please look forward to it. 

JUNE: It took a lot longer than we expected and I'm sure the fans who were waiting didn't think it would take this long either, but we got ready for sure and we prepared 13 great songs. It's like what Tomo said earlier of giving back, but we think that our job is to give back with music. I hope we can continue working while being supported by EαRTHs, so please buy a lot of albums (laughs).

― What is the meaning behind the title “00” (Ootsuu)?

SHUNYA: We chose it together while recording. Our title song is “UNIVERSE” and there is no oxygen in space. So we went for the contrary, thinking that having space without oxygen= “UNIVERSE” which is inside an album called O2 (oxygen) might be interesting. Since oxygen is our energy, we named it wanting to hit our first album with the inner energy coming from us 7 humans. But it would be boring if it’s just O2 from oxygen, so we also put in the meaning of starting from 0 and named it “00”, placing 2 zeros.

 ― This was probably the first time shooting for the MV and recording for the Japanese members since this is your debut album. What part of it was the most striking to you?

HEECHO: The 3 of us might be experienced, but the 4 in Japan also have had various experiences so I wasn’t very worried. My advice to them was “don’t be scared, you’re the strongest”.

ALL: (Laughs)

HEECHO: Everyone’s voices have their own colors. Their nervosity quickly loosened up and we were able to record while enjoying ourselves. 

SHUNYA: The first song that was made public was “Lazurite”, which is a ballad. That recording was the most striking to me. I had a very hard time during the recording for some reason. It could also be because it was the first time recording a ballad properly, but I struggled a lot so Heecheon-san gave me advice on the phone. After the recording was over, Younghoon-san, who usually never contacts me, messaged me on LINE saying “Thank you for your hard work. You did great.” and it made me emotional. I truly felt that I am a member of this group now.

TOMO: We were very particular about it as well. 

SHUNYA: Just recording “Lazurite” took 2 days. 

TOMO: We listened to what we recorded, then we felt like it wasn’t satisfying so we went back to the studio and restarted all over again. It’s a work full of passion.

 ― At which moment during the recording did you feel like your debut is finally approaching?

SHUNYA: There’s a lot (laughs).

JUNE: I think for me it’s still not there yet. Until now we have been preparing while writing the songs and recording, but when it finally goes out and if I maybe hear songs in town I might feel like it’s finally real. All until now has been preparing and warming up. I am looking forward to what the future holds.

“An album we made on our own, with respect for each other” 

 ― Please tell us each of your recommended song and your thoughts on them.

HEECHO: I recommend Jun’s solo song, “Double 20”.

JUNE: Now I have no song to recommend (laughs).

HEECHO: I chose it because I think this song stretches the range of our work.

JUNE: I like hip-hop songs to start with and I’ve been wanting to do it but I haven’t had the chance. Since I could do a solo song this time, I did what I wanted (laughs). It might pick listeners, but I like it so I want you to listen to it a lot. I also wanted to bring out the diversity of our group. I’d like for a lot of people to listen to it. 

TOMO: You closed it nicely, but you haven’t recommended a song yet (laughs).

JUNE: Then I recommend Heecheon-kun’s “Kimi e”. (To You)

HEECHO: (Double peace sign)

JUNE: This song was recorded on the same day as my solo song. When it was my song, Heecheon-kun gave me advice and when it was his turn, I gave him advice on Japanese pronunciation. It’s a good song no matter how many times you listen to it. The lyrics are very sad. The lyrics are depressing to the point that when I first heard it, I thought, “is it ok for it to be this sad?”. But it has hope at the end of the song, it’s good. Heecheon-kun was putting in emotions as he sang it as well. Heecheon-kun wrote the song in Japanese and I think the Japanese members also think they are great lyrics.

YOUNGHOON: For me, it’s “Serenade”. Tomo sang the beginning of the song and I think it’s refreshing. Tomo sang high for the most part of this album, but his low singing voice was nice in this song. I also like Yugo’s part. I think every part Yugo sings is good. Yugo’s parts are all good throughout the album! I always sing at home copying Yugo’s parts (laughs).

YOONDONG: I like “Ready to burn”. I like how you can feel the momentum full of motivation. I want to sing and dance to it on stage one day. I want to show you all our power.

SHUNYA: Then mine is “UNIVERSE”. This song was really made from scratch by all of us. Each of us gave our ideas and we made it while discussing. There is a small silence just before the chorus, but if you listen carefully there is a bit of space void and there are some inorganic sounds. This was Jun-kun’s idea and he said it would be interesting if we put in a sound of a planet moving in orbit. We all agreed since it suits the debut song of ORβIT, a group that has space as a concept, so we gave this idea to the composer. The lyrics were also discussed after the composer gave them to us at first and we told them what we wanted to change. The choreography and lyrics all are very much like ORβIT and it is a song that marks our start. 

JUNE: “UNIVERSE” was really complicated!

SHUNYA: Mid-way, we weren’t sure if this should be the title song but when we listened to all 13 songs again, we felt like this is ORβIT’s debut song. 

YUGO: For me it’s “Mizutamari.” which I wrote the lyrics for. It was my first time writing lyrics and I was not sure of myself, but I turned all these uneasy feelings and hard memories into a story. I wrote the lyrics with the thought that our future is bright. It’s a unit song with Yoondong-kun and Shunya so Tomo-kun and Heecheon-kun who usually sing the chorus were not there at the recording and it did make me feel uneasy. But after Shunya and I recorded first and when I heard the song with our voices, it made me at ease thinking “this song will be a good song.” When Yoondong-kun’s voice was added, it had many adlibs and I felt like he enjoyed himself while recording so it made me happy.

TOMO: For Yugo, this song is like his child. 

YUGO: “Mizutamari” (water puddle), which is the title, only appears once in the lyrics actually. Until the last minute, I wasn’t sure about naming it maybe “Cobalt Blue” but it felt plain (dry laugh). I thought of putting something more eye-catching, so I added a period to mizutamari thinking that  the “.” might give a puddle-like feeling.

JUNE: So cute!

SHUNYA: It’s very Yugo-like. Even the part where Mizutamari is mentioned, I think it’s lyrics that could only be written by him. A very refreshing song.

TOMO: Then finally, of course I recommend all the songs but my recommended song is Younghoon-san’s solo song “MOONCRYSTALPOWER”! First, when I saw the title, I was surprised at it being all caps (laughs). The title alone has impact. Not only that, the lyrics are mostly in Korean, removing the preconception that a Japanese album should be in Japanese. He really wrote the best lyrics he could write in Korean. I read the Japanese translation of it and it was really good. Actually, there is a part where the lyrics are written in Japanese and this Japanese part is just so much like Younghoon-san!! It’s very nice lyrics that are very Younghoon-san like, so please look forward to it. Some of you might laugh a little, but it gives a good accent.

JUNE: You might laugh at first, but if you listen to it a few times you get hooked. 

TOMO: It’s a song that won’t leave your mind and you end up humming to it without realizing. The lyrics are good and the song’s sound, the tune, is the type I like. Songs that Younghoon-san likes and the songs I want to do are quite similar, and I like Younghoon-san’s musicality. Not only that, I think Younghoon-san’s voice is this group’s strength. I think you would understand if you listen to the beginning of “Lazurite”, but he has a very nice voice (laughs). You can listen to that nice voice throughout “MOONCRYSTALPOWER”, so it’s a great song you can listen to at different moments.

A split shooting between Japan and Korea - “An unprecedented challenge as a group”

 ― We heard you shot your MV the other day. We also had the Korean members join this interview via the internet this time, but how did you shoot your MV?

SHUNYA: We were talking to the director from Korea through a screen like this (pointing at the monitor with the 3). The shooting in Korea was done first and we watched that, learned from it and then we shot our parts. When we were shooting in Japan, the director from Korea would watch through video call and give us instructions in real time. Since there is no precedent of a MV being taken in 2 different countries, we weren’t sure how it would come  out and we were uneasy about it....

TOMO: It was very nice of the director’s team to say that challenging something new would be fun. Although there were difficulties considering that we couldn’t perform altogether due to the pandemic, they were considerate on making our work easier. We were able to watch the Korean member’s shooting before entering the shooting in Japan. If that wasn’t possible, I don’t think we would’ve known what to do. Of course, the shooting in Japan did have parts where we were still finding our way, but the staff in Japan and in Korea discussed to align their opinions. It was complicated but we all enjoyed it, so it was very fun shooting.

SHUNYA: Usually, Jun-kun isn’t like an older brother at all, but he is the only hybrid human so he’s the only one who did the shooting both in Japan and Korea.

JUNE: I’m the only one who went to Korea to shoot, then came back to Japan to shoot again. I worked double (laughs).

SHUNYA: So Jun-kun monitored our shooting and gave us advice on how we should do it.

JUNE: I was told to give advice with what I had experienced in Korea, so I tried my best.

SHUNYA: It was very helpful!

HEECHO: The MV director is a really famous person and I like his works. We were blessed to have the opportunity of having them direct our MV and to be able to work with them, so I’m sure we were able to make something better than expected. It was a good thing we shot in Korea first. The members in Japan could look at our footage and learn. But we had pressure as well. If we didn’t do it properly, it would be bad if the shooting with the members in Japan turned out weird (laughs). We worked hard!

 ― Were there any striking scenes?

SHUNYA: Yoondong-san’s this, it was so cool (brushing up his hair with both hands). I learned that from you, for sure (laughs). What about we make a video of the bloopers?

JUNE: There’s a scene where Yoondong-kun is in the water and he comes out and we stare at each other, but when he brushed up his hair, his bangs were stuck on his forehead like a board (laughs) and he kept looking at me with a serious expression. I ended up laughing too, but the people behind the monitors ended up laughing first. I want to show that to everyone.

TOMO: It was so funny!

SHUNYA: How was the acting inside water?

YOONDONG: It was really hard to do. It was hard to hold my breath, but I held in for a good shooting.

HEECHO: I was the last one to shoot during the 2 days of shooting, but the glitter on me was the type you could only remove in the shower. So I went home with plastic all around me on the car (laughs).

SHUNYA: With glitter all over your body? (Laughs)

JUNE: He wore something like a raincoat and went home. But his home also ended up being full of glitter. He took a shower but there was still some left.

HEECHO: I took a shower for like 3 hours.

SHUNYA: Yugo’s scene must’ve been hard too.

YUGO: I rode a white horse.

TOMO: A real one. Not even a pony, but a super huge horse! His name was Kamui-kun, he was really cute.

YUGO: It was my first time riding a horse or touching a horse so the first time I saw it in front of me, I could only feel that it was big and scary. I was scared of touching at first but they said “please ride on it” (laughs). I was like, “you can’t tell me to do that out of nowhere!”

JUNE: But he still did it well.

TOMO: He looked really scared at first, and he would startle every time the horse moved and it was cute. Should we include those scenes in the bloopers?

SHUNYA: The horse was well-behaved too.

YUGO: We were able to shoot a good scene thanks to Kamui-kun.

― ― ―