The Passion for Applause
The exclusive interview of "Four Seasons of Korea" magazine with the music group of Poet
-Narjes Gharavi-
The Korea national day ceremony was honored to host four magnificent artists with golden larynxes, whose resounding voices mesmerized the audience during their performance. Four artists, with a completely different musical style than the known Korean music, K-pop. Them, as a group that have had more than 200 performances all around the world since 2013 and have won the National Culture and Arts Award of South Kora for two consecutive years; this time rocked all audiences on the consecutive peak stages of their songs in Tehran, capital of Iran. In the following article, you will be able to read our exclusive interview with the leading musicians of "Poet" and get to know them better.
“the delight and passion we have for experiencing the moment of applause is a great feeling for us, therefore we gathered as Poet in order to repeat this moment many times by performing our own songs.”
• First, in consideration of your time, please introduce yourself to our audience.
We are Poet. Our present members are Song SeungHoon, Kim YongSung, Roheon - Mangne (youngest member) - and Hwang HoJung- the leader of poet-.
• What made you form Poet? Would you tell us about the story behind the formation of the group and the motivation of yours to form Poet?
Well, back in 2013, we were performing a musical theater where the group poet was formed from the actors of it Singing on stage and the Golden moments of applause by the audience then, became our inspiration to form a musical group. You know, the delight and passion we have for experiencing the moment of applause is a great feeling for us, therefore we gathered as Poet in order to repeat this moment many times by performing our own songs. When we formed Poet, popera(팝페라) was almost an unknown type of music in Korea, so we can say that we also wanted to perform uniquely.
• Your group has a motto by which you introduce yourselves; "With a heart like a poet." What is the meaning behind it?
Just as you know, our group is called "poet", as a matter of fact music for us is not just singing. We would like to convey a meaning to the listener that evokes their thoughts and feelings similar to the time when a person reads a profound poem. That sentence is rooted in this point of view of ours and we try to sing profoundly with hearts like poets.
• Among the songs you performed tonight, we got to hear some non-Korean tracks as well, such as "Le Temps Des Cathédrales". Please tell us about how you chose the songs you covered? Are the Korean lyrics of these songs written by poet members?
Popera style is a combination of pop and opera, hence we combine these two styles in our songs. Following the pop style, we consider the general music taste of people, and then we add a bit of spice by giving a classical vibe to the pop songs in our performances. We were informed that quests of different nationalities would be present at the ceremony. Therefore, we tried to choose the songs that have become popular globally and also match our style of music with them. At the same time, in the position of Korean artists, we translated the lyrics of these songs into Korean so that the performance also preserves the cultural image of Korea. And yes, we have spent a lot of time and energy on these pieces ourselves. In addition, it should be mentioned that we have released other original pieces and Poet has released four original albums until this day.
"Our experience of traveling to Iran is summed up in the kindness of its people. The warm attitude of Iranian people is truly valuable for us as it gives us a good feeling“
• This is your first trip to Iran. How has your experience of traveling to Iran been so far?
What a good question. Our experience of traveling to Iran is summed up in the kindness of its people. It is interesting that even when we were in the car, the hospitality of the people was obvious to us and even the taxi drivers waved at us. The warm attitude of Iranian people is truly valuable for us as it gives us a good feeling. We were also very curious about Iranian food and have tried the Iranian kebab which was delicious.
• Finally, is there anything you would like to share with our audience?
We are very grateful for the good reception of the popera music and our performance, as well as the interest of Iranians in Korean artists. We hope to travel to Iran sometime again in the future, perform and create even more memorable memories.
The distance of the opera style from classical music halls and its combination with popular pop music seems to have given new life to this old music. At the same time, the pop music of Korea has created modern approach to this music and has successfully reformed it to a unique cultural symbol of the country. It is truly inspiring how South Korea cares about its cultural symbols.
Finally, like the professional poet members of this music group, we hope that in the not so distant future, Poet and their magical voices come back to a stage in Iran and this time, more people would have the chance to watch their unforgettable performance.
• Finally, is there anything you would like to share with our audience?
We are very grateful for the good reception of the poperamusic and our performance, as well as the interest of Iranians in Korean artists. We hope to travel to Iran sometime again in the future, perform and create even more memorable memories.
The distance of the opera style from classical music halls and its combination with popular pop music seems to have given new life to this old music. At the same time, the pop music of Korea has created modern approach to thismusic and has successfully reformed it to a unique cultural symbol of the country. It is truly inspiring how South Korea cares about its cultural symbols.
Finally, like the professional poet members of this music group, we hope that in the not so distant future, Poet and their magical voices come back to a stage in Iran and this time, more people would have the chance to watch their unforgettable performance.
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