For the latest instalment of NME’s In Conversation series, K-pop boyband NCT 127 share the stories behind their new album ‘Fact Check’, discuss what it means to be limitless and more.
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00:00 In fact check there is the line, "I am the art, hang me in the Louvre."
00:03 What kind of moment from NCT 127's story so far do you think is deserving of a spot in the Louvre?
00:10 Well, I just want to say that's my part.
00:12 So thanks for bringing that up.
00:14 You're welcome.
00:15 Hi, I'm Rianne Daly and I'm joined by NCT 127 for the latest in ENEMY's In Conversation video series.
00:29 Hi guys, how are you?
00:30 You just released your latest album, Fact Check.
00:35 With the title track, you've made a big comeback.
00:39 What were your first impressions of that song when you first heard it?
00:42 We had a few options.
00:44 And when we heard the song Fact Check, we thought, "Oh, this is a song we should do."
00:52 Because it's a song that we will probably be able to perform really well.
00:57 Because the song itself is very... it has Afro beats, so it has a lot of energy.
01:03 And the people watching, we knew, would have a lot of fun listening to it as well.
01:07 It's very confident and it's kind of almost confrontational in its attitude.
01:11 When you were going in to record it,
01:12 how did you get yourselves into that kind of mind zone to portray that energy?
01:16 Well, we always have confidence while going into the recording booth.
01:22 But this time, the beat itself too, it gives you those vibes.
01:28 And also listening to our members' chants or stuff,
01:32 or our ad-libs, they all gave the confident energy.
01:37 The song also contains the idea of being limitless,
01:40 which is something that comes up a few times in your back cast log.
01:43 How does the idea of limitlessness motivate you or help keep pushing you forward?
01:49 Well, I think when it comes to the concept of being limitless,
01:55 it kind of goes back to how we first originated.
01:59 And it really stems... I mean, it's kind of in our roots.
02:04 I think NCT, like the brand itself, was always aiming for being...
02:08 for having infinite possibilities and being basically limitless.
02:13 And so I think that term really suits our music and our concepts very well.
02:20 And I think we're still striving for that.
02:22 Because whether it be our style, aesthetics, or just our music or performance,
02:29 we're always kind of pushing forward and forward and broadening our boundaries.
02:34 So yeah, we're limitless.
02:37 Do you feel like that concept gives you more freedom as a group than if you didn't have that?
02:41 If you have more freedom, then you have more responsibility.
02:44 So I think that also relates to the limitless thing.
02:48 Because we do feel limitless, but that also follows more strict stuff.
02:58 So we are limitless, but it also has lots of responsibilities to it.
03:02 What would you say some of those responsibilities are then?
03:06 Not getting wrong on the number while performing.
03:09 So you might be one and a half.
03:12 We all have our positions while dancing,
03:16 but you shouldn't get it wrong because we have lots of good performances.
03:21 In Fact Check, there is the line, "I am the art, hang me in the Louvre."
03:25 What kind of moment from NCT 127's story so far do you think is deserving of a spot in the Louvre?
03:31 And why?
03:32 Well, I just want to say that's my part.
03:34 So thanks for bringing that up.
03:37 You're welcome.
03:38 Well, I would have to say the beginning.
03:44 Limitless, when we first showed ourselves to the world as a limitless concept.
03:50 The song "Limitless" by NCT 127 would be the song, the art to put in the Louvre.
03:57 One of my personal favorite songs on the album so far is "Love is a Beauty."
04:01 The Korean title, "Pyorehsi," translates as star poetry or stars poetry,
04:09 which sounds very romantic.
04:11 But I believe the song is actually about your experiences as a group.
04:14 How does that Korean title kind of relate to the stories that you're telling in that song?
04:17 We really like the lyrics of "Pyorehsi."
04:21 When you look at the lyrics, there are parts that are about the nine of us.
04:28 The part about the nine bright lights.
04:31 It kind of feels like we've become stars.
04:35 I don't know if Taeil-hyung intended it, but it kind of feels like that.
04:40 And when the fans look at us, they look at us like they're looking at the stars.
04:50 The songs we sing feel like a gift for the fans.
04:55 I really like the lyrics of "Pyorehsi" in that sense.
05:01 Mark and Taeyong, you worked with Taeil in the writing of this song.
05:05 What were your kind of inspirations or intentions behind "Love is a Beauty"?
05:10 Well, for me, I didn't really discuss.
05:15 All right, let's start with Taeil.
05:17 About how I pictured our members, the nine of us, to be stars.
05:23 I didn't really get that idea.
05:24 I guess we each had our own different interpretations.
05:27 So for me, I feel like the title of the song really just
05:31 mapped out how I should kind of write this.
05:34 "Love is a Beauty."
05:35 And how do I think of it as beautiful?
05:40 And I realized that love does not really come easy, but loving you is easy for me.
05:45 And that was what I thought was beautiful.
05:47 And that's how I wrote my part.
05:49 Yeah.
05:50 Taeil, how about you?
05:51 For me, I actually don't know about love.
05:56 But when I grew up in my team and when I saw our fans and citizens,
06:05 and that time I learned a lot of something kind of love.
06:10 So I want to add to that kind of emotion in the lyrics.
06:19 So I really a lot repeat, "I love you, I love you, I love you."
06:25 It's like that.
06:26 So yeah, that's my inspiration.
06:29 Mark, with what you were just saying about how you didn't discuss with Taeil
06:33 the ideas that you have for the song,
06:34 is that kind of how it usually works for you guys when you're working on lyrics together?
06:38 There are times where we do discuss it.
06:42 But I just remember I was on tour for NCT Dream when they gave me the song,
06:50 when they gave me which part to write.
06:52 And that was when Taeil's version of the song already came out.
06:56 We were supposed to write the remaining blanks.
06:58 And so I was on tour and I think he was in Korea.
07:02 And we were just texting each other about, "All right, I'm gonna write like this and this."
07:05 I think it's different for every song,
07:07 but usually we don't really get to be in one room and to discuss it like every time.
07:13 So I think we kind of got used to it too.
07:15 Mark and Taeil also worked on "Misty."
07:18 Can you tell me how that song came about?
07:20 It's also a type of love.
07:25 I think it's one of the types of love.
07:27 It's a feeling of parting.
07:29 If the other person passes by like a shower,
07:34 I think I wrote a lot thinking about what the feeling would be like.
07:39 But I think I wrote it a little bit sentimental
07:47 because it's a song that's about a person's feelings.
07:50 I think I just...
07:52 The only thing I remember was I really enjoyed writing that part
07:57 because "Misty" came to me at a time where I was kind of feeling misty.
08:04 Like I think I was getting treatment on my back when I heard it.
08:11 And I was lying down and I'm like...
08:13 And I'm pretty sure it rained that day too at that time.
08:17 And it just felt like this was a song I kind of needed.
08:21 And I was glad I got to write, like co-write it.
08:25 So another favorite of mine from the album is "Je ne sais quoi."
08:28 That's the line in that which is "We got the source."
08:31 What would you say is 127's source?
08:35 What does each of the members bring to it to make the source of 127?
08:40 I mean, you could say that NCT 127 is kind of like a full course meal
08:47 because each member brings something else to the table.
08:50 And I think that's what makes a team a team.
08:54 And each one of us really has a different story, a different background.
08:58 A different thing that they do bring to the table.
09:01 Like, I mean, I'm not going to give an example, but like...
09:05 I'm more of a ranch.
09:06 But are you?
09:09 I... Like there are hot sauces, there are ranches.
09:14 But like, actually how every member is so different
09:18 makes NCT 127 so special in my opinion.
09:22 And we have what everyone, like every...
09:25 We can fit everyone's, you know, taste to it.
09:28 Because we have that many different sauces.
09:31 Like, for example, each...
09:34 I think each member has a different taste in music.
09:37 Like each and everyone likes different types of music.
09:41 But in the end, we do make one song together.
09:43 And that just brings a bunch of genres together to make NCT 127.
09:48 I'm sure you guys put a lot into this album.
09:51 What would you say are kind of your favorite moments
09:53 from either recording or writing or filming the video?
09:57 Anything else that you've done in preparation for this comeback?
10:00 Personally, I remember when we filmed the teaser.
10:07 Each member had a different concept.
10:12 And the fans really liked it.
10:15 I was really curious about how it would turn out.
10:19 But I really liked that it was a teaser that really got everyone's hopes up.
10:24 And I thought the little puppy we filmed together was really cute.
10:29 Honestly, I wasn't really preparing for the 127 album.
10:38 We were really working hard until the holidays.
10:44 And DOYOUNG, JOHNNY, MARK, and HAECHAN told us to come out for a bit.
10:51 And we went to eat some gopdoritang.
10:56 I didn't know we'd be on camera.
11:01 But honestly, we had a chance to hear from each member
11:05 about their future visions,
11:08 the path they want to take,
11:10 or what they're thinking about.
11:18 I was really touched.
11:23 And I felt like we became even closer.
11:29 I remember the music video.
11:32 We filmed the group dance scene on a bridge in Incheon.
11:39 I still remember that scene.
11:41 I think that was really impressive.
11:45 It was really cool.
11:47 When you guys are starting to work on a new album,
11:49 do you go back and look at your last release to evaluate
11:52 the things that you did well and what you want to work on and improve?
11:56 And if you do, what were your conclusions from 2BADDIES and AO
12:00 that you brought into Fact Check?
12:02 One thing that I remember, this is just a detailed part.
12:07 For example, we had a song called "YoonSeul" in the 2BADDIES album.
12:16 For a second, I questioned myself.
12:18 But we were like, "Oh, I think it sounded so good when we did it at a concert."
12:23 And we were like, "I think we should have another song like 'YoonSeul'."
12:27 I think that kind of made "Love Is A Beauty" for this album.
12:31 And stuff like that, we really do evaluate, we reflect on what we had.
12:34 Not even just the previous album,
12:37 but even to the "Sticker" albums and to the "Kick It" album.
12:45 And I remember even in the car with Johnny,
12:48 after we finished our recording, we kind of compared together.
12:53 And we were like, "Oh, this one's good. This one's kind of similar to that."
12:58 I think it's an ongoing process.
13:01 How do you think Fact Check compares to previous albums that you've put out?
13:05 I think each time we come out with an album,
13:12 we get to perform it and then we realize what this song feels like to perform.
13:21 And I think each time we make a new album,
13:25 we think about what kind of song will look really good in a concert.
13:31 So each time we make an album, it just gets better and better.
13:34 And that just means that this album will probably be the best one we have yet.
13:40 Musically, what were you looking for inspiration in terms of the performance aspects,
13:47 the writing, the energy of the performance and the recording?
13:50 When we were recording Fact Check, Young Chance was the director.
13:58 He wrote the song for us.
13:59 So I think we talked a lot with him and made each detail.
14:06 And this time, I think I got a lot of inspiration from Young Chance.
14:10 And actually, it's not that we got inspiration from anyone.
14:14 We filmed the music video all over Seoul.
14:19 As much as we wanted to spread out based on Seoul,
14:26 we tried to put a lot of Korean vibes into the overall concept of the music video.
14:31 We tried on traditional Korean clothes.
14:36 As much as we're a Seoul team,
14:38 we tried to express a lot of traditional Korean things.
14:45 In case you didn't know, the 127 is the longitude of Seoul.
14:50 I think that's just forever in our identities as a team.
14:56 But I think it's kind of like with Limitless.
15:02 It always just links with our music because it's part of our core.
15:06 And so whenever we want to express something that has Korean aspects
15:10 or just that traditional vibe,
15:13 it's never been a stranger to us.
15:15 It's always been pretty natural.
15:17 And we were like, "Yeah, this is something that we should do and we can't do."
15:20 And this is one of those cases.
15:23 I feel like NCT is kind of very future-facing.
15:25 How do you feel about merging the traditional and the future side of things?
15:29 The music video is futuristic, but the concept is very limited.
15:33 It's kind of like...
15:36 It's fresh and old.
15:42 I think we were able to express that a lot
15:46 through our outfits and how we filmed.
15:51 I think it came out well.
15:53 As well as working as a group as 127,
15:55 you also often work on your own study material
15:58 or with different units within the NCT collective.
16:01 How does having that space to work either by yourself
16:04 or with other members of NCT
16:06 kind of impact what you do together as 127?
16:10 To be honest,
16:15 I think we've been showing a lot of things
16:21 that 127 has been able to show since our last album.
16:24 So if we have a next album,
16:28 I think it would be very NCT 127-like
16:32 if we filled it with songs that the members made
16:36 and that NCT 127 has been able to show.
16:40 So your group always seems to be doing something new.
16:44 And I think you've said before that NCT means
16:46 always working with what's still to come.
16:49 How do you make sure they are always moving forward with your music
16:52 and pushing ahead, pushing boundaries?
16:55 For this album, I just looked back and I realized...
16:58 You know, and I just want to say this.
17:01 It's not just about us.
17:02 We have multiple meetings with our A&R and our management.
17:05 During those meetings, even for this "Fact Check" album,
17:08 we had, and like what Johnny said,
17:10 we had various options for the title track.
17:13 And the title track is...
17:15 Everything orbits around that title track.
17:17 And so this decision has always been the most important.
17:20 And so while we were deciding on which track to use,
17:23 I think it really got divided because we were like,
17:27 "Should we do something that's easy to be commercialized
17:31 or should we do something that's very futuristic?"
17:34 I think in that meeting or in those type of meetings,
17:36 we really kind of really set our mindset to be on the same page.
17:41 And during those meetings, we really realized,
17:43 "Oh, NCT 127 has always done something very new
17:46 but experimental at the same time."
17:48 But all of those styles were still NCT 127.
17:50 And that's where we kind of find that balance, I think.
17:53 And so I think those meetings is where we really kind of...
17:58 - Measure? - Yeah.
18:00 I think those...
18:00 To me, I feel like those meetings play a very important role
18:05 into the direction we're going to go to.
18:07 One of the exciting things about NCT 127
18:10 is how you have this experimental side to you,
18:12 but you've also become so big.
18:15 And last year, you headlined the Olympic Stadium here twice.
18:18 What were your memories of those shows, first of all?
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19:19 When the concert go to the end,
19:21 I saw Doyoung's crying far away.
19:24 So I thought the memory is really...
19:28 It's really important to me in that time.
19:32 So I felt that.
19:33 So I want to protect them, my team, 127 things, all the things.
19:40 So I really proud our team too.
19:43 Yeah.
19:43 You celebrated your seventh anniversary together earlier this year.
19:47 How would you say that 127 has evolved as a group and where do you want to go next?
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20:38 I'm very excited to see where you guys go next.
20:40 Thank you so much for talking to me today.
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