Please tell us how you have been.
Recently I released my first EP called ‘MITO’.
Actually I’ve been too swamped with it so that’s the only thing I’ve been up to lately.
But now you are done with it.
So what did you do after that?
I started to work on the next project.
All you did was working on your next project?
Yes that’s the only thing I did.
This is DPR.
So boring but what else we can do?
It’s fun for me.
It was the same for me as well, right after I finished the promotion for my album ‘IS ANYBODY OUT THERE’,.
I think it goes same for all the members of DPR.
They tend to spend a lot of time in each of their studios.
Can we expect new music from DPR LIVE this year?
Are you ready to react if there is a new album coming out?
Yes I am!
How would you describe DPR to someone who knows nothing about DPR?
Our crew members are all very quiet.
And people think we are very mysterious.
There are a lot of people who are curious about us,
But there is not enough information out there even if they try to look up about us.
So to give you a brief explanation about us,
I think we are a group of very talented and creative people who want to express themselves in an artistic way.
Everybody has their own perspectives
Which are very strong and distinctive.
So we try to blend them together
And create something we can be proud of?
This can be a mixture of film, music, fashion, and whatever there is.
We stand for a movement.
We are a record label
And a film production.
The important thing is
That we are a perfectly independent label.
So it’s not like we have a big support from behind.
We do it all on our own.
But people think we get sponsored from behind because all our works have such a good quality.
There is no such thing and it’s just us grinding our bones to create an art.
How was it when you saw each other for the first time?
Where should we start?
Should I tell the whole story?
Yeah why not.
First, I am from Guam and Saipan.
YouTube was booming when I was a high school freshman.
And a friend of mine asked me,
‘Why don’t you try B-boying with me?’
He suddenly asked me that.
And it looked so cool.
I went home and searched for #Bboy on YouTube.
And most of the people in the thumbnails were
Lying on the ground.
But then I found one person standing up in the thumbnail.
I clicked on it out of curiosity.
And there was this one guy B-boying, not touching the ground for once.
He kept dancing above the ground.
And I was so fascinated by the video, and it was him.
That video was super hot on YouTube.
I practiced a lot watching that video
Is it called a DM?
We could send a message to others on YouTube.
So I sent him a message.
What did you say back then?
B-boying was a trend back then.
So I received a lot of messages
From people who wanted to learn B-boying.
He was one of them.
Actually I didn’t think much of him at that time.
He always sent me videos of him dancing,
‘Ah, he’s good’
It started with your empty compliments.
I was not lying.
He’s really good and he’s from Guam.
I did remember those two things.
And then
1-2 years later?
I happened to come to Korea.
We came to Korea around the same time.
I came to Korea but I didn’t know anybody and it was me alone.
And I happened to watch one of his dance videos.
Was it a parking lot?
I watched it and thought
‘I want to do something with him’
I was drawn by his energy.
So I immediately sent him a message.
I asked him if he was in Korea, and I gave him my number and asked him to call me right away.
And he was really startled.
Yeah I saw that message and it said
‘Call me right away my number is 010-xxxx-xxxx’
I thought ‘What is this?’
It was strange but I called him right away.
And we met in Myeongdong the day after.
And we have been hanging out together for almost everyday
Sharing each other’s favorite music and watching dance videos together
We used to say that ‘We will do something great together in the future’.
It’s amazing.
Have you ever had a fight?
Not even for once.
We never fight.
Haven’t you got disappointed with each other?
No not even for once.
Because
It’s like I am looking in the mirror.
It’s not like we have exactly the same personality.
But basically, we are similar to each other.
It’s weird that I say this but
We are both good people.
We don’t say anything harsh.
And we both know
What we are feeling right now.
We know each other so well So there’s no time to be upset with each other.
We rather have a lot more fun when we are together
Why do you get so different when you speak in Korean and in English?
I hear that a lot.
Why do you sound stupid when you are speaking in Korean?
I hear that every day.
I was born in Australia.
So English is my first language.
And I have to think twice when I am speaking in Korean.
So my voice gets high
When I am thinking while I am speaking.
How did you get to decide your stage name?
There was this lyric by a certain rapper that says
‘Everybody dies, but few people live’.
And it hit me hard.
It goes same for elders and for young people who don’t have any dream these days.
They are alive, but their soul is dead.
They don’t know what they want to do.
Looking back, I want to feel that I really lived my life.
That I did what I wanted to do with the people I wanted to be with.
I want to remind myself that
I did all I wanted to do and I really had fun.
LIVE originally meant ‘to live’, not ‘live’.
But it was too cheesy.
So my friends, Scott, Rem and Ian suggested me that
How about you go with ‘live’, not ‘to live’.
They said that your personality, and the music you are doing right now,
It’s very straightforward.
When you see a live broadcast, there’s a lot of mistakes, but there’s also a good side.
Everything gets out in the world as it is.
And I thought that really represents me.
So I named myself as ‘LIVE’.
So there’s a verse that goes ‘Coming To You Live’.
I have a lot of names.
From ROME to CHRSITIAN,
Shortened as IAN.
I think my name changes
as the stage of my life changes.
Ah back in the days?
Yeah, me back in the days.
So my name constantly changes.
What does music mean to you?
Something that reflects the moment.
For example, if my cup is full of waste,
That waste can come out as music.
If my cup is full of love, my music can be something about love.
Music is maybe
About emptying out, from the perspective of someone who creates it.
And the other way around, I think we get filled in, when we listen to music.
I think it goes like this for me.
And he would agree with me.
Yeah it’s an amazing tool for communication.
Gateway to getting to someone’s soul
Why do you give me this challenge…
When do you get an urge to make music?
I have so many things I want to express.
So it’s a habit of mine.
The moment I get an urge to make music
It’s different each time.
But I am constantly creating something.
How long does it take when you work on your music?
For me, I don’t usually plan
Or schedule it ahead.
It takes a day if there are a lot of things I want to express
Like the emotion that I had that moment.
When we first started off as DPR
It was only me who was doing music.
So there was a lot of pressure.
Because I think
great music comes out when you work without any pressure.
And it comes out even faster.
But when you have certain pressure, and deadline
It becomes a burden.
Back then, it was really hard for me.
It took so long to express what I have.
Now we have DPR Ian in our team.
And DPR Cream is also doing music.
So now I don’t have to take the pressure on my own.
And it really makes a difference.
It’s amazing.
How would you rate your talent out of possible 10?
There’s something I cannot do very well.
If I look at the downside, I think I am not good enough.
But if I look what I am good at, I think I am 10 out of 10.
I think I am 9.99 out of 10.
Because I think
I always lack 0.01%
And it makes me
unsatisfied
When you look at an art piece up close
There are some flaws here and there.
I think that’s the charm.
As it is.
I think that makes it more perfect.
Sometimes you have to let go.
But I can’t do it because that’s who I am.
I am not sure. You guys tell me.
I don’t think if it is okay to say
9.99 or 10 by ourselves.
What color do you think best expresses your songs?
Rainbow!
Did you guys discuss it ahead?
No way!
It’s hard to define us in one color.
What’s your favorite song from each other’s album?
It’s hard to pick just one.
Because we like each other’s songs
A lot.
Then I would pick Right this moment.
What’s the reason?
Because I love the lyrics.
And you told me what you imagined in your head.
It seemed like it means so much to you.
And I could see that as someone who knows you.
It’s because I know what it means.
There’s no official music video for
But it means a lot because I can imagine.
I think I like that song.
For me, it’s .
It was the first track of ‘IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?’
And it feels like it’s your starting point.
Personally it touches my heart because I know you.
And the song itself is really great. It was good when I imagined about it.
What’s your favorite lyric from your own songs?
don’t get it too twisted man keep doing you, so I can do me
There is a line like this.
It’s something I say before I jump off
From .
It represents my attitude.
The moment I say ‘keep doing you, so I can do me’
To those artists who feel like they are not that creative,
‘Do not let others force you what they want’
And jump off without any hesitation
It felt like a switch was turned on.
I think it really well represents my attitude these days.
For me, from
I got too close and now I’m burning (burning down)
There’s a lyric like this.
There is a character called Icarus. In Greek mythology.
He flew too close to the sun.
So his wings melt and he tumbles out of the sky.
I resonated with the character.
It’s the last song of ‘MITO’.
So in order, the character lost all his abilities
And came back as a normal human being.
I could paint the picture and resonate with the lyrics.
So I liked it.
What was the best advice or compliment you have ever heard in your life?
It’s always exciting to hear compliments from my fans.
Because I do music for my fans.
But personally, it was
‘I heard that you are a very loyal friend’
I take very high proud in the word ‘loyal’.
I love someone who keeps their faith
And I also try to be loyal.
So it’s always so good to hear that I am loyal.
I’m glad that they noticed
He has more then his looks.
People often tell me that
I look like someone who loves to have fun.
But I want people to call me talented, regardless of how I look.
Do you have any unique habit of your own?
I am sorry. It’s not it.
Please cut it.
It’s one of his habits
Which he got playing with his puppy.
Do you want us to edit this out?
No please don’t.
When I sleep next to him
I get this a lot, actually.
He suddenly talks in his sleep.
It really feels like he is awake.
There are a lot of times that I talked to you.
I didn’t think he was sleeping, because he was sitting down with his eyes open.
When I came home late.
So I talked to him how my day went that day.
And he seemed like he’s having a reaction.
But then he was sleeping.
And I laid him down.
I used to sleepwalk a lot when I was little.
It was really hot in Guam.
So when I woke up,
I found myself putting my head in the fridge.
But now I got a lot better.
I don’t do that anymore.
No more.
How do you relieve your stress?
I don’t play games that much.
But I do play mobile games.
I started ‘Kart Rider’ recently.
He goes like this when playing Kart Rider.
I hope they release a ‘MITO’ character in Kart Rider.
I hope Nexen is watching this video.
I like cooking as well.
He’s really good.
Am I? It’s good to hear that.
For me, I try to start new things.
There are a lot of good one-day classes these days.
Like pottery
Or drawing
Or taking photos
It’s very refreshing
Because it feels like new beginning.
What food do you get delivered the most? Any recommendations?
Delivery foods are really good.
They are the best.
I’ve been recently enjoying
Gochubasasak by Gubne Chicken.
It’s so good. Please try it for once.
Or Yeoptteok.
When was the happiest moment you remember recently?
The day when your album got released.
That day.
We always gather together
When somebody’s album comes out.
For you, is it a Kart Rider?
For me, it’s a Kart Rider.
It was so happy
When I was playing Kart Rider lying on my bed alone
After my album was all released.
What does DPR mean to you in one word?
One two three, family!
Aye~
It’s family for me, but I also think DPR is
The reason.
The reason I have to do something,
And the reason I need to prove myself to people.
Many reasons constantly come up.
When was the happiest moment with DPR?
World tour.
There was this moment we all went up on stage.
It was so much fun.
It was shocking
That that many people came to see our performance
Is there any goal you want to achieve with the members of DPR?
It’s a label we made with friends.
And we came this far.
We wanted to deliver a message that
‘You can do anything if you really want it’
There’s nothing you can’t do.
We really wanted to tell that
You don’t have to be on
Or to achieve your dream.
There are other ways to do
Whatever you want.
You can try if you want to follow that road.
But there are many different ways to achieve your dream.
And to add on that,
We have this desire to create our own artistic universe.
Because if you see , there are many different characters
With each of their own universe, and sometimes they meet together and create something fun.
Ian and I are very excited about
Creating our own universe
And all our ideas come out from that root.
For all new and existing artists.
Can we expect any new project this year?
I’ve been preparing a lot.
After ‘IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?’
That somehow helped me come out of my slump.
It was non-stop after that.
I kept working on and on.
He evolved.
There are so many things I want to show to people
I am thinking how I should present it.
I have a lot as well.
With this album
People loved it more than I expected,
So I started to work on the next project right away.
There will be a lot of surprises
Coming from DPR.
So I am also excited to see
The things that will be released.
This can be something else besides music.
And we think it’s our charm
It has been a while since we talked with our fans.
We had so much fun
Talking about what we wanted to share.
Because we are preparing a lot of things
Please wait for it.
Thank you always.