Photo = MODHAUS

 

[Hanteo News = Reporter KANG SUYOUNG] ARTMS KIM LIP chose their sincere worldview as the reason the group receives high praise overseas.

 

ARTMS met with Hanteo News at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 6th, one day before their comeback, and talked about their 2nd mini album 'Hyper-Ego.' On this day, KIM LIP said, “I think the worldview and conceptual aspects may be what fans find fun, and I think they also like us a lot because our genres are diverse.”

 

ARTMS’ worldview continues from LOONA. KIM LIP explained, “In the case of the worldview, we had been very obsessed with it and loved it since LOONA, and I think it is also a point that fans really like,” adding, “In a way, we have been active for almost 10 years from LOONA until now, so rather than simply doing pretty music or formal music given to us by the company, I think we challenge ourselves a lot with conceptual things because we want to find fun elements within it.” She continued, “To be honest, rather than the worldview being set from the beginning, I think it was more about creating the story together with fans.” JINSOUL said, “When we first debuted, we debuted with solo songs, and even then, each of us had our own worldview planted in them,” adding, “From symbolic animals and symbolic colors to the music videos and lyrics of the solo songs, the worldview was included, and we tried to connect that from the solos to the units and now to ARTMS.” CHOERRY shared, “Fans really love this worldview and also really enjoy making theories about it, so I think we also try to unfold the worldview in a more fun way.”

 

Regarding the reason they continue the moon imagery, HEEJIN explained, “The group name ARTMS also carries a dual meaning,” adding, “It has the meaning of Artemis, the goddess of the moon from Greek and Roman mythology, and since LOONA was the English spelling of 이달의 소녀, we also referenced the actual name of NASA’s Artemis project, which travels to and from the lunar gateway, giving it the double meaning that LOONA can also go back and forth.”

 

They also talked about why their music receives high praise overseas. CHOERRY said, “Like perfume, I think people love the color of our ODD EYE CIRCLE, so maybe that is why they continue to love us even now.” KIM LIP added, “I do not think it sounds outdated even now,” and HEEJIN said, “I think it has a strong feeling of a luxurious perfume that remains in memory for a long time,” adding, “I would say it was an uncommon challenge at the time. I do not think there were many songs that led with an orchestral sound as the main element, but if you listen to ODD EYE CIRCLE’s 'Sweet Crazy Love,' I think it may have felt fresh to the public.” KIM LIP also shared, “This school uniform actually came up during a meeting,” adding, “What became symbolic for us during ODD EYE CIRCLE was the school uniforms in different colors, and even now, 10 years later, everyone still loves those uniforms and wears them as costumes. So someone suggested, ‘How about doing school uniforms again this time?’ and that is how it was born.”

 

They also talked about the main image each member thinks ARTMS has. KIM LIP said, “For us, it is healing,” adding, “In this 'Born Stunner,' there are people shooting bows, people holding swords, and various objects were used, but I thought healers might suit us best.” She continued, “There was such a good response to our previous 'Club Icarus,' and our fans even said, ‘I came to a club for the first time because of you.’ It seemed like there were many people who had been trapped like that, so with the purpose of bringing all those people out and healing together, they told us things like, ‘Thanks to you, I really got a lot better,’ and ‘I received a lot of positive energy.’ Whenever I hear that, I want to deliver good energy to even more people through music.”

 

There was a special reason they put 'Blue Blood' at the forefront of the concert name. HEEJIN said, “We have a system called Gravity, where fans vote within an app called Cosmo, and when there was a vote to decide the album concept, the one that came in first was 'Blue Blood,'” adding, “For the previous 'Club Icarus,' we had DJs and made a concert that fans could enjoy like a club. This time, I think there will also be many points to appreciate, and since ARTMS will be showing unit stages for the first time, I am looking forward to being able to show a new side.” Regarding the strength of ARTMS concerts, CHOERRY said, “The concept of our last concert was a club, which is not something commonly associated with idols, so fans found it fascinating and enjoyed it with deep immersion.” JINSOUL explained, “We also rearranged existing medium-tempo songs into EDM to suit the club, and since music does not stop at a club, we arranged the songs so that, as long as our stamina allowed, three songs would continue one after another.”

 

They also shared their thoughts on Artemis II, the space launch vehicle of the same name that recently set off toward the moon. KIM LIP drew laughter by saying, “Fans said things on Bubble like, ‘Lip, did you get there safely?’ and they also seemed to promote it in a fun way on SNS, so it was fascinating, and I even thought, ‘At this rate, do we really have to go to NASA?’”

 

ARTMS’ 2nd mini album 'Hyper-Ego' will be released today at 1 PM through various music sites.

 

grace@hanteo.com