TOMORROW X TOGETHER get honest about new era: 'There’s no other team quite like ours' — AP interview

[0:00] Hey, Liam! [0:02] Oh, boys, let's go! [0:04] Hi, guys! [0:05] Oh, man, it's been a while. Well, not for Taehyun. I saw him the other day. [0:09] I heard it. [0:11] We had a great time together. It was nice to see him. [0:13] But, you know, the rest of you, it's nice to see your faces. [0:16] How are you? You guys? Well? [0:17] Yeah, we're good. [0:18] Oh, did you cut your hair? [0:20] No, I just have it tied up. [0:23] Oh, I see. [0:25] I'm sorry for tricking you. [0:27] I don't think it's okay. [0:29] I had to get up early, so I had no time to make the curls flow this morning. [0:33] So it's, you know, it's still there, don't worry. [0:35] Awesome. But it looks great. It's great. [0:37] I'm so excited about this album. I've listened to it, and I loved it. [0:41] Seventh year, a moment of stillness in the thorns. [0:44] You know, this era represents starting from scratch. [0:49] Was it refreshing to be able to do that? [0:51] Was it nice to, as I say, start from scratch and tell a new story? [0:56] Well, honestly, although, it's a new challenge for us, [1:00] we've been getting plans for seven months. [1:02] We've been getting ready to the first song for a new one. [1:04] We're starting to finish the next episode. [1:06] So, we're trying to have a new song for the next season, [1:08] before we started. [1:10] We're really thinking about the first time. [1:12] We have a lot of questions that we can do with the next album. [1:15] It's called the album called the album after the 8th anniversary of the year. [1:30] Right. Absolutely. You touched on a lot of points I want to talk about there. [1:33] You know, when you renew a contract like that, I mean, that's a big decision, right? [1:39] And that would invoke a lot of thoughts, a lot of feelings, a lot of thoughts about how you want to move forward. [1:46] Now that I guess you have resigned and, you know, you're together and you're committed to that, [1:52] how does that, I guess, impact the direction you want to take things? [1:55] Talk to me about those internal conversations that you had of, [1:59] OK, this is what we want TXT to sound like for this new era, this new chapter. [2:04] I think the difference between our last albums and this album is we used persona, like five boys, growing up five boys. [2:15] But in this album, it's just us, so it can be more honest and personal stories. [2:22] So it's different, but kind of fun. [2:29] Yeah, as you say, different and, but it still has that TXT sound to it. [2:35] It still has the DNA of Tomorrow By Together in the music. [2:39] But you are taking any direction, which I think is great for the seventh year. [2:44] You know, we've spoken about kind of authenticity of it, right? [2:47] And, you know, moving on from the youth and into this new world that you're living in. [2:55] Do you feel like sometimes, or how do you, I guess, make sure that authenticity doesn't feel like a performance in itself, if that makes sense? [3:04] So it was really difficult for me to think about it. [3:07] Because it was a bit difficult for me to think about five boys, when we think about it, [3:11] we could have a little bit more fun, or a little bit more fun, or a little bit more fun, or a little bit more fun. [3:19] It was a little bit of our interview with our album, so we had a lot of questions about it. [3:24] So we had a lot of questions about it. [3:26] I really had a lot of questions about it, too. [3:45] Good. Well answered. [3:47] And I mean, you talk about the anxiety, track four, [3:50] so what? [3:51] It's literally about the uncertainty about the future, right? [3:55] And those feelings, I guess, for you personally, that you've experienced over the last seven years, you know, some of the lyrics, so what if they love it or hate it, so what if it betrays me, you know, that is a raw look into the mind of a K-pop idol, right? [4:13] You know, you are really putting yourself out there in this way, and I'm glad that you were speaking about it in this way because it's not all fun, you know, it looks like fun all the time, but it's not always fun. [4:24] And I appreciate that you're talking about this. You know, talk to me a bit about, I guess, finding that fine line and walking that fine line of, you know, what you want to express versus what you don't want to express. [4:38] How do you know when you've kind of found that happy balance? [4:41] Er... 일단, 삶에서라고 생각을 하면, 그런 말 못하지 못하는 고민들의, 대외적으로 말 못하지 못하는 고민들에 대한 어떤 충족은, 사실 멤버들 서로가 되게 채워주는 거 같아요. [4:55] I think it's not very tastefully and yeah you don't want to shock more you don't want to alienate I guess the people that have been there for all this time you know [5:29] the album title as I say is called a moment of stillness in the thorns from the outsider's point of view your life isn't still you're moving all of the time you're constantly doing things some of the busiest guys I've ever seen in my life what does stillness mean to you in a world that seems to never stop moving [5:50] um 제가 느꼈을 때는 사실 점점 이렇게 어 재계약 전에 끝이 보인다는 게 저한테 그런 불확실한 미래가 되게 불안했고 또 그 감정을 가시라고 느꼈었는데 어 지금 재계약도 했고 좀 더 우리 멤버들과 모아 분들과 함께 걸어갈 미래를 약속한 지금이 좀 그 가시덤불의 바람이 잠시 멈췄을 때라고 생각합니다 [6:18] 사실 그리고 정말 늘 저희는 바빠 보였지만은 그 언제나 저희는 다음에 이야기가 대략적으로 정해져 있었기 때문에 그런 거에 대해서 빨리빨리 작업을 할 수가 있었거든요 [6:31] 이 활동을 하고 있는 와중에 늘 다음 걸 제작을 하고 있었는데 이번에 처음으로 브리프 스트레인저스 활동을 할 때 아직 이 앨범에 대한 게 나오지 않았을 때여서 [6:41] 그 사이에 텀동안 뭔가 다시 한번 멈춰서서 우리가 하고 싶은 이야기는 뭔지 앞으로 뭘 해야 할지 이런 고민들을 할 수 있었던 시간이 잠시 존재했던 것 같아요 [6:50] 물론 그 시간에도 투어는 하고 있었지만 [6:53] Well answered, both of you. I'm glad that you were able to take that time and I think that's reflected in the music. You know, what did that time give you, I guess? You know, being able to breathe, being able to travel, being able to go do your own things, solo stuff, and then come back together as a group. What did all of those pieces of the puzzle bring when you came back together? [7:17] 저는 이번에 이 앨범을 준비하는 시간 속에서 어쨌든 준비도 하고 또 동시에 저희는 일주일 정도 쉬는 시간도 가지고 그때 무리함도 만나고 했지만 [7:27] 근데 그러고 나서 다시 만났을 때 저는 들었던 모든 걸 거치고 다시 돌아왔을 때 들었던 생각을 그냥 팀의 소중함을 한 번 더 느꼈던 것 같아요 [7:35] 사실 저도 뭔가 이 Tomorrow by Together라는 팀 명도 그렇고 팀이 처음에는 그냥 그저 그렇다고 느껴졌는데 [7:45] 시간이 지나면 지날수록 뭔가 더욱 더 소중하게 느껴지는 것 같아요 [7:50] 멤버들의 성장하는 과정도 보기도 하고 [7:53] 이것저것 다 겪어보니까 이 팀만 한 팀이 없는 것 같아요 [7:57] That's lovely. I mean, I think it's evident, having been there, I've seen you from the very beginning to this moment, that evolution, that change, and I'm so happy to hear as a fan as well, that [8:15] your heart is still in this. That's really nice to hear. [8:21] You know, another thing that I think has been important for TXT since the very beginning is every album not sounding the same. [8:31] Every era having a different vibe, a different energy. [8:34] You, out of a lot of the K-pop groups, one of the ones that are very innovative in terms of genre shifting, right? [8:40] You jump about in terms of the genres. How does that discussion start in terms of the direction, sonically, that you want to take things? [8:50] Do you guys, you know, get together and have a brainstorm? [8:52] Oh, we haven't done this. Let's try this and this. And talk to me about those initial discussions. [8:56] I think it's a lot of people who want to talk about tomorrow by together. I think it's a lot of people who want to talk about tomorrow by together. [9:02] Right, exactly. And I mean, thank goodness, because as I say, not every album sounds different. It all has different energy. I mean, this new album, even on the same albums, things sound different, but somehow they sound cohesive, which is a credit to you guys and the songwriters. [9:20] Do you feel like you trust your instincts now more than ever? Like, do you trust kind of, you know, you kind of get into it in the album a little bit, but do you trust kind of yourselves, musically, more than ever? [9:35] 그래도 뭔가 사실 초반보다는 초반에 사실 좀 미숙한 부분이 많기도 하고 뭔가 경험이 많이 없다 보니까 부족한 면모가 좀 없지 않아 있었는데 이게 뭐 음악을 계속하다 작업하기도 하고 뭔가 앨범을 내면서 저희도 좀 음악적으로 좀 영감을 잘 받기도 하고 뭔가 조금 더 몰입하면서 작업을 할 수 있게 된 것 같아요. [10:02] 저는 좀 반대인 것 같은 게 이렇게 활동을 해보고 나니까 제가 like한다고 무조건 굿인 것도 아니고 제가 dislike한다고 해서 무조건 배드인 것도 아니기다 보니까 [10:15] 저는 자신이 있었는데 그만한 반응이 안 올 때도 있고 저는 그만큼의 기대는 없었는데 더 뜨거운 반응이 있을 때도 있고 이래서 사실 진짜 되게 나와봐야 아는 것 같아요. [10:25] 그래서 늘 그 직전이 가장 긴장되고 설레고 그런 것 같아요. 지금도 똑같습니다. [10:29] 감사합니다. [10:30] It's good to be nervous. [10:31] It means that you care, right? [10:33] You care about what you're putting into this world. [10:35] But I also, you know, appreciate the fact that you're doing it for you. [10:40] You know, yes, you're nervous, you know, people are going to resonate with this, but you're doing it because it's honest to you. [10:46] And I think that's really important. You know, I keep reading the album title, 7th year, a moment of stillness and the thorns. I can't believe it's been 7 years. Does it feel like 7 years to you? I don't know if it does. [11:02] Yes. [11:03] Ah, 저희도... [11:31] I've done a lot of work, but I don't believe in the past because of the past. [11:40] I think that Liam has been teaching a lot of work, so I think it's a lot of work. [11:47] Absolutely mind-blowing. [11:50] But then at the same time, you look at the musical output, it's there. [11:54] There's seven years worth of music there, there's seven years worth of growth. [12:00] Even in the choreography, it just keeps getting more and more complex, visually more and more [12:06] interesting. [12:08] It's really rewarding to see, and I mean, seeing things like you do go from little theatres [12:15] to arenas to stadiums to Lollapalooza, it's incredible, guys, what can be done in seven [12:24] years. [12:25] So congratulations to you. [12:28] What do you want fans to know about this era of Tomorrow by Together as you enter this [12:36] moment? [12:37] I want to wait for tomorrow by together, but I want to wait for more and more. [12:42] I hope you've been waiting for tomorrow by together. [12:47] I just want to experience tomorrow by together, and I want to experience new things to [12:53] people. [12:55] Are you already thinking about how this album will translate live? [12:59] Yeah, sure. [13:01] I think I've had a lot of thinking about how to do it, and I have a lot of [13:04] worry about it. [13:06] I can't wait to see how it comes together. [13:09] I can't wait to see how it comes together. [13:10] Thank you. [13:11] I really am looking forward to it. [13:13] Guys, it is a really amazing new journey that you guys are embarking on. [13:19] I think fans will be stoked with it, and I can't wait to we can do this in person. [13:23] I appreciate you so much. [13:24] Thank you, boys. [13:25] Thank you. [13:26] Nice to meet you. [13:27] Love you so much. [13:28] Thank you, guys. [13:29] Go get some sleep. [13:30] I know it's been a long day. [13:31] Thank you. [13:32] Have a good day. [13:33] Have a good day. [13:34] Love you so much. [13:35] Thank you.