INTERVIEW W/ YOUNG HENRY
ZL: What inspired you to choose the name, “Octagon,” as the album’s title?
YH: I had a dream about me and this girl that only lasted eight seconds which made me really happy. It’s just symbolizing my own longing and desire for love I guess, as cheesy as that is. And specifically with that girl in my dream…
ZL: Your affinity for Asian pop has begun to shine a lot in your music, first most notably with your single, “Pollen,” which had a very Yellow Magic Orchestra-esque feel to it with it’s oriental melodies. I feel that with Octagon this affinity has reached its very peak with it’s sampling of J-pop and K-pop as well. Something like this is very unorthodox for an American artist, and I feel it to be extremely unique and intriguing. How did you first get into this sort of music and who are your favorite artists? How do you feel Asian pop differs from other music?
YH: I first got into Asian pop by Yellow Magic Orchestra actually. When I heard that I was blown away by it since I had only dreamed of music that incorporated that Asian sound with electronic music and lo and behold, YMO did that way back when! But with J-pop and K-pop, I got into Perfume a few years ago and loved it which then led me to other groups like capsule, Saori@destiny, Aira Mitsuki, etc. That’s all strictly techno pop but I also really really enjoy this artist that goes by the name of Sawa. She does a hybrid mix of Shibuya-kei. I got into K-pop sort of around the same time I got into J-pop with SNSD and hearing “Gee”. It took me longer to get into K-pop though just because I was so obsessed with J-pop for some time, but this past year is when I really got into K-pop like SNSD, Brown Eyed Girls, 2NE1, and all that good stuff. My favorite artists from the Asian pop realm are capsule, SNSD, and 2NE1.
Asian pop differs from other music because there’s a completely different vibe to it than Western music. And not even with only pop. Listen to some of the psych rock from South Korea back from the 70’s with Kim Choo Ja and Kim Jeong Mi. It doesn’t sound like the western idea of psych rock. I just think there’s a completely different vibe in Asian pop. I can’t even really describe it besides the nostalgia I get from it and how happy I am when I listen to that kind of music.
ZL: Your album starts with the song “11:47” and ends with “4:59,” is there any significance in these numbers?
YH: Somewhat. I started recording 11:47 at that time and 4:59 at that time as well. It’s kind of a story in a way what with the time that it begins and when it ends.
ZL: Speaking of story, is there a specific one to the album? The flow is very strong throughout the album and I get this very lonely and isolated feeling contradictory to it’s pop influence, which stems from much “happier” sources.
YH: Yeah, of course. Like I said earlier about that eight second dream and how I felt with it and all, it’s mainly just this desire for that dream to come true, regardless of how abrupt it was so I guess you could say I’m sort of trying to relive it through the songs on the album. The juxtaposition of the darker or sadder sounds mixed with the happier pop samples is how I felt during that dream; it was great, but I knew it would end.
ZL: Young Henry is a project that has seen a vast amount of changes throughout just the past year alone, from lo-fi post-punk to noise to blissful ambient guitar works and now the shift towards pop music. Is there any genre of music you wish to cover next, and how do you categorize yourself as an artist?
YH: Thank you very much. Haha, you make it sound like I can do anything…I’m not too sure what I’d like to do next or what I will do next. Everything that I’ve done in the past with Young Henry has always just been musical outlet for me regardless of genre. I can say this though: I never thought I would do what I did, it just sort of happened. To be honest though, I would really like to produce music for a Korean pop group, even though that’s a pretty unattainable, haha. I guess I would categorize myself right now as an experimental electronic musician.
ZL: It could be possible! It seems like more and more American artists these days have been crossing over to the Asian-pop scene. For instance, you’ve got guys like Marty Friedman from Megadeth producing pop artists and covering Perfume songs. But this brings up a random question, what is the one song that you’ve heard that you’ve gone insane over and just went, “I wish I had written that one!”
YH: Yeah, but that’s just weird to me. I mean, it’s cool I suppose, but at the same time it’s like…Marty Friedman? Huh? But I digress. Oh man, that’s a tough question! There are quite a few songs like that, but the one song that really made me wish I had made it is…wait, I have two, sorry. “Tong Poo” by Yellow Magic Orchestra and then “Gee” By SNSD.
ZL: Good choices. Can anyone expect a Young Henry live show anytime soon? Is it something you’re working towards? If so, what aspect of your music would you be focusing on?
YH: Yes actually! I’m hoping to do a show or two around Minneapolis, but hopefully in the near future, the Zoom Lens collective and I will put on a show. Right now I’m focused on performing the songs I did on “Octagon” live, but I want to throw in some unheard songs, too.
ZL: Sounds great! Lastly, any words of inspiration? Anything you’d like to just get off your chest to the world?
YH: Learn lots of languages. Obsess over stuff. I really like swinging on swing sets. Bikes are cool, even though I don’t ride one. I used to really like binders for school, but now I don’t. If I was good at math I’d wanna be an architect, but I suck at math so I’m gonna teach English over in Asia after I’m done with college. Simple is better. Lastly, I’d make a shout out to the girls at Yogen Fruz at Mall of America. 안녕하세요! 사랑해
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