There’s no denying the strong chokehold K-pop has on the Indian audience. Over the past few years, K-pop fans in India have witnessed a plethora of groups making their way across borders and taking space in their playlist and hearts. This entertainment phenomenon is here to stay and make room for more and more young artists. The latest group to come under our radar is EPEX.
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The members of the octet, Wish, Keum, Mu, A-Min, Baekseung, Ayden, Yewang, and Jeff, made their debut in June 2021. EPEX’s sixth mini-album, Prelude of Anxiety Chapter 2. ‘Can We Surrender?’ continues the trend of their impactful themes, which have consistently included a strong build-up of very emotional and pulling heart strings throughout their music.
The opening track, Full Metal Jacket, slowly became this album’s main attraction. The song attempts to increase awareness of bullying by exposing the terrible reality of it. And to dig dive in the album the K-pop group sat down with ELLE for a conversation, the evolution of their music so far, what’s next for EPEX, and more!
ELLE: Can you elaborate on the concept behind Prelude of Anxiety Chapter 2. ‘Can We Surrender?’
BAEKSEUNG: Prelude of Anxiety Chapter 2. ‘Can We Surrender?’ is the final chapter of our debut series, Bipolar, which expresses the first anxiety and complex and risky emotions that come with the beginning of love through our albums Prelude of Anxiety and Prelude of Love. Various factors that force boys to surrender, the current state of school violence that has lost humanity, the limits felt in growth, and the following stories of frustration and hope are expressed in this album, which tells the story of the dark and unstable reality faced by boys who have reached the end of their limits. To convey our message properly, we created an overall powerful and intense atmosphere throughout our sound and performance.
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ELLE: How was the whole creative process while making the new album? Any new concepts you guys would love to explore in the future?
AYDEN: The concept of this album was a big challenge for us. As much as we prepared with good songs, we worked hard to show a cool side of us and to prepare according to the album concept with various challenges, such as extreme choreography and rough voices. In the future, we would like to try a new concept with a more chill, hip-hop genre of music.
A-MIN: This album was prepared with a strong concept, both musically and performance-wise. During the album production process, we felt more synergy than usual as we collaborated with many dancers. The fear we had for a new challenge went away quickly, and we truly enjoyed the preparation process. If we try a different concept in the future, we would like to release a cool summer song.
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MU: Since it was a strong concept that we hadn’t tried before, we thought it shouldn’t be vague. While recording or practicing choreography, we focused our minds mainly on conveying the concept. With this album, as long as we feel we can do it, we thought it would be okay to take on any new challenges; therefore, we want to try any concepts we can express.
JEFF: We thought it was a powerful concept that caught people’s attention, so we thought we should show an improved performance in terms of performance compared to the previous album. We tried to stay faithful to the concept by not only practicing the choreography but also building our physical figures diligently. In the future, we would like to try a nostalgic concept that matches the fall atmosphere and shows our new side.
ELLE: You guys have your fair share of live performances; which one do you think stood out as the most memorable?
A-MIN: All stages are memorable, but the SARANGHAE KSA—Jeddah K-Pop Festival in Saudi Arabia would be the most memorable for me. It was the first overseas event we went to, and we were able to feel a great level of recognition and love from many people who are from overseas countries, so it was an impressive event in our memory.
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BAEKSEUNG: I think our own concerts are the most memorable. The interaction we had with ZENITH on stage left a lasting impression in our memory. It was really fun; we were happy, and we thought we would like to communicate with ZENITH more often. After the first concert, we thought about what ZENITH would want to see next and what we should show them next, and we continued to look forward to spending more time with ZENITH.
MU: Our own fan meetings and concerts are always very memorable, and the overseas ZENITH who support us whenever we perform internationally always leave long-lasting memories for us. These are all precious moments, and they will last even longer because we were able to create our own memories with ZENITH.
ELLE: Which song has the most difficult choreography to master out of all the ones you’ve already released or the upcoming ones?
KEUM: “FULL METAL JACKET” would be the most difficult. There were a lot of different movements, so this time we paid even more attention to not missing any details while practicing. We overcame difficulties by filming a lot of monitoring videos, watching them often, and giving each other feedback.
JEFF: I also think “FULL METAL JACKET” is the most difficult. As the intensity of the choreography increased, the distribution of power was different from the previous choreographies, making it even more difficult. We also learned a lot of new things while working with many dancers, so although it was difficult, it was an opportunity for us to grow.
ELLE: You are so closely connected to your fans. Any memorable fan interactions?
WISH: We remember every moment, but the mention party we had with ZENITH before the comeback was the most memorable. Perhaps because it was conducted before the comeback promotions, we learned how much our fans were looking forward to the comeback, and it motivated us to work harder during the promotion. We also had fun interacting with ZENITH in real time and received a lot of support from them, so we think that’s the first memory that comes to mind.
ELLE: Any chance you guys are going to visit or perform in India?
AYDEN: There are no specific plans in place yet, but if we get the chance, we would like to go and meet ZENITH in India and show ourselves on stage. Until then, we hope you always stay healthy and happy every day. We love you, ZENITH!
YEWANG: If we get the chance, we would love to perform in India as well. We would like to meet and communicate with those who support us greatly even from afar! We are so grateful and love you for always supporting us!
