Another glance at K-pop’s color palette: Our Very Special Interview With The Synth Pop Duo Prudence!
In this chapter of our interview series, by which we intorduce various artists and music genres of K-Pop world to you, we are with the synth pop duo Prudence. From background to on-stage, you will be able to get to know them better.
Here in this very sincere interview, the Band’s guitarist/producer Jeeyoung and vocal/lyricist Jiyu answered many questions about their personal lives, hobbies, favorites, daily routines, dreams, their thoughts on Turkiye, and the reason and meaning behind the band. The full Prudence interview is now with you!
1. Can you please introduce yourselves?
JeeYoung: Hello, I’m JeeYoung, the guitarist and producer of Prudence.
Jiyu: Hello, I’m Jiyu, the vocalist and lyricist of Prudence
2. How did you start your music career?
JeeYoung: I was learning how to play classical music on piano when I was a child, then during the middle school I was enchanted by bands’ music and started learning how to play guitar and participating group activities.
Jiyu: I had been learning how to play guitar since my second year in middle school and dreaming of becoming a lyricist, then in 2021 I got to debut with Prudence.
3. How did Prudence come together?
Jiyu: JeeYoung Oppa found my Instagram account where I recorded myself singing covers and my own songs while he was in search of vocalists for his band. He sent me a DM telling me we could work together and make music. After our meeting, we really connected and a day after we started Prudence.
4. Your band is known as a synth-pop band most of the time. Can you explain what exactly is synth-pop?
JeeYoung: Synth-pop is a music genre that uses a synthesizer as the core element while protecting the melody and composition of pop music. When we say synth-pop, usually a retro image comes to our minds and since the synth-pop genre was trendy around the 80s, a lot of the time we get inspired by it.
5. Is there a message that you try to convey through your music? If so, what is it?
Jiyu: We want to directly talk about our youth and convey the emotions of sympathy and consolation to the young people.
6. You have really good songs and we can see that you write and compose them. What do you get your inspiration from while working on your songs?
JeeYoung: I mostly get inspired by my dreams. For instance, our song “Drive My Car” is a song I wrote after having a dream about performing on stage with a famous band at a rock music festival. Apart from that, movies, series, and the musicians that I like are my inspirations.
Jiyu: Likewise, I get inspired by my poetry book or other books, movies or the things people said. Then I combine them with my own imagination.
7. Can you tell us your favorite lyric from one of your songs?
JeeYoung: In our song called “평행우주 (Parallel Universes)”, there is this repetitive line, which says “I’m never leaving you”, and I love this part especially. The reason why it’s my favorite is because the song Parallel Universes gives you the emotional feeling of not being able to leave your loved one behind whatever the circumstances are.
Jiyu: “I will embrace even your blue scars and dance.”
8. How do things take shape during the process of making a song?
JeeYoung: Usually while working on a song I send an instrumental dem oto Jiyu and she writes the lyrics, we usually go like this. And then both of us share our own opinions to complete the song. If we need instruments such as drums, we get help from our musician friends and record the song.
9. We heard that JeeYoung was a part of a military band before. Is that true? Can you tell us about your experience?
JeeYoung: Yes, actually I served in the military for two years! I auditioned as a guitarist and got accepted to a military band; but in reality, by the nature of the military band, I mostly played tuba. I had never played a wind instrument before but after learning how to play the tuba fort the first time in the military band I was able to perform the song in an orchestra, even though it was an easy one. This was an unforgettable experience for me. It was nice meeting musicians from different fields.
10. JeeYoung in your opinion, what is the biggest difference between playing in a military band and your current situation?
JeeYoung: Since there are 30-40 people playing instruments consistently, teamwork is really important. If we compare this to playing individually, you can learn a lot about being in a community. Teamwork is also an essential part of our band as well however, I guess the biggest difference is that both of us has an image to portray as an individual.
11. Jiyu, we heard that you like poems so much. Have you been reading any recently? Can you tell us about some poets you like?
Jiyu: Of course. The poets I like and respect are Yoon Dong-Ju and Lee Seongbok. I get inspired by them a lot.
12. Are there any artists you want to work together in the future?
JeeYoung: I like LANY’s music, sounds like it could be compatible with Prudence’s music. If there is an opportunity, whenever it is, I would definitely want to work together.
Jiyu: Among the artists I respect, I would really want to work with The Black Skirts.
13. Which one of your songs would you recommend to someone who’s listening to Prudence for the first time?
JeeYoung: I recommend our song called “평행우주(Parallel Universe)”, which can make you feel Prudence’s deep feelings.
Jiyu: I recommend our song 이름은 Blue (Blue Is Your Name)” which we can call the song that represents us.
14. What’s the goal you want to achieve as a band in the upcoming years?
JeeYoung: Releasing an album each year, taking the stage in a famous rock festival.
Jiyu: I want to release a full album and I want to do a large solo concert.
15 .What are the top 5 songs you listen in 2022?
JeeYoung’s list:
- Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa & Young Thug – Potion
- Clean Bandit – Symphony
- LANY – up to me
- Roosevelt – Passion (Feat. Nile Rodgers)
- Martin Garrix – Used To Love
Jiyu’s list:
- 오월오일 (Owalloil) – Tree
- Republica – Ready to Go
- NewJeans – Attention,
- Prudence – Roller-Skate
- Banes World – When My Life Is Over
16. What do you do in your daily life? Please tell us about your daily routine.
JeeYoung: Since I work from home, I am someone who follows a similar routine on days when I don’t plan any meetings. I usually wake up at 8 a.m., have breakfast, and then work on my music until noon or get my other stuff done. In the afternoon I make music as usual. If I feel tired I like taking a nap a little bit or going to a café to work. After I eat my dinner I usually rest or finish some of the tasks I need to get done and then I work out and end my day.
Jiyu: Usually, after waking up I eat something, take a bath, and after a simple cleaning I do some work or practice while drinking coffee or another beverage.
17. Have you ever been to Turkiye before?
JeeYoung: No, I haven’t been to Turkiye yet.
Jiyu: Sorry, I haven’t been there.
18. What is the thing you are most curious about Turkiye?
JeeYoung: I heard that there are many places with beautiful architecture such as the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. I am very curious about the architectural works in Istanbul.
Jiyu: I’m curious about various local dishes in Turkiye and I want to try them!
19. Did you know that recently many works of Turkish writers have been translated into Korean? Have you ever had the opportunity you to read a Turkish writer before?
JeeYoung: I haven’t had the chance to read any Turkish writers before however, I know about Orhan Pamuk who won a Nobel Prize. If I get the chance I would really want to read his book named “My Name Is Red.”
Jiyu: I haven’t had the opportunity but in the future, if I go to a bookstore and find a book from a Turkish writer, I would really like to read it.
20. After this interview there may be Turkish fans who want to get to know you. What would you like to say to them?
JeeYoung: I say hello to the music lovers from our brother country Turkey! It was a pleasure to meet you through such a nice interview. It would be nice if you listen to the music made by Prudence without knowing Korean, but if you listen to the lyrics knowingly, it will be even better if you read and listen to the lyrics with their translation. I hope one day, we can come to beautiful Turkey to perform. Please show a lot of love to Prudence’s music.
Jiyu: I would be very happy if Prudence had fans in Turkey. To begin with, I hope we can meet through this interview and then have a concert in Turkey in the future. Thank you so much for reading this long article so far. Let’s meet later!
Interview: Kübra Özdemir
Translation: Amine Hatun Azder, Cemre Erşen, Gizem Yanık, Yağmur Gökalp, İrem Top
Editor: Merve Yüksel
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