Urban Zakapa returned with a new release full of winter sentiment.
On the 3rd afternoon, an album listening event to commemorate the release of the EP album "STAY" was held at Ilji Art Hall in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.
As it is their comeback four years after releasing an EP album in 2021, this Urban Zakapa "STAY" meticulously fuses various genres such as Pop, R&B, Ballad, and Modern Rock, and will showcase pop music that blends diverse genres into a work with a single narrative flow rather than a mere collection of songs listing multiple genres. It is also expected to move fans by blending Urban Zakapa's unique and luxurious melodies with each member's distinctive premium vocal color.
The tracklist of this EP album "STAY" includes a total of seven songs: "Stay (Title)", "Our Winter", "The One", "Weak", "Ten Fingers", "Goodbye", and "Moment", and the album is composed of five new songs among the tracks and two singles released last year, "Ten Fingers" and "Goodbye".
On the day, Kwon Sunil said, "I'm nervous because it's been a long time since an album has come out, and I'm excited and nervous wondering how people will receive it." Cho Hyun said, "As the CEO of Andrew Company, I am very moved to be able to release an EP album as Urban Zakapa. I will do my best to answer questions and provide as much information as possible." Park Yongin said, "I'm very nervous. Since it's an album coming out after a long time, my feelings of expectation about how people will listen to it are mixed."
After releasing an emotionally rich music video, they also performed the title track "STAY." The title track "STAY" is a song that highlights the identity of R&B and Urban Zakapa's distinctive color with a deep rhythm and sensuous sound, flowing over a beautiful melodic line at a medium tempo.
Cho Hyun said, "It's a song that carries a lot of the basic Urban Zakapa feeling, so while singing it I wonder if many people will be reminded of the old days. I feel very fond of it," she said. Park Yongin said, "I was nervous because it was the first live performance, but since it's the kind of song we sing a lot, I was able to sing comfortably," sharing his impression of the stage.
She also spoke about the music video featuring Suzy and Lee Dohyun. Cho Hyun said, "I wanted the MV to leave a lingering impression. I wanted two actors who could give that lingering feeling. The actress Suzy is someone who leaves a lot of lingering impressions and is also a close friend. She really wanted to help and opened her heart to appear. She did it without a fee. The same goes for actor Lee Dohyun. I recently thought he was the most attractive male actor when watching actors' works. He had just been discharged and the opportunity came to work together, so I was honored. I think the combination of Lee Dohyun's face and Suzy was just great," she said.
Cho Hyun added, "When I released 'This night became special' before, I cast Cha Eunwoo and Park Gyu-young. Even then I thought about face combinations, and I guess I have an eye for it. So I think the combination of Suzy and Dohyun was good." She added, "Suzy did all the cut monitoring. She took care of editing, adjusting cuts to ones she might like more," sharing behind-the-scenes details of the work.
Kwon Sunil joked, "Watching on such a large screen is also good for eye health. I hope many people watch it," and said, "First, Suzy agreed to join, so I thought I should write a beautiful melody that matches Suzy's face and started composing the melody first. It's also music you watch. When I think of Suzy, I thought this music might sound better. Normally when I write a song I don't revise the melody much, but in the history of Urban Zakapa songs I revised the melody the longest. I focused on making it beautiful and lyrical," he said.
They also talked about selecting the title track. Kwon Sunil said, "Hyunah first mentioned Suzy's appearance in the MV," which drew laughter. He continued, "This is an opportunity that won't come again. A lot of care was put into it. I thought I really had to write a song that matched Suzy's face," he said, sharing his determination at the time.
Cho Hyun also said, "We adjusted to Suzy's schedule," and added, "I think it's the first time I wrote a song modeled thinking of someone. She became such an enormous muse," reflecting back, and Kwon Sunil said, "On the actual shooting set, when I told Suzy, 'I wrote this thinking of your face and my algorithm kept finding you, so it's filled with Suzy,' she said, 'Thank you for doing so much! I love the song,' and she liked it. I was so relieved," he said.
Park Yongin added, "Sunil probably told me that Suzy might appear in the music video, and when I kept hearing that, Suzy's face came to mind and I thought, 'I should sing warmly and well.'"
They continued explaining the album tracks. About "Our Winter," Kwon Sunil said, "Frankly. I made it thinking that only Mariah Carey shouldn't be the only one to do carols," and added, "I suddenly came up with the melody when I went to New York. I thought it would be nice to have a bright winter as well, not just a very sad winter," he elaborated.
They also spoke about the emotion unique to Urban Zakapa. Cho Hyun said, "When you listen to songs like 'STAY' and 'I don't love you,' artists inevitably end up self-replicating if they continue. But if you try to be conscious of it, you can never write the same song. I always keep that in mind when creating songs, and to avoid making similar songs, I try to make similar songs. In the end, I cannot deceive the feelings I experience, nor can I write them as lies. A person's speech and way of thinking come through in songs; I allow similarity in emotion but do not allow similarity in technical aspects," she said.
Urban Zakapa will stage a nationwide tour concert with the theme of "winter." Starting with the Gwangju performance on Nov. 22, they will meet fans across the country with Seoul (Nov. 29-30), Busan (Dec. 6), Seongnam (Dec. 13) and additional performances to be added into early next year. Regarding concert highlights, Cho Hyun said, "Whoever we bring will be fun, right? We're preparing a set list that we can confidently say that about. We are sparing no expense on stage composition and investing in everything. Many people will enjoy it visually and have an emotional roller coaster that helps wrap up the year. You can come with a light heart and still have fun, so please come comfortably," she said.
In 2023, Cho Hyun left Abyss Company, where she had been since 2016, and co-founded the fledgling entertainment company Andrew Company with a manager who had been with her since her debut. As the company CEO releasing Urban Zakapa's EP, Cho Hyun said, "While working on the album I thought I must not lose my center. I endured a lot and it got so hard that I became ill, but everyone was working toward the same goal. Seeing that healed me. I was deeply moved by how everyone could focus on work and work hard. The hardships I had while making the album disappeared in an instant," she said.
She added, "So I was very moved by the staff, and my determination for this album was, 'This must succeed no matter what.' They trusted me and joined me. Therefore I thought I would take charge of everything outside of music and do it well, and that is the current focus."
Finally, Cho Hyun said, "The three of us maintain the team by doing our best without anyone being useless. That's how we were able to release another album. We are very grateful to our fans. We will strive to become artists who can live up to expectations and have that kind of influence," she said in closing.
Meanwhile, "STAY" will be available on music sites today (the 3rd) at 6 p.m.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]