[Herald Interview] Lucy aims to expand reach with pop-rock music

The band Lucy never grows tired of being experimental when it comes to their music.

Even their debut in 2019 was sensational as they blended violin sounds with pop rock.

“There was a lot of trial and error in the beginning. We had to come up with a way to harmonize the sound of a guitar and a violin. These two instruments have similar sounds but are difficult to mix up. After various attempts, we figured out that the order of tuning the sounds of these instruments is the key. We started to enjoy making music after we found that solution,” bassist Cho Won-sang told The Korea Herald.

Lucy consists of four members: Cho, violinist Shin Ye-chan, guitarist Choi Sang-yeop and drummer Shin Gwang-il.

“It’s been four years that we’ve been working together as a band, so now Won-sang, who is in charge of producing most of our music, knows our range of notes. We are capable of composing the melody of a violin solo and other sounds that best wrap around that melody. We are focusing on adding more uniqueness to our music,” said Shin Ye-chan.

Lucy always tries to put a message into their songs.

The band’s fourth EP, “Fever,” which dropped Thursday sends a message of consolation.

“Through this album, we hope to give strength to people who are overcoming the ‘fever’ for whatever their heart aches to obtain or accomplish. We tried to compare ‘fever’ to growing pains and to the season of summer,” Shin Gwang-il said introducing the band’s new album.

Members Cho Won-sang and Shin Gwang-il took part in creating the album by composing and writing the lyrics to its tracks.

“There is a track called ‘Magic’ in this album that I produced. It all started with the thought, ‘Let’s just have fun,’ and I imagined a festival when making it. I think I did a pretty good job on it,” said Shin Gwang-il.

“I rely on my experiences and feelings at certain moments when I come up with songs. Sometimes I write the lyrics first and sometimes I write the melody and codes first. In this album, I wrote the tracks first and then wrote the lyrics with messages that I hope to deliver,” said Cho.

Lucy’s fourth EP, “Fever,” comprises four tracks including the title track, “Haze,” and sidetracks “Magic,” “Hot” and “Leave it.”

“You will know right away it's our song once you listen to it. In the early years of our careers, we used to focus on showing who we are through our music. But these days, we try to focus more on introducing good music to our fans and to new listeners,” said Choi.

This comeback comes after five months and during these months, the band has been busy taking part in various festivals.

Early this year, the band headlined the festival, “Beautiful Mint Life,” one of the biggest Korean music festivals.

“It was a precious experience for us. We were really nervous at first but enjoyed it once we got on stage and saw the audience. We were happy to be chosen as the ‘best performers’ by the audience and staff at the scene,” said Shin Gwang-il.

“Performing on various stages definitely leveled us up. Every stage is different and feels new to us. We hope to continue experiencing diverse stages in the future,” said Choi.

For the first time since its debut, Lucy is looking forward to its standalone concert abroad.

They are meeting with foreign fans at Legacy Taipei in Taiwan on Sep. 27.

“I think our foreign fans love the melody and the mood of our songs despite the language barrier. I also think that they like the chemistry between our members. We are so grateful for their love and support. We hope to visit other countries as well to get to meet our foreign fans more often,” said Shin Ye-chan.

“We are trying to make the concert easily approachable for our foreign fans. There are new performances prepared for only this concert so please look forward to it,” said Choi.

Lucy, which has acquired a strong fanbase and put out over 100 songs already, hopes to grow even bigger.

“Our energy radiates when performing. We hope to perform in front of our fans for a long time,” said Shin Ye-chan.

“We want to be the first band that comes into one’s mind when he or she thinks about a Korean band,” said Choi.

“We will continue to work hard to introduce good music in which the listeners can find the sound of all instruments charming,” said Shin Gwang-il.