Congratulations on the release of your full album, "Wish Upon a Star"! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the album title and its significance to you?
Thank you so much! As a child growing up and even until now, the Disney movie, 'Pinocchio' was a huge inspiration to me regarding not only the stories, but especially the emotional feelings the songs in the movies gave me.
One of the song in the movie is called, 'When You Wish Upon A Star'' and I wanted to reinterpret the meaning of stars, and the meaning of wishing upon them.
Love is one of the biggest value for me in life and so I decided to make the metaphor of the galaxy as the world, the stars as the people in the world, and the brightest star as the person I love.
Putting in my hopes, thoughts and wishes in the songs about the various moments and timings of love that I went through, I felt like the name of the album was meant to be 'Wish Upon A Star.'
Can you walk us through the creative process and how you approached crafting the diverse range of tracks?
Well, I felt like this album was really a 'chapter 1' in my career of music, and I really wanted to put in the origin of my musical taste. The first instrument that I played was the piano, and I wanted to make this album mean a lot for myself so instead of designing songs with my producers from scratch, I designed out every songs with my piano first and then made developments with them.
All of the songs were from my personal experience, and I felt like they were not just emotions or situations that I only went through. It was things that people around the world could all relate to, so I decided to openly share my thoughts and feelings.
The actual making process, we did go through some hard times and difficulties, but overall it was pretty smooth thanks to my co workers who are like family to me now.
To have a producer (Woorim) and an engineer (Zenn) that has been working with me for almost 2 years (at that time), it was really greatful for me to have such a great environment to make things really work out the way I wanted.
Also, my brother Darren produced and worked with some of the tracks in the album. Having a family member working together made great synergy as well.
Is there a particular song on the album that holds a special place in your heart, and can you elaborate on its backstory?
The biggest song in the album for me I think was 'LP Bar.' I wrote that song when I was at a trip to the south end of Korea called Busan.
I went to an LP Bar there called 'Baeksuk,' and the scent, the lights, the music, and every part of the area was motivational. I started writing things down right after returning to my hotel that night,
and I wrote the most honest song that I'd ever written. It holds a special place in my heart because every time I listen to that song, I can still almost feel the emotions, scents, and sounds that I heard back at that LP Bar, and that I really do believe is the power of music.
Photo Courtesy of Maro EntertainmentAs an artist, how do you see your growth and evolution reflected in "Wish Upon a Star" compared to your previous works?
My major is sports and I haven't learned to sing, write, or play things that I do now. I started off music by just packing my clothes in a bag and literally throwing my life into music back in 2021 at a really small studio.
I was running out of money, my health wasn't at it's best, and I didn't have a house so I slept at the studio for 2 years. It was really difficult for me to make a perfect start in my career and so I had to go through lots of trials and hard times to reach this point.
After all this time, upgrading to better equipment, having deeper understanding in not only my listeners but even myself as in what kind of person I am, I feel like there is a really big gap between "Wish Upon A Star" and other songs before as in a positive way.
I do feel like I am no where at the point where I can say I am satisfied, but I feel like I am definitely on the right track after making this album.
Can you share how you want listeners to feel when they engage with the album as a whole?
This album has a time laps for the days I had on last years trip to the sea. track 1 to 6 is the start of the first day from morning till midnight, track 7 to 12 goes on the second day of my trip, also from morning till night.
If you listen through it in the track order, you can find the vibes of the morning, the bright afternoon, beautiful sunsets, and night times.
One thing I should say is, the stories in the songs goes through a timeline of how I felt going through emotions of love. Everyone could feel the emotions that I went through, but not everyone goes through the same timeline, so It would be great if my listeners can listen to the songs in the album and draw their own special timeline in their journey of love.
How do you approach honing your singing skills, and were there any particular vocal challenges you faced while recording "Wish Upon a Star"?
Since I didn't learn any way for vocals, I feel like I did go through some hard times putting in power in my voice when I recorded this album. It definitely is a thing that I have to develop, but at the same time I do think that there is no 'right' way to sing.
The really interesting thing is, if you listen to my songs that I've released in 2021 or any time somewhere at that period, my voice is pretty different from the voice that I sing these days.
I think there will be more process for me to go through in singing myself out, and they will be shown naturally in the next songs that I will release in the future.
Photo Courtesy of Maro EntertainmentThe album release must have been a journey in itself. Could you share a memorable or touching fan interaction or response that you've experienced since the release of "Wish Upon a Star"?
I'm really greatful for the fact that alot of people around the world are listening to my music regardless of age, race, country or anything. I've been getting lots of messages and interest from various countries like Malaysia, Canada, UK, Australia, US, Vietnam, and so much more.
After the release, I've been getting lots of messages especially from Japan, telling me that they loved my new album and the tracks that they enjoyed the most. The interesting thing is they give me messages in Korean too, and that came different to me.
Now I'm even trying to learn a little bit of Japanese to make better interactions, and my physical albums are being sold abroad for my foreign fans as well. I really wish to make more interactions out from different countries, and some day I want to travel around the world doing tours and concerts.
Are there any plans to perform the songs from "Wish Upon a Star" for your fans?
I definitely am looking forward to having concerts, but currently, I felt like I needed to make more songs that I can enjoy and make my fans enjoy as well in concerts especially.
I think I will be taking a little bit more time to make songs, but I do believe I will be prepared to jump in concerts soon enough. When I am ready, songs from "Wish Upon A Star" will definitely be in the list as well.
What is something you want to say to the fans who support your music?
As I said, I am really blessed that I can have interest from so many diverse countries. When I first started making music, I didn't have a dream. I just wanted to sing and make songs cause that was what makes me happy the most.
Now, I have a dream. It is a wish in my lifetime, and I found it because of all my fans out in the world. My dream is to go abroad all over the different countries and sing, have concert tours, and really see all of you in person. I really do.
I want to thank everyone for making me have this dream, and I will do everything in my power to make this dream come true. Until that day comes, I hope I can have continuous contact with everyone through music & online, and I wish we can make this happen together.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for listening to my music and having interest in Aden. I hope to see all of you soon.
What can we expect from you next?
I still have more live clips and videos coming up for this album release, but I am also working on the next single release. I think it will be out sometime in September.
There are so many more sketches that I have made after the album release, and I can't wait to make them all and show them to my listeners. Trust me, they're really something great.
Before those songs come out, the nearest release is next month, and I am working hard these days to show my fans better songs, so heads up!!
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