By Hasan Beyaz
To celebrate CLOSE YOUR EYES' comeback with 256th Note, we caught up with each member individually.
JEON MINWOOK knows a recording is right the second it leaves his mouth. "Oh, that's pretty good," he says, and then the director cheers before he's even finished the line. That immediacy hasn't changed much across four mini albums with CLOSE YOUR EYES – what has, he says, is that the group has found "the feeling that is distinctly CLOSE YOUR EYES," a colour he now hears underneath the recording rather than something he has to search for.
It's the same colour he wants the group to protect going forward: taking on new genres without losing what makes them CLOSE YOUR EYES. Off stage, MINWOOK describes himself as the member who checks whether everyone around him is actually enjoying the work, saying he leans on encouragement to help the group push through harder moments together.
Get to know JEON MINWOOK in our Meet the Member interview series with CLOSE YOUR EYES below.
The album title comes from a 256th note, one of the shortest notes in music. What is a small, fleeting feeling you had recently that you think deserves its own song?
JEON MIWOOK It's a flutter. It might be excitement, or it might be nerves. I felt it's an emotion you can experience in so many different moments.
When you're recording something, how do you know when a take feels right?
The moment I sing it, I think, “oh, that's pretty good.” And when I feel that way, the director cheers for me as soon as I finish singing.
This is your 4th mini album since debut. What's changed in how you approach recording, compared to when you first started?
Honestly, not much has changed for me. But if I had to name one thing, I'd say we've found the feeling that is distinctly CLOSE YOUR EYES.
Where do you want CLOSE YOUR EYES to be musically by the next release?
I hope CLOSE YOUR EYES becomes a genre of its own.We're already taking on all kinds of genres and making them ours, and whatever genre we try from here, I don't want us to lose the CLOSE YOUR EYES’ color.
What do you think your personality specifically brings to the group dynamic?
I think I pay attention to making sure the members, and everyone we work with, can enjoy the work. And since I'm the type to take everything positively, I say a lot of encouraging things to the members. Little by little, an atmosphere is forming where we all get through the hard moments with a positive mindset.