By Hasan Beyaz
To celebrate CLOSE YOUR EYES' comeback with 256th Note, we caught up with each member individually.
Bossa nova wasn't a genre KENSHIN had to stretch toward, it was one he fell into almost by accident. "Baby Bossa Nova," the sixth track on 256th Note, pulls from traditional Brazilian bossa nova but reshapes it into something friendlier and more rhythmic, paired with upbeat pop drums underneath an emotional melody. KENSHIN says it felt approachable from the very first listen, easy enough that learning it turned out to be more fun than he expected rather than a technical hurdle.
Recording alongside featured artist Joo Hyerin pushed that further. Sharing a track with a voice outside the group meant shaping his own part around someone else's phrasing rather than just his, and he says it opened up a way of performing a song he hadn't tried before.
Get to know KENSHIN in our Meet the Member interview series with CLOSE YOUR EYES below.
"Baby Bossa Nova" pulls from Brazilian bossa nova. What was it like learning to perform inside that rhythm?
KENSHIN It's expressed more rhythmically and in a friendlier way than traditional Bossa Nova, so it felt approachable to me from the first listen. Because of that, learning the song was more fun than I expected, and I think I was able to fall into it naturally.
The track features Joo Hyerin. What did having someone outside the group on the song change about how you approached your own part?
When you work with another artist, even the same song takes on a new feeling I hadn't thought of. With Joo Hyerin's voice added, the mood of the song became much richer, and I tried to express my part so it would blend naturally with her voice. Working together let me try expressing a song in a new way too.
Jazz is built on musicians reacting to each other in real time. Where in CLOSE YOUR EYES' performances do you feel that kind of in-the-moment connection with the other members?
I feel that kind of connection most when I make eye contact with the members on stage or see each other's expressions. Even when we prepare the same choreography and song, there are moments on stage that shift a little depending on the mood of the day or each other's energy. The natural give and take with the members in those moments is what makes it fun.
What's a sound or genre you'd want CLOSE YOUR EYES to try next that nobody's expecting?
Personally I really love rock music, so someday I'd like us to do our own rock song. I think we could show a strong energy and mood that's a bit different from the music we've shown so far. It'd be especially fun to put a band sound together with our performance.
What's a personality trait of yours that only really comes out around the other members?
When I'm with the members I joke around far more than usual. On my own I'm actually pretty quiet, but with the members I suddenly get playful and affectionate. I'm most comfortable around them, so my real self comes out naturally.