R&B sing-song-ra Otis Lim, he’s different, but he doesn’t play alone :: Sympathetic media Newsis ::

2024 Conjinwon ‘Muse On’ selected musician

1st full-length album ‘Playground’ received favorable reviews

“I want to release a regular album every year.”

(Seoul = Newsis) Reporter Lee Jae-hoon = R&B singer-songwriter Otis Lim (Lim Ho-seung) is known among musicians for being good at music. This is why producer and rapper Jay Park, rapper PH-1, and R&B singer and producer Tama rolled up their sleeves and helped him.

Like the representative song ‘My Dog’s Cute’ (2021), they have songs that are well-read by critics while also reading the sensibilities of the times well, and also have a musical sense.

Human charm plays a role in attracting people just as much as music. Rather than asserting his artistic self-consciousness, he is a conscientious worker who loves music and maintains a healthy mind and body.

This constancy shone even after being selected for the 2024 Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) new musician discovery project ‘Muse On’. Despite a somewhat tight schedule, he gained more trust through his sincerity based on solid musicianship.

Above all, I believe in the power of the soul of music, but a sense of balance that is not absorbed only in that makes the future brighter. So, rather, it allows us to face the greatness of music objectively. The following is a Q&A with Otis Lim, whom we recently met in Chungmuro, Seoul.

-Your first full-length album ‘Playground’, released in April 2024, received favorable reviews. What has changed the most since you released this album?

“It seems like a lot of people treat me as an artist. It definitely carries a lot of weight.”

-The title ‘Playground’ goes well with the album, which contains a variety of genres.

“As it is my first full-length album, I had the intention of ‘let’s collect all the things I wanted to do and put it out there.’ However, there are points that listeners may listen to without hesitation. I thought it might be burdensome to listen to the album as a unit, but depending on the difference in taste, When I thought about listening to it, I thought the word playground would fit well, and the idea of ​​a space where everyone can ride their favorite rides and become one was very attractive to me, and they were grouped together under the title Playground. , of the playground “I felt like the quality of the album improved as the image was added.”

-There is some unity emerging from diversity. I heard in an interview that you liked Motown music when you were young.

“My parents liked pop music. Of the music they liked, I personally liked ‘Boyz II Men’ the best. Through this, I learned about R&B and black music, and gradually fell in love with it. Then I discovered Motown music. Stevie Wonder “I loved Donny Hathaway’s music so much that I can still sing along to all of Hathaway’s songs. After that, I loved Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding, from whom my current stage name is derived.”

-Why did you like Donny Hathaway?

“It has gospel and blues elements. I liked this part. I’ve always liked Robert Johnson, Delta blues, and Chicago blues. Then I moved on to Donny Hathaway. And Michael, who also worked in Motown during the Jackson Five era. I listened to Jackson a lot. People who make music often ask me, ‘If you could only listen to one artist before you die, whose music would it be?’ When Quincy Jones, who was also Michael Jackson’s producer, passed away. “I was moved to tears because I sang a lot of James Ingram’s songs (known as ‘Quincy Jones’) when I was taking vocal academy for the entrance exam for the practical music department.”

-Was there a turning point when you decided to pursue a career as a full-time musician?

“I don’t have a specific reason. As I became good at singing, I went to a vocal academy, and the teacher there taught me how to dig, which was so fun. I fell in love with digging, and even ran a Facebook page where I posted pop songs when I was in my third year of middle school. I had about 70,000 or 80,000 followers, and the Rachel Ferrell introduction video and Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ video got a great response while running that page. It’s okay to say that most of the knowledge I have about music was created when I was in high school.”

-There was a possibility of becoming a critic rather than a music creator. Then, in 2021, they will release their debut EP ‘Walkin!’.

“I was a student who thought about entrance exams and only sang, so I didn’t have much interest in making songs. But now, I have a friend named Hiko, and he started making songs on SoundCloud first. When I saw that, I thought, ‘I want to sing.’ I realized that I could make it myself, and since that friend released a song, I followed suit and made it and released that album.”

-Even though it was your first album, it received good reviews. This may be a vague question, but which identity do you focus on: singing, songwriting, or producing? Are you trying to achieve balance in all areas? You’re good at everything.

“I think I’m closer to songwriting than simple singing. I’m a little less interested in singing cover songs. I participate more actively when I make my own songs.”

-Have you ever run out of creative inspiration?

“Yes, it’s always fun. I’m not a person who makes music with an emotional bias. I tend to approach it rationally and business-wise. So, I think I’m able to keep working at a steady pace without getting stressed or swayed by emotions. .”

-I also get the impression that you seem to be smart at using harmony and code.

“If you make it too easy, it’s not fun. I’m always thinking about how to make it different and unique. ‘My Dog’s Cute’ seems easy when you listen to it, but when you actually get into the copy, it becomes difficult for those who play instruments. It’s difficult and well-organized, but it’s easy to get used to. “I pay the most attention to what I hear, because even if it’s different, I don’t want to sound complicated because I have to convince people.”

-As you said, Otis Lim’s songs are popular, but since the domestic R&B scene itself is so small, I think there will be some regrets about it.

“But no matter how small God is, if I were a guy and did well, I would have become more known. I’m not blaming God for being small. I tend to think, ‘I can just work harder and do better.’”

-Is this different from the idea of ​​overcoming everything with just music?

“From the beginning, I had no intention of making money through music. I thought, ‘If I’m going to make money, I should do something else.’ I thought, ‘Let’s live by focusing on things that lead our hearts rather than money.’”

-I like coolness. Nevertheless, without a support program like MuseOn, the situation would have been a little more difficult, right?

“I received a lot of support after being selected for Muse On, especially the various experiences. The schedule that I couldn’t keep as an indie musician like ‘Kim Eana’s Starry Night’ was a huge help to my activities. Thanks to that, I was able to appear on entertainment programs. But music is music, but I also like going to shows and talking about it, so those aspects fit me well, to the point where I thought, ‘What would I have done in 2024?’

-However, with the exception of MuseOn, many support programs in the indie scene have disappeared. What concerns are you facing in this environment?

“What I feel these days is that, apart from the indie scene, people don’t seem to like music that much. Nowadays, instead of listening to music, everyone watches shorts and reels. Music seems to have become an additional element. So the market has naturally decreased. It’s the same, and what’s more, the already small indie scene has become smaller and the gap with K-pop has widened.”

-I also think that many communities have disappeared from the indie scene. Would you say that there is a significant lack of places where seniors and juniors can hang out as much as there used to be? Nevertheless, it seems like Otis Lim has a lot of strong musical support. You also released the single ‘Give Me the Night’ with Jay Park, right?

“I’m not very well known, but I’m very grateful to Jaebeom, PH-1, and Tama for their help. Being featured in and of itself is such a great support to me. It’s like, ‘You’re doing well. Try harder.’ It’s like that. Music Regardless, it is a great help to me as a person.”

-Musically, the area in which you feel you receive the most recognition from fellow musicians, seniors and juniors, is featuring or producing? Or is there another area?

“The feeling of being recognized is featuring. Featuring means releasing your own music, so if you don’t really like it, you won’t do it. So the fact that people who are really good at music participated in my music means a lot to me. “And everyone who featured didn’t accept any payment, so I have to bow down to them every morning.”

-Otis Lim’s music is really good, but I feel like he’s also a very healthy person. Are there any values ​​that you consider most important when making music?

“Apart from music, the most important aspects of my life are mental and physical health. I am a person who believes that if you are not healthy, nothing is of any use. So, I do not drink or smoke at all. I have never smoked a cigarette since I was born, and I only drink about two or three times a year, and that’s about a glass of beer. As I live like that, I feel like my health is reflected in my music and activities.”

-To be honest, I felt like musicians who made blues, R&B, and soul music were subdued or scratched the soul to comfort me, but after meeting Otis Lim, I realized again that that was really just a prejudice.

“Musicians of the past brought out something deep within themselves during that era through music. I think soul blues is about really honestly bringing out who you are in your heart. It’s about bringing out the emotions at that time.”

-What are your future goals?

“I want to release one regular album a year. This goes along with what I said earlier, ‘Music has become an additional element in life,’ but these days, I think the concept of a masterpiece has disappeared. Even if you release good music, there is so much content in the world. As there is a lot of external content, I feel like the music itself is no longer as valuable as it used to be in an era where it is so easy to find and listen to music, rather than taking several years to release an album. More music for those who like it I think it would be a great happiness to let people listen to it, and I want to continue to connect with the public because I enjoy making songs the most.”

-I don’t think Ost Lim has anything to do with being an artist. I think if you’re good at music, you might think that way.

“I was impressed by Yoon Jong-shin’s interview video. He said that he thinks of his creations as excrement. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but that he’s making the next thing without being concerned about criticism or the score of the song. Looking forward to more. It was good to think about it. I am very aware that the only thing I can control in my life is myself, and there is nothing good about being obsessed and stressed about what doesn’t work.”

-Is there any last thing you would like to say?

“There is something I always say. I will work hard. Aside from music, I am more confident in one thing than anyone else. I am a person who is more confident than anyone else in being sincere and living hard. I will continue to work hard and become a musician who delivers good music.”

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