Interview Balming Tiger | 한국의 크리에이터 집단 Balming Tiger가 세계에 발하는 장난기 넘치는 창작 배경과 흥미로운 라이브 퍼포먼스를 리포트.

표에 서는 사람, 뒷면, 직책 등의 역할 분담도 그렇고, 음악 장르에서도 기존의 틀을 극복하고 경계를 확장해 나가는 Balming Tiger의 창작에 대해 한마디로 표현한다면 어떤 표현이 됩니까?

bj 원진 놀이　

매드 더 스튜던트 각자가 표현하고 싶은 것은 많이 있지만, 결국 그것을 하나로 묶는 에너지가 필요하다고 생각해요.그러니 흐름이군요.

홍창희 음악을 만드는 것뿐만 아니라 비디오를 만들고, 사진을 찍고 스타일링을 하면서 우리는 정말 좋은 논의를 많이 해요.좋은 의미로 대화입니까?


도쿄의 영상 감독 Pennacky와는 여러 개의 뮤직 비디오와 단편 영화 'Moving For Word'등에서 콜라보레이션을 계속하고 있지만, Balming Tiger에게 Pennacky씨는 어떤 존재입니까?

오메가사피엔 앞의 매드의 이야기에 있었던 우리들의 퍼포먼스의 에너지, 그 말에 나타낼 수 없는 느낌을, 멤버 전원이 Pennacky씨에게도 느끼고 있다고 생각합니다.우리가 음악으로 표현하고 싶은 비주얼적인 포텐셜을 그가 잘 이끌어 줘, 그의 영상에서의 음악적인 잠재력을 우리가 높이고 있는 것 같다.서로 좋은 밸런스로 맞물리고 있고, 궁합이 좋다고 생각합니다.그리고는 친구니까 그것이 제일 좋은 곳이죠.제가 Pennacky와 만난 것은 Balming Tiger에 들어가기 전 일본에서 대학에 다니던 시절입니다.당시 저는 혼자 음악을 하고 있었고, 첫 뮤직비디오 시청 횟수는 대략 800~1000회 정도였습니다.Pennacky는 그 동영상을 발견하고 멋있어서 라이브 공연을 보러 왔죠.즉, 오래전부터의 관계입니다.그 동영상이 왜 그의 알고리즘에 나왔는지, 그가 무엇을 느꼈는지는 모르지만 우리에게는 통하는 것이 있었습니다.

소금 운명이군요.

2024년 4월부터 시부야 PARCO의 BGM 감수를 하고 있는데, 어떤 프로세스로 선곡을 하셨나요?

소금 4개의 계절분 우리들의 플레이리스트를 만드는 것으로, 1인당 25곡씩 골라 4, 5명이 한 계절을 담당했습니다.봄 여름 가을 겨울로 나눴습니다만, 그렇게 토론하지 않아도 큰 문제없이 좋은 느낌에 매치했을까.예를 들면, 봄을 담당한 멤버는 봄의, 각각의 계절에 대해 가지는 이미지가 비슷했다고 생각하네요.

홍창희 계절에 맞춰 모두가 고른 것을 모으고, 거기에서 조금 맞지 않는 곡이 있으면 빼고, 더 맞는 곡으로 대체한다는 느낌으로 플레이리스트를 만들어 갔습니다.

bj 원진 조금 전의 일이기 때문에, 솔직히 기억하고 있지 않습니다만, 우리들 중에서 몹시 신중하게 확인을 주고받은 기억은 있네요.

시부야 PARCO의 빌딩 안에서 만나는 곡이라는 점에서 의식한 적이 있습니까?

매드 더 스튜던트 PARCO는 역사가 있는 백화점이면서 지금도 젊은 느낌이 있잖아요.그래서 선곡할 때도 옛 곡과 최근 곡을 나누지 않고 조화로운 곡을 섞으면서 골라 갔습니다.

소금 저는 봄을 담당했기 때문에 「꽃이 피는 유원지」와 같은 느낌을 이미지했습니다.PARCO에서는 나이에 상관없이 모두가 어릴 적에 돌아온 것 같은, 꽃밭에서 놀고있는 것 같은 시간을 잊고 행복한 시간을 보냈으면 좋겠다는 생각으로 만들었습니다 만, 굉장히 즐거운 작업이었습니다.

PARCO에 가지고 있던 인상이 있다면 들려주세요

홍창희 내가 좋아하는 그래픽 디자이너 이노우에 츠야 씨는 80년대부터 90년대의 PARCO 광고를 많이 다룬 분인데, 그의 광고 비주얼을 봤을 때 굉장히 좋다고 생각했기 때문에 PARCO라고 들으면 그 광고가 떠오르네요.

소금 예술적인 것을 독자적으로 해석하고 추구하며 시대의 흐름에도 잘 맞춰 많은 사람들에게 사랑받고 있는 곳이지요.작년 여름, 친구들과 시부야 PARCO에 갔을 때 저는 슬리퍼를 신고 있고, 1층에 있는 COMME des GARTIONS GIRL에서 굉장히 귀여운 핑크색 VANS와의 콜라보레이션 스니커를 샀습니다.저는 색이 있는 구두를 별로 신지 않지만, PARCO에 와서, 어쩐지 끌어당기는 것처럼, 내 안에서 다른 자신이 깨어나는 느낌이 있었던 것이 인상에 남아 있습니다.

Balming Tiger의 활동에서 가장 흥미로운 체험을 관객에게 주는 것은 라이브라고 생각합니다.세계에서 투어를 하고 라이브를 거듭하는 것의 기쁨은?

오메가사피엔 스테이지에서는 어쨌든 많은 사람들이 우리가 하고 있는 것을 보고 있잖아요.하지만 저에게는 가장 진실한 순간이라고 생각합니다.라이브를 하고 있을 때 그 순간을 무척 좋아합니다.

bj 원진 투어를 오래 계속하고 있으면, 때로는 질려버리기도 하고.무대에 오르기 전에 모두 기도할 시간이 있습니다.그때의 모두가 조화되는 느낌은 언제나 좋은 것입니다.

매드 더 스튜던트 옛날에는 작은 라이브에도 많이 나왔고, 최근에는 큰 라이브에도 많이 나왔습니다만, 규모가 달라도 마음가짐은 대체로 같다고 생각합니다.무대에 설 때 멤버들과 함께 퍼포먼스를 하는 게 즐거워서.그 즐거움이 가장 큰 원동력이 되고 있습니다.

홍창희 투어를 하면 새로운 장소에 가서 새로운 공기를 마시고 새로운 옷을 입고, 새로운 트랙으로 퍼포먼스를 하거나 그런 새로운 경험을 자주 할 수 있는 것은 행복하다고 느낍니다.

소금투어를 2, 3년 함께 돌면서 늘 입에 담던 말이 두 개 있습니다.하나는 ‘한 걸음씩’, 또 하나는 ‘위기를 기회로’.투어에서는, 뭔가가 단번에 뛰는 일은 없고, 언제나 한 걸음 한 걸음 나아가야 하는 상황입니다.실제로 셀 수 없을 정도의 위기가 있었기 때문에.짐이 없어진다거나 라이브 전에 멤버가 비행기를 탈 수 없다든가.그런 상황에서도 위기를 기회로 바꾸는 방법을 많이 배웠습니다.투어를 통해 다시 콘서트를 만들어가는 가운데 점점 더 강해지고 모두가 하나가 되어가는 것을 실감하고 있습니다.

Balming Tiger, a South Korean musical collective, identifies as an alternative K-pop band and is gaining worldwide attention for its energetic performances and one-of-a-kind, addictive sound and vision. Since April 2024, the musical collective has been the background music selector at Shibuya Parco. In November, the collective attended the opening party for the fifth anniversary event celebrating the renewal of Shibuya Parco and gave a special one-night-only live performance. Among the eleven current members of the band, performers Omega Sapien, sogumm, bj wnjn, Mudd the student, and visual artist Chanhee Hong sat down for an interview. In addition to the interview, we are sharing footage from the live performance that electrified the venue.

- Balming Tiger’s visual expressions span videos, music videos, documentaries, artworks, styling, and more and are infused with a distinct, playful creativity. How do you create such unique productions?

Chanhee Hong: I believe this is largely because our team includes many members who can comfortably handle multiple genres. For example, our leader San Yawn is involved in directing, performing live, and styling, while the member Leesuho takes part in the production and creation of videos. I am also in charge of design and occasionally take the stage as well. In the beginning, people with an interest in multiple genres joined Balming Tiger, and their skills have naturally blended together.

- Your activities are rooted in a relaxed, open-minded, and somewhat silly sense of humor. That unique vibe has created an atmosphere that captivates and entertains the audience.

Omega Sapien: We truly enjoy laughing, joking, and goofing around together. We have so much fun hanging out with each other, so our playful nature and light-hearted vibes naturally come through in our performances, videos, and songs.

sogumm: I believe it’s because we have extra mental space. When I take part in a creative project as a member of Balming Tiger, I feel no pressure to be cool or showcase the most avant-garde parts of the work. Of course, I find it enjoyable, but I believe it’s because I have enough mental space that I can incorporate humor into the work.

Mudd the student: As Omega Sapien said, we joke around, but the main reason we came together as a group was our shared energy for performing. It's hard to describe, but we have our own code built on mutual trust, and our audience senses the strong mutual connection that we share.

- In one word, how would you describe Balming Tiger's creative works, which transcend conventional boundaries by redefining roles like performers and background staff as well as musical genres?

bj wnjn: "Playful."

Mudd the student: Each of us has many ideas that we want to express, and I believe it takes effort and energy to bring them together and shape them into the final work. So, I would say, "flow."

Chanhee Hong: We go through many meaningful discussions, not only while making music but also while creating videos, taking photos, and developing our style. So, I would say, "dialogue" in a good way.

- Balming Tiger and Pennacky, a Tokyo-based movie director, collaborated on numerous music videos and the short film, Moving For Word. To Balming Tiger, what presence does Pennacky have?

Omega Sapien: Mudd just mentioned the indescribable energy of our performance. All the members of Balming Tiger feel that same sense of energy from Pennacky. He is very good at bringing out the visual potential that we wanted to express in our music, and in turn, we can enhance the musical potential of his movies. We click very well with each other in a good balance. We are a good match, and above all, we are good friends. That is the best part. I first met Pennacky when I was a college student in Japan before joining Balming Tiger. At that time, I was making music on my own, and my first music video only had around 800 to 1,000 views. Pennacky saw that video, liked it, and came to watch my live performance. In other words, our relationship goes way back. I’m not sure how my video ended up being suggested to Pennacky through the algorithm or what he thought when he watched it, but I think there was something about it that created a connection.

sogumm: It's fate.

- You have been supervising the background music for Shibuya Parco since April 2024. What process do you go through to select music for Parco?

sogumm: Our task was to create playlists for the four seasons. First, we each selected 25 songs. Then, we formed four groups of four to five members with each group responsible for creating a playlist for a specific season. We divided the members into groups responsible for the spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Without much discussion, we created playlists that seamlessly matched each season without any major issues. For example, the members assigned to spring shared similar ideas about the season, and this held true for the groups assigned to the other seasons as well.

Chanhee Hong: We started by gathering and selecting songs for a specific season. Then, we removed the songs that didn’t fit and replaced them with tracks more appropriate for the season. This is how we created the playlist.


bj wnjn: Honestly, I don’t remember all the details of the process since it was a while ago. But I do remember carefully and thoroughly checking and discussing each song as they were selected.

- Were you especially mindful when selecting songs while keeping in mind that customers would hear them in the Shibuya Parco building?

Mudd the student: Parco is a department store with a long history, yet it still has a youthful feel, doesn’t it? Therefore, when selecting songs, we didn’t separate old songs from more recent ones; we blended them together to create a harmonious mix.

sogumm: I was assigned to spring, so I chose songs that matched the mental image of an amusement park where flowers bloom. I wanted shoppers to feel as though they were reliving their childhoods while shopping in Parco—as if they were playing in a flower garden and losing track of time. It was a very enjoyable process.

- Please share your impression of Parco, if any.

Chanhee Hong: Tsuguya Inoue is my favorite graphic designer, who created many of the iconic ads for Parco in the 80s and 90s. I really enjoy his ad visuals, and whenever I hear the name Parco, I immediately think of the ads he created.

sogumm: Parco is a place that has been loved by many people for its unique interpretation of artistic items and its ability to stay connected to the ever-changing trends of the times. Last summer, when I visited Shibuya Parco with friends, I was wearing slippers. On the ground floor at Comme des Garçons Girl store, I discovered and bought a super cute pair of pink sneakers, a collaboration with Vans. I don’t usually wear colorful shoes, but I distinctly remember being at Parco on that day, I was drawn to that pair and couldn’t resist; it was as if some unseen force was leading me toward them. It felt like a different version of myself was awakening inside.

- Among your variety of activities as Balming Tiger, live performances are when you deliver the most exciting experience for your audience. What do you consider as the joy of touring and performing live around the world?

Omega Sapien: When we are on stage, so many people are watching what we’re doing. I believe that is the most authentic moment for me. I really enjoy those moments when I’m performing live.

bj wnjn: Sometimes I become bored when touring for a long time. But before we go on stage, we take a moment to pray together. It is always comforting to feel that everyone is in harmony at that time.

Mudd the student: We used to perform live on smaller stages a lot. In recent years, we have been performing live on many larger stages. Regardless of the size of the stage, our mindset stays consistent. I enjoy performing alongside the other members when I’m on stage. That enjoyment is the biggest motivation.

Chanhee Hong: When we are on tour, I am happy to be able to constantly experience new things—visiting new places and breathing in new kinds of air, wearing new outfits, and performing new tracks.

sogumm: I always said two phrases while touring with these members for two to three years: "One step at a time," and "Turning a crisis into an opportunity." While on tour, nothing ever happens as a sudden leap forward all at once. So, we must steadily make gradual progress step by step. In fact, we have faced so many crises that I’ve lost count. We have faced the crises of lost luggage or members missing a flight before a live concert. Through those situations, I learned a lot about how to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Through our experience on tour and creating concerts, we have grown stronger than ever and become more united.