Interview: WARP's UP
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WARPs UP is a four-member multi-national boy idol group from Japan and China formed in 2019. “WARPs” is an abbreviation of “Wind Assemble Radical People-syndicate” with the concept of “creating a wind of innovation”. Rather than forming groups with fixed lineups, its members work together in different permutations. As one, this group of talented individuals is stronger than the sum of their parts. They aim to create a new world that reflects their values, transcending existing genres and boundaries.
For this interview we had the opportunity to talk to Chinese members LANGYI and MINGJUN.
Ken: First of all, thank you so much for letting us conduct this interview. We are big fans and love what you bring to the Japanese music industry.
LANGYI & MINGJUN Thank you so much for having us!
We try to be as open and free as possible, and make/choose the songs based on the thoughts and emotions that are related to our feelings at the second.
Ken: Do you have a process or certain mindset when creating your songs? If so, would you like to share that process?
MJ: We don’t have a certain set process or mindset; in fact, we try to be as open and free as possible and make or choose the songs based on the thoughts and emotions that are related to our feelings in the actual moment.
LY: This time we were able to listen to a very big amount of demos and picked the one that fit WARPs UP most at this stage.
Ken: Your song “Pleasure” was used as the opening for the anime Fruits Basket. Was it a fun experience to turn on the TV and hear your song playing?
LY: I was just very happy and shocked, so I had my friends along with me, cheering for hearing my voice on TV.
MJ: I have always been a fan of anime since I was very young, so it was new to hear my own voice coming with the anime, and it made me feel very proud.
Ken: How did the pandemic affect the way you approach your beats and composition for your music?
LY&MJ: The pandemic did not affect much on the composition and making music part, but instead it had an extremely big impact on our live shows. Because of the pandemic we were not able to perform on any stages yet. It also has an impact on little things; for example, we mostly recorded all together in the studio back in the days, but now we mostly go one by one.
Ken: What song(s) had an impact on you growing up?
LY: For me, it’s “One hundred Degrees”. It has been with us all the way since 2018 and I feel like it is a song that grew up along with WARPs UP.
MJ: For me, it’s “Pleasure”. We did two versions of it: one is the Japanese original version and the other is the acoustic Chinese version. I think it has also shown two very different sides of WARPs UP and the growth of WARPs UP as well.
Ken: What are some challenges you have faced as an artist? How have you overcome them?
LY: Me, personally right now, I really miss my family. Going through the fact that I have been apart from my family living abroad is the biggest difficulty for me.
MJ: For an artist, the biggest challenge was when all our work almost stopped for awhile at the beginning of the pandemic, but later I figured that it was a very good time to think about the future; to be patient and wait for the right timing.
Ken: What made you choose a path in the music industry? Who had the most inspiration on you and led you to choose this path?
LY: When I was in middle school I liked Jay Chou's songs a lot, so I wanted to be a singer-songwriter myself. Later I turned my interest to a boys group, which gave me the idea of being in a boys group myself. Although my parents didn't support me going into this industry, they were bar singers when I was a kid, and I often saw them being themselves shining on the stage, so I wanted to shine on the stage myself too.
MJ: I really liked Michael Jackson when I was a child, which made me fall in love with dancing. Dance is also the opportunity for me to embark on this industry, which gave me the most influence and made me determined to go behind-the-scenes.
Ken: As your group has multicultural backgrounds, how many languages do you speak? Are there any you'd like to learn in the future?
LY: As the group, our members know Chinese Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. And when we communicated when we first met, it was mostly in English. But now we can all communicate in Japanese and Chinese. And I think French is a very beautiful language so that would be something I want to learn in the future if I have the chance.
MJ: I know Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and English. And if I have the chance to learn more languages, it would be Vietnamese and Spanish. You know, it’s never too much to know.
It’s always fun to learn about different cultural backgrounds from other members.
Ken: What is the most interesting part of being a multicultural group?
LY: We can share the fun from our own backgrounds and compare with each other. It’s always fun to learn about different cultures from other members.
MJ: For me it is the blend of Chinese and Japanese culture and the difference between idols and dancers as a career path.
Ken: Which artist would you say is your biggest inspiration? Also, are there any international artists that inspire you guys as well?
LY: I actually think the biggest inspiration is from the members of WARPs UP. When we make things together we can always come up with something creative when we talk about WARPs UP ourselves.
MJ: I say it would have to be Justin Bieber.
Ken: For international fans, how they usually find out about J-pop is through anime. Do you guys watch anime, and if so, which would you say is your favorite?
LY: The most memorable anime are probably from my childhood, such as Doraemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, etc.
MJ: I really like anime so this is actually a tough question to answer because I have too many favorites. I guess I will choose Naruto and Sword Art Online.
Ken: Is there a venue you performed at that you’ll never forget? Also, is there a dream venue you would like to perform at?
LY: For me it is from when I was in “Idol Trainee”, a stage called “Can’t stop”. I hope we can go on a world tour in the future.
MJ: We haven’t been onstage unfortunately, but I really like the stage of Ai Otsuka which we visited back in the summer.
Ken: Which tracks are your favorite to perform live and why?
LY: All of them!
MJ: It would have to be “Pleasure”.
Ken: What would you say is your group's most difficult song to perform?
LY: Actually I would say “POWER_Shin”. It is the first song for only two of us, so naturally I get more parts than usual but that also means that I have more responsibilities.
MJ: “Cloud 9”, because it has a lot of high notes.
Ken: Who is the one artist you would love to work with in the future?
LY: Various artists such as Jay Chou, Taylor Swift, etc.
MJ: It would have to be Justin Bieber!
Ken: Which song have you created that you wish had a music video? What type of music video would you film?
LY&MJ: More music videos that contain outdoor sightseeing, such as a desert, beach, sea of flowers, and snow-capped mountains.
Ken: Do you have a message for your international fans?
LY: Thank you all for liking us and supporting us from the other side of the screen! When the pandemic gets better we'll be sure to go to all kinds of places to meet you face-to-face and give you a show! And I hope you take care of yourselves and don't get sick! Be healthy and happy!
MJ: Thank you to all of our overseas fans who have been supporting us. Although we haven't been able to meet you and perform for you for various reasons, we are always beyond thankful for your existence and are proud of it. We will work harder to become a better WARPs UP and meet you in a better light.
Ken: Once again, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule and we look forward to your upcoming releases!
LY&MJ: Thank you, it was a lot of fun!
