LAY Talks Music and What He’s Looking Forward to in New York before MetaMoon Festival
If you happen to be in New York November 26, there’s an event you can’t miss. The first ever MetaMoon Festival will be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ahead of the event, The Kraze and our media colleagues had a chance to sit down over Zoom with headliner LAY. He opened up about being a soloist, culture, performances, music processes, and what being at this festival means to him.
**Q: MetaMoon aims to bridge the gap between Asia and the U.S. and showcase the fact that pop culture and music are universal to folks across the globe. For someone who has been an artist for over a decade, what are your hopes for Asian artists as our music becomes more widespread around the world?
LAY: I hope that Asian artists can be appreciated worldwide. I hope that there are platforms that support their music and give them a chance to shine. There are so many beautiful languages and cultures in the world.
**Q: As a global artist you’ve released projects for both east and west, and both really emphasize the beauty of the world. So now that you’re headlining your first U.S.-based music festival, can you explain what this achievement means to you and what you hope to accomplish as a global artist in the future?
L: Each opportunity is a blessing, and I love performing in front of people. It never gets old, and I hope that I can perform on more stages, more festivals, and maybe one day, GRAMMYs?
**Q: You’ve had a long music career. Throughout that period of being with EXO and being a solo artist, how has your music changed?
L: So, I love the music even more now. I used to think that a dope melody was the most important thing, but now I just think the most important thing is if you can connect with the music. If you can connect with what’s inside of you, inside of me, that's very important in all.
Q: Since it’s been awhile since you’ve been in New York, is there anything you’re looking forward to? Food, restaurants, shopping?
L: Hot dog. Hot dogs are one of my favorite foods. I think in the U.S. it is so easy to get fat. There’s so many good, delicious foods.
Q: What’s the main difference between performing as a soloist versus in EXO?
L: So working with my boys, it is not that stressful. But doing solo is a little more lonely, and you have to do the whole thing, so that makes me nervous. But, it’s okay. Also, it’s a great thing and cool. It feels cool.
**Q: Your latest album West was released recently in celebration of your 10 year debut anniversary. All five songs on the album are so unique and special. So what made you decide to use “Veil” as the title track?
L: “Veil” had a fun vibe and was easy to dance to, so it was the song I had a lot of fun making. So after four years, I finally got the time to release it.
**Q: You’ve sung in three different languages throughout your career. What language feels the most natural to you when you record a song, and which one is the hardest to record a song in?
L: I think that Chinese, for me, is very comfortable. Second one is, you said just for recording, right? Recording. I think maybe Korean and English are the same. Because recently, when I was recording, people just talked to me in Korean. The directors talked to me and asked me, “Whoa, LAY, why has your Korean gone so bad,” [laughs] and that made me so confused. I didn’t think my Korean was that bad, but the director told me the truth. Maybe I have to practice a little bit [laughs].
As LAY expressed himself throughout the interview in English, maybe English has a leg up right now. Regardless, LAY also stressed that he and his team are working hard to give a great show, which might include some krumping, with hopes that everyone could come to see it. As for any concerts or tours soon, his answer was simply “not yet.” So everyone who can should make the most of his appearance here now to catch him at MetaMoon.
Thank you LAY, the MetaMoon team, and to our fellow media colleagues.
** Question from one of our media colleagues.
Minor edits were made to improve flow.