interviews

"the logo features a tattered heart engulfed in flames, while the album cover incorporates a fire motif through the typography of the title. depending on how it’s read, the title can also appear as ‘LOVE’ or ‘LONE’, adding to the intrigue behind the concept."

host: "if you could describe the title song in one word?"

wumuti: "i think it's 'summer'."

rui: "that's right! i think so too."

hyun: i think it's 'energy'. i  repeat the lyric 'gimme energy', too. it's a song full of energy"

rui: "i'll say one strong word - twerking."

wumuti: "our debut song has lyrics like this, 'ate the town and burned it'. the lyrics were a spoiler for the music video of this song. every city is on fire. i think it'll be good to look for hidden fun like that."

rui: [in relation to a drawing hyun did] "they're like a tree. don't get me wrong. that;s not what i meant. they're as hard and reliable as a tree."

wumuti: "during the concert in japan, hyun pulled out their wisdom tooth. but they had to perform. i saw them trying to perform even though they were sick. i thought it would be a lovely farewell ceremony. i did their makeup as a concept for their wisdom tooth's funeral. i decorated their face with stars and stickers on their cheeks. i was inspired by that story, i think it'd be nice if it melted into an album in the future."

haru: "i have a lot of moles on my face. people may think it's not pretty. but i like the moles on my face."

pd: "what do you like the most about your face?"

haru: "i like the fact that [my moles are] connected like a constellation on my face."

wumuti: [about the I ONE album] "it comes in two versions - one with wumuti's butt, one with haru's lips ... once you open them, they look different. this side has the I ONE logo, and this side has our lips ... yes, so the tattoo stickers in the I version have these drawings. count them - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! ten illustrations." 

hyun: "ten! wait, but who drew these ten illustrations?"

wumuti: "i drew them!"

hyun: "right - our leader drew them! you did so well!"

wumuti: "and these are the kiss mark tattoos we made ourselves by putting on red lipstick."

wumuti:  "'I ONE' carries the message that all beings in the world, including us, are unique and irreplaceable. our fire moves you, and we want to make that fire burn even stronger. and, our beauty is unique, no one can replace it or say anything about it. so it's an album that carries the message that, let's chase our dreams with confidence and more strength.”

wumuti: "as for our title track '1&Only' ... many parts of the story are connected to 'I'mma Be' making it an interesting movie story. so it would be nice if you check that out too.

host: "how does 'I ONE' build on the themes in 'I'mma be'?"

wumuti: “while in ‘I’mma Be’, you can see XLOV’s visuals and artistry within our own spaces, in ‘1&Only’, we’ve completely stepped outside. so, you can think of it as the story that unfolds after coming out into the world. if you look closely, there are many hidden elements in the mv that connect with our debut mv. ”so, you can think of 'I ONE' as the second part of XLOV's story. it would be nice if you could look forward to how this story will move forward. if we talk about music in particular, 'I'mma Be' was a little heavy, 'I'mma Be' was a little heavy, sharper, and mysterious. if you saw our charms these fresh vibes, then with '1&Only', it became a bit more hotter, and you cn see a more free-spirited XLOV who wants to enjoy this summer with our EVOL while enjoying the music.

wumuti: " ... this time, the members did really well in recording and showed their mature sides."

host: "how did you experiences shape your songwriting?"

wumuti: "i, personally, like to free my imagination and words like prejudice, i think i;ve always been someone who tries to fight prejudices ever since i was young. even my mother who has been watching all our projects since debut until now, aid to me that, 'you are finally expressing the stories and thoughts you talked about as a child, this is your dream." so, when i write the lyrics, i think about it, the members like it too, and i hope that in this art that we all love, there i no condition like gender, i want everybody  to be free to be what they want to be, do what they want to do with confidence."

host: "what inspired your bold, creative direction for a genderless concept?"

wumuti: "firstly, i think what we love and enjoy was our first priority. it was never our priority to make anything extra special or to be seen. we just wanted to show the kind of music we love, the kind of dance we wanted to perform, clothes we wanted to wear, makeup we want to do and if it would suit us. all these thoughts came out as ideas behind it but if you really want to ask who inspired me u think i’d say it’s my members who became my muse.”

host: "one word to describe EVOL?"

hyun: "for me, EVOL are like 4-leaf clovers. they bring me luck i could never have had on my own, so in the future i want to become someone that shares these fortunes together with them. i love you!"

rui: "it might be very obvious but for me, they are someone i can not exist without. like there are so many EVOLs out there,  i think it makes me want to work harder, practice more and show my best side."

haru: "for me, EVOL is literally a blanket ... a blanket. like, they are with me in my sad times as well."

wumuti: "for me, EVOL is sometimes an elder person in the family who raises me and sometimes like my younger sibling, they are like that, an adorable family to me."

wumuti: "we worked so hard to prepare this. if you take a closer look at every detail of our album, you'll see some interesting things, so please pay a lot of attention."

hyun: "i want to tell you about the music video, too, but there's a scene where i fly a pigeon myself. it wasn't cgi, it was a scene where i was flying a bird from a rooftop. it's a scene where a bird really shouldn't fly away. the weather was very cold and i was nervous and shivering while filming so it was memorable."

host: "okay. let's start. first - it's so unique, 'XLOV'. could you share with us what [this name means] and why you chose it."

 [...] 

hyun: "so basically the X in XLOV it basically means the 'unknown', or the things people might say that you can't do, and LOV means 'unfinished love'. so if you put it together, it's XLOV and it means we want to tell the stories of feeling 'in between' - like ourselves, the journeys, the doubts, and you know, just to create something amazing."

host: "something to do with the eyes. so basically you colour your eyes [contact lenses]?"

[...]

wumuti: "so the XLOV logo maybe looks like an odd eye, person's face. you know, like the one side is X and the nose and the O is the one side's eye and you put the V under the XLO. that would be like a face emoji. like everybody [versus?/has this?] odd eye right now."

wumuti: "the message we're aiming to share as XLOV is all about genderless and gender-free concepts. when someone is born...if you're a man and you wear a skirt, that isn't simply being genderless and gender-free. if you were born a woman and you wear a suit, that's not genderless. gender-free is it's about having no standards whatsoever. when you look in the mirror right now, you think, "i'd like to wear these clothes", or "this hairstyle and makeup would be nice", or even, "i don't need hair and makeup" without any limitations, the me that you truly embrace is what it is and what you believe is beauty and what makes something beautiful."

wumuti: "we're not focused on who i like, or what kind of person i like. we're not having that conversation. it's about what the 'me' i love looks like. it's about "who is the me that i love?" i think it will be simple if you could see us as a group that sends that message."

wumuti: "i felt confident that the members would truly shine when stepping into a more free-spirited concept and a more liberated artistic space, so i suggested it. i knew there might be some challenging aspects but when i asked if they were okay with it, they were more like, "what do you mean?" it really felt like that. people always tend to be intrigued when they see something new, when they see things that seem like they shouldn’t be done. i believe there will be a certain level of surprise that's what i think. but that too - since we're not doing anything wrong, when they see something new, if they do feel surprised, to me, that feels like a really positive reaction. that's how i see it. and that's the response i always get."

wumuti: "maybe, when i was younger, that little warrior spirit i had, might still be in me."

wumuti: "because we're a team that's strongly obsessed with it, we're all about capturing incredible detail. so with these results and creations please invest a lot of time into each and every one - every single lyric and every music video cut and each detail of the costumes. we'd love it if you could analyze them."

wumuti: "for predebut, i think like, you know, [we were finding who we really were], true me, myself - and what kind of music i like and what kind of styling i like. and that was the time for finding ourselves. and for now, for being xlov, i think we've finally found a home and space to be ourselves, and do what we want and wear what we want and do everything we want."

[...]

host: "what i love about what you said is that you found home in xlov. and what's amazing is that you’re not the only ones who found home, because your fans have found a home in you too. speaking of your fans, your fandom name is evol, which is love backwards. it also means ‘blanket’ in korean? now, it symbolises comfort, which like you said, is something you bring to your fans."

host: "now, each of you guys has your own representative colour and emoji. do you feel like those symbols really capture who you are?"

XLOV: '"yes, sure absoloutely."

wumuti: "the member's colours were chosen by me, and i made a colour for every member, but for the emojis it's actually EVOLs who made it, like the animal emojis it's all EVOLs."

host: "and you think EVOLs got it right?"

wumuti: "yes of course, it's the right answer if [they] say it."

hyun: "1 of LOV is a very sentimental and very detailed song, so of course you have to feel the song and convey the message well to the fans."

host: "how would you relate to that song - '1 of LOV'?"

hyun: [translated from korean into tagalog, then into english by ligma] ["'1 of LOV's message is that we want love between fans and XLOV - for people who are lost and wandering, XLOV wants to guide them to their destination, and with that journey with [XLOV] we  want to remind you that even imperfect love has meaning and beauty."]

wumuti: [about '1 of LOV'] "all the messages in the lyrics are what we want to say to EVOLs - and when i wrote the lyrics, all the EVOLs in my head, i just thought about them. because, you know, all the EVOLs give us a lot of energy and healing, and they always support us and love us. so that's so heartwarming - and they always protect us, so this song is for all the evols, and i hope you guys can enjoy the song."

host: "i'm very curious about the group's name. so what does XLOV stand for?"

wumuti: "okay. first, XLOV means 'unfinished love'. X means 'unknown and unfinished love'. and our fandom name is EVOL, and this is LOVE [backwards]. when we made our fans EVOL, the unfinished LOVE [became] perfect."

wumuti: "first of all, as soon as we debuted, we were very busy, and we have been continuously busy trying to prove our music, our color, and our concepts to the world. and now, new fans who continue to support us are constantly joining. with the thought that we should also work tirelessly and let those fans hear more music, we are continuously moving forward with our work and performing concerts as well. we have hectic schedules but a very fun time."

hyun: "the meaning of ‘I ONE’ is, first, that i am the only one, so it’s like i’m just one person, there is no other. It means “i am one. i am a unique existence.” then, the other meaning of ‘I ONE’ is somewhat similar to the sound of “i want,” which also contains the meaning of “i want it.” it's like there’s wordplay because all of our songs are related to “il,” which means one in Korean. the word for business in Korean is also “il.” That’s why “1 of LOV,” “I&Only,” and “BIZNESS” are all related to “il.”

wumuti: "for our debut album, we focused a bit more on the atmosphere, and the hair and makeup that we did. and because it was our first self-introduction song, we focused on making everything about us a bit more detailed and delicate, letting people know who we are. from now on, all the challenges, all the music, and all the albums we put out won’t be about us working hard to introduce ourselves to someone. instead, we’ll just introduce our own feelings—what we genuinely feel—and try to keep it fun as it is."

host: "what genres or concepts do you feel would be the best fit for xlov in the future?"

haru: "for me, i want to try and challenge myself with whatever vibe i have at any given moment. i just want to do what i feel at the moment. i want to do that because i want to challenge what else i’m truly capable of doing. even for the fans, even if they can't imagine it, we want to do it because it's so much fun."

wumuti: "first of all, i've always been imaginative. and since we started creating XLOV, i've been drawing a lot and creating my own comic-like stories i used to visualise the group's universe and atmosphere. and because our members became our muses, i feel like we're constantly doing what we love."

wumuti: "the meaning behind [our] concept is simply wearing what makes you feel good, without any social boxes or standards, just something that connects with your true self."

hyun: "we are XLOV ... the spelling is X-L-O-V. and when  you add an 'E' at the end, it becomes EVOL. when you flip EVOL it becomes LOVE. so it means XLOV is surrounded by love. XLOV becomes one - united in love. and in korean, 'ibul' means a blanket, something that covers and comforts you. so 'covering XLOV with love' - that's the meaning behind it."

host: "but like what about the concept of the music video? what's the story behind it? what's the concept of the music video?"

wumuti: "okay. um first of all um i have the whole story of xlov's concept and the world ... it's like such an anime in my head. yeah, i've made the whole story and everyone has a character in it and this is the [next story after] 'I'mma Be'. this is like, you know, the same character but like different situations - it's [a story that'll] keep going keep going. maybe i think some people will fill in the story, 'cause '1&Only' and 'I'mma Be' have a lot of the same [story] there. so i don't want to talk about the true story but i'll just let all the people guess and have fun, you know, searching for all the details - everybody is talking about it online."