R.TEE Does Not Know How to Stop

BLACKPINK’s ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ is like a tank advancing without fear. Producer R.TEE, like the song he made, is heading somewhere very different from here.

Source - 2019.03.05 Interview with Harper’s Bazaar Korea.

Harper's BAZAAR Korea

I’m curious about the meaning of your name R.TEE.

I've liked rock music since I was little, especially Radiohead. When I was in high school, I had no money. Still, I wanted a Radiohead T-shirt, so I managed to save money and buy it from overseas. At the time, it was over 100,000 won, so it was a lot of money, but wearing that T-shirt and listening to their songs made me feel really happy. When I started a rock band, I needed a name, and that happy feeling came to mind. No matter what kind of music I do, I always want to feel that way, so I shortened ‘Radiohead T-shirt’ and named it R.TEE.

You started out in a rock band.

I was literally crazy about music. I wore my school uniform and big headphones, so my friends laughed whenever they saw me. I listened to music at a high volume everyday, and it got to the point where I couldn't hear well. (Laughs) Of course, I decided to do music, and I naturally ended up in a band. I was in charge of drums and vocals, but my skills weren't very good. Still, I think I did a good job of making people have fun.

Rock music inspires listeners similar to how EDM elicits excitment with sound.

Exactly. I listen to not only rock music but also calm and emotional music, and in the end, I realised that what I want to express is energy. I was doing rock music, but I started getting more and more attracted to other sounds. One day, while listening to music on YouTube, I saw a person wearing a rat mask on the thumbnail, so I accidentally clicked it and came across a new genre. It was a song called ‘HR 8938 Cephei’ by DJ Deadmau5, and after listening to it, I was shocked. After I turned 20, I went to clubs and it became clear to me that I wanted to do special music that moved people.

Harper's BAZAAR Korea

Did you go from being a member of a rock band to becoming a producer as soon as you made up your mind?

I’ve always thought about making a living doing what I love, so I did so much inline skating thinking I may become an athlete, and I fell in love with painting and studied at an art college. But ultimately, I liked expressing my energy through music the most. It's been 10 years since I made music with a computer, but 7 of them were slower than others. Look at the friends around me who started playing music, there were many cases of them who learned it within a month. There were times when I wondered why I was so slow, but I didn't give up because it was just as fun to do. It's been about 7 years, so the hard work is paying off. While making music, I became a producer because I worked with people who could assimilate my music better than I did, but I’m still not used to the title of ‘producer’.

Your background in Korean painting was impressive. Did that experience have an impact on your music production?

When I was in middle school, I was a disobedient and naughty kid. According to my teacher, I’d become quiet when I drew. I was amazed so I went to an art high school and thought it was a job I liked, but I think I was influenced by my father and older sister who are Korean painting artists. My experience of working with paintings helps a lot in choosing my career path and music work. In Korean painting, once the brush has touched a spot, it cannot be corrected anymore. That's how important the strength of that one stroke must be. When I make music, I always think of the intensity and release. The music I make is full, but when I empty it, I strive to empty it. Even when looking at a good painting, I think there should be small space that allows a person to move around. Rather than being full from beginning to end, I always keep in mind that there must be a flow and a climax.

Harper's BAZAAR Korea

You also worked as a DJ.

While I was making my own music, I would sometimes remix other musicians' music and post it on Soundcloud as a change of pace. The response was so good that I edited and uploaded a video on YouTube, the director of the World DJ Festival saw it by chance and suggested that I try DJing. When I first heard deadmau5, I didn't know he was a DJ. Justice and Daft Punk are DJs too. There was no reason not to. I live in Mapo-gu, and the director invited me to a small local festival and I went to the World DJ Festival too.

It's easy to just sit in your room and make music. As a musician who has been through that phase, what do you consider most important when producing an end product?

Devices have gotten better and are easier to get. Everything that’s been programmed now were hardwares in the past. Buying them all cost a lot of money and space was scarce. In the end, I think people who are crazier are the ones that will do well. A lot of people make music easily, but when you listen to the result, you can see how much research and how much effort was put into their identity.

Do you remember when you released your first song to the world under the name of musician R.TEE?

It's a song called 'We Got The World' featuring EXID's Hani, and this song was also a song I worked hard on alone in the corner of my room. I wanted to make a song with a style that doesn't exist in Korea, but to do that, I needed a powerful and sophisticated voice. I saw Hani when EXID was just getting attention and active, and there’s something about her that sparkles. I carefully suggested it, and was readily accepted, so I enjoyed working on it. It was a time when we were both struggling, so I remember exchanging encouragements from each other. It was completed as I how I had first envisioned it, and I will probably never forget the emotion of playing the song in front of over 10,000 people.

The song that made a big impression on the public was BLACKPINK’s ‘Playing With Fire’.

I wanted to work with Hani and release my own album, so the title I made was ‘Playing With Fire’. It's a song I made in 20 minutes after waking up late on a Sunday, sitting in front of the computer wearing only underwear. I happened to meet Teddy hyung, and luckily we got to work together. It means a lot to me to simply work with the person I had admired the most since I started making music. The experience of birthing such a cool song with Teddy hyung's help, and it receiving a lot of love from the public is precious.

After that, you continued to work on various projects like BIGBANG’s ‘FXXK IT’ and Taeyang and Seungri’s solo songs. It didn't sound like music made by the same person.

For ‘FXXK IT’, Teddy hyung and I, at 5am, just decided without plan to make a song and finished the sketch in an instant. In the case of Taeyang hyung’s ‘Wake Me Up’, I focused on designing the sound with natural sounds such as birds chirping because I wanted to give it a feeling of joy in a dream. There are different personalities between BIGBANG as a team and as soloist. Being conscious of their unique moods, the songs are created naturally.

On the other hand, BLACKPINK’s follow-up song ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ feels like a series of works.

I thought it would be nice to be like a tank that runs without rest. A song that’s layered with twists and turns. When I made the drop part, I pretended to be crazy and left it empty, but the other producers I worked with, 24 and Teddy, also liked it. I wasn't conscious of going with a mood similar to my previous works, but I can find commonalities in a lot of my new attempts.

Harper's BAZAAR Korea

A producer is like a label attached to a song. What do you think is your advantage over other musicians?

I have to constantly listen to the music until it is complete. What I do best in the whole world is endless listening. No one can beat me. (Laughs) When I make music, there are several switches inside me. As an engineer, I turn on the switch with the feelings of my mom, dad, people at work, friends, and the public and listen to it endlessly.

What was your parents' reaction actually like?

My parents love Martin Garrix and The Chainsmokers. They are people who listen to music more than I do, so rather than saying my song is good unconditionally, if the song’s not it, they say so and give me their clear opinion. When I first completed Seungri-hyung’s ‘Alone’, there was a certain sound until the part of ‘Cuz I don’t want to be alone’, but I thought I couldn’t hear his voice well, so they boldly told me to leave it empty. It was something I hadn't thought of, but after hearing their advice, it seemed like it, so removed it after some thought. Fortunately, they said the new song this time is good. (Laughs)

I'm looking forward to the new song.

It's a song called 'What are you waiting for' that Anda sang. Anda's unique voice and appearance are melted into the song. I think the lyrics and melody of the ‘What are you waiting for’ part will stick to the ears and mouth of anyone who hears it. I hope people can't breathe during the drop part when they hear this song. I arranged it with the idea of floating on the clouds for awhile to come back down to earth and feel that all the air on earth is sucked out. I hope you are pleasantly surprised. And it's also the first song to have my name on it after everything I've experienced and learned at The Black Label. It will be released on March 6th!

• R.TEE Song Credits

  1. 마이웨이 (MY WAY) JUSTHIS, DON MALIK, Huh, KHAN, Mckdaddy & Los

  2. SUN GOES DOWN JUSTHIS (저스디스)

  3. Hard to Love BLACKPINK

  4. Yeah Yeah Yeah BLACKPINK

  5. Pink Venom BLACKPINK

  6. KILLING ME (Live) iKON

  7. Chọn Bạn Mà Chơi R.Tee

  8. Anymore JEON SOMI

  9. MONEY LISA

  10. DUMB DUMB JEON SOMI

  11. Forever Young SmileJD

  12. 안 봐도 (OBVIOUS) KANG SEUNG YOON (강승윤)

  13. Crazy Over You BLACKPINK

  14. Pretty Savage BLACKPINK

  15. Lovesick GirlsBLACKPINK

  16. 사랑해 (I LOVE YOU) TREASURE (트레저)

  17. NO MORE KIM YO HAN (김요한)

  18. BOY TREASURE (트레저)

  19. What You Waiting ForJEON SOMI

  20. How You Like That BLACKPINK

  21. 뜸 (Hold) WINNER

  22. BIRTHDAY JEON SOMI

  23. Don’t Know What To DoBLACKPINK

  24. Kill This Love BLACKPINK

  25. 뭘 기다리고 있어 (What You Waiting For) R.Tee x ANDA

  26. 좋아해요 (ADORE YOU) iKON

  27. 죽겠다 (KILLING ME) iKON

  28. 혼자있는법 (ALONE)Sangria (승리)

  29. GOOD LUCK TO YOU Seungri (승리)

  30. Forever YoungBLACKPINK

  31. SEE U LATER BLACKPINK

  32. 뚜두뚜두 (DDU-DU DDU-DU) BLACKPINK

  33. LOUDERTAEYANG (태양)

  34. JUST DANCE MIXNINE (믹스나인)

  35. WAKE ME UPTAEYANG (태양)

  36.  에라 모르겠다 (FXXK IT) BIGBANG (빅뱅)

  37.  불장난 (PLAYING WITH FIRE) BLACKPINK

  38.  빨리 전화해 (Hit Me)Mobb

  39.  무서워 (Scary) Nada & Jeon So Yeon

  40. ROCKnROLLbaby PSY

  41. 바밤바 (Babomba) HOT PLACE

  42. We Got The World R.Tee

  43. 암행어사 (Justice) C-CLOWN

  44. 아무것도 몰라요 (I Don’t Know) [R. Tee Remix]FIESTAR

  45. I Feel Good (R.Tee Remix)EXID

  46. Don’t Know What To Do Caramel Moon (캐러멜 문)


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