Jadu took the lead in planning and producing her latest project, writing the lyrics for every single track! Working alongside music producer and pianist Oh Hwa-pyung (formerly of the duo ‘Maum Jeonpasang’), who co-composed all the songs, Jadu aimed to create an album that truly screams, “This is me!” The result is the mini-album ‘Mal Mal Mal,’ featuring five tracks: ‘Go ahead,’ ‘Remote Control,’ ‘Mal Mal Mal,’ ‘Golla Jaba,’ and ‘Deer,’ released on the 27th of last month.
CBS No Cut News met with Jadu on the afternoon of the 17th of last month at a gallery in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to dive into the making of ‘Mal Mal Mal.’ In the first part of the interview, we focus on the music, including the title track ‘Mal Mal Mal.’
Though she initially felt lost, Jadu began writing songs early this year and eventually collected ten tracks. She carefully selected five based on the criteria: “Only Jadu can sing this” and “This is a story only Jadu can tell.” Known for her relatable lyrics during her days with the duo ‘The Jadu’ alongside Kang Doo, Jadu revealed that lyrics are “always the priority” in her music.
Jadu shared that she has around 400 voice memos where she wrote lyrics first and then added melodies. “I record things as they come and decide later how to combine or expand them,” she explained. “Whether it was a release or a thirst-quencher, the feeling of ‘I want to say this right now’ came before the sound. I structured it so that if one song had a social message, another would be warm and relaxing.”
Aside from the first track ‘Go ahead,’ which features the lyrics “Go ahead” and “Right now,” all songs in the ‘Mal Mal Mal’ album are written entirely in Korean. “I think of myself as a Korean-style singer,” Jadu noted. “The music is truly ‘Gayo.’ Some call it pop-rock or Korean folk, but my singing style is most specialized for the Korean language.”
The title track ‘Mal Mal Mal’ serves as the heart of the album. It is a band-sound track that asks, “It’s not about what you hear, but what standards are you living by?” Jadu clarified, “It’s not a ‘pretty’ song, a refined song, or a calculated one. It’s not simply a song about being angry, nor is it a pessimistic song that ends with ‘there is no answer.'”
Jadu used the various properties of “words” (mal) as her lyrics. Her thoughts that “being polite and fluent doesn’t necessarily make words good, and being smooth and sweet doesn’t make them good either” were captured in lyrics like “polite and fluent lies / smooth and sweet nonsense” and “confident and sophisticated lies / foolish and harmless soliloquies.”
“Rather than worrying about whether it would be popular, successful, or liked by people, I focused on ‘I want to tell this story,'” she said. “I told myself to be someone who can speak their own kindness and standards without being swayed. I wanted to make a firm resolve in a shaking world. I hope this provides some relief to those who suffer because of ‘words.'”
Starting with an electric guitar sound, ‘Mal Mal Mal’ features a performance with dancers. While not typical broadcast choreography, Jadu described it as high-energy. “The sound itself is intense, right?” she joked. “The performance is an essential part of the song, so I tried to fill it with energy. I had a specific image in mind for the stage. I think the frustration is relieved only when you see the performance. The choreography is also playful. I struggle with things that lack wit.”
When asked if she considers herself a “funny person,” Jadu laughed, “Children see me as the ‘funny auntie’ and giggle.” She emphasized, “My personality is naturally funny, light, kitsch, and a bit B-grade. I don’t want to lose the descriptors or categories attached to me, like ‘harmless’ or ‘pleasant.'”
Since the overarching theme of the album was “words,” Jadu naturally intended ‘Mal Mal Mal’ to be the title track. However, there was a surprise. The first track, ‘Go ahead,’ which she wrote with overwhelming emotion while thinking of her husband—wondering how she could have met someone like him—received a great response. The preference between the two songs seemed to split by age; listeners in their 20s unanimously agreed that ‘Go ahead’ had title track potential, with some even suggesting it should have been a pre-release.
“Younger fans loved ‘Go ahead’ 100%,” Jadu said. “I’m grateful that they liked it even though I didn’t intend for it to be the title track.” However, her decision to keep ‘Mal Mal Mal’ as the title track remained firm. “When considering the sound and performance, ‘Mal Mal Mal’ was the title. The album is also named ‘Mal Mal Mal,’ so it felt right to culminate there, especially since this album unfolds my own narrative,” she added.
The second track, ‘Remote Control,’ which sings “I love you as much as a remote control / I love you as many times as I press the button,” was a song she agonized over for its title. Regarding ‘Golla Jaba,’ Jadu introduced it by saying, “The title was easy to write, but it’s ultimately about ‘picking’ (golla jaba) today’s mood. It contains my choices and what I pursue.”
As for ‘Deer,’ she explained, “A deer standing on a mountain ridge doesn’t slip or become crooked. To me, a deer isn’t a weak image, but a being with strong power. It’s a story about how life may be steep and I might slip, but I won’t become crooked.”
Jadu is promoting her new song ‘Mal Mal Mal’ on music shows. She recently revealed the stage for ‘Mal Mal Mal’ on KBS2’s ‘Music Bank’ on May 1st.
