WTK was able to sit down for a special interview with the up-and-coming indie rapper Auvers. At the age of 24, Auvers is taking things to the next level with his second full length album, entitled Moby Dick, which was released on the 29th of November.
Influenced by the great minds of history, Auvers gets his name from literature. He once read a biography about the painter Vincent Van Gogh and learned about his final home in Auvers-sur-Oise, France. As someone who also wants to make an impression with his work just like the painter, he was inspired to take the stage name Auvers (pronounced “O-ber-uh” in Korean).
Focusing on a new style of hip-hop called “conscious hip-hop,” Auvers uses his own life experiences throughout the majority of his lyrics, adding social tones to his songs that he hopes will help listeners overcome hardships in their own lives. In fact, the main purpose of conscious hip-hop is to create awareness and impart knowledge, specifically towards that things that affect society.
During our interview with Auvers, he shared an introduction to his album in English as a special message to our readers:
“My English is not good. (nervous laughter). My second album is inspired by the novel ‘Moby Dick.’ So, the listener will be able to imagine the songs as anything… it can be anything… If you are in [a] hard situation… I hope you enjoy my album.”
With that statement, we got into an in-depth interview where Auvers could speak freely in Korean to chat about his newest album and what it is that makes him different as an artist.
WTK Team With Auvers During Interview In Seoul- November 2018
WTK: For our readers who may not be familiar with you yet, can you describe your style a little?
Auv: My style is hip-hop. I like to have more of a vintage feel to my music and to concentrate on my lyrics and their meaning. There is a sub-genre called conscious hip-hop and that is what I want to focus on.
WTK: What musicians do you look up to or draw inspiration from? Given the chance, who would you like to collaborate with?
Auv: An artist that I think I look up to is [American band] Brockhampton. But if I could collaborate with an artist, I think would be Justice or Taekwoon.
WTK: As your second album, what do you think sets it apart from your first album?
Auv: My first album was mostly about myself and my personal life, [but this one is different].
WYK: What are you most proud of with the production of this album.
Auv: When I was making the album, I borrowed a lot from “Moby Dick.” I liked how the story was told and was able to set up my album in the same way. If you understand the story, then I think you can get more emotions from the album.
WTK: What emotions do you think your fans will have when they listen to this album?
Auv: From this album, I produced it for anyone who is having a hard time— from big problems to small problems. Any fan who listens to the album can draw inspiration from my songs and help them overcome their problems, no matter big or small.
WTK: A lot of your songs have the theme of overcoming. As such, what has been the most difficult obstacle for you to overcome as an artist?
Auv: Being in hip-hop is difficult… dealing with money and everything. Also, finding my own style and myself within the hip-hop world. There is a lot of competition.
WTK: What is your main inspiration for writing this album?
Auv: The main thing I [took] inspiration from is “Moby Dick.” But while living in Seoul, I wanted to write about the way of life and how I am living here… just everyday life and the struggles that people go through.
WTK: Which song on the album are you most proud of?
Auv: This album has a double title track: song number 7 “선상파” and “Moby Dick.” I like track 7, because out of all the songs, it is the happiest and most uplifting. And I think the message I want to get out is best represented in that song.
WTK: For the album, you were inspired by many artistic mediums. How did you come up with this concept?
Auv: While reading the story [“Moby Dick”], I read that there was a perfume that is made from whale intestines, and that is why, during that time, there was a lot of whalers. That perfume was used for the rich people, and the narrator of the story wonders if the upper class people using the perfume know where it is coming from and [of] its dirty background. I feel that within the job, it doesn’t matter if it is high class or low class, everyone is doing a job and [must] deal with its difficulties.
WTK: With your song “MacGuffin,” you make a reference to Hitchcock– who popularized this term as a plot device that has no long-term effect on the story but still affects the character. You mentioned that your song by this name was added to give a sense of tension to the listener. What sets this song apart from the others on the album that would give the listener that feeling?
Auv: All of the songs prior to “MacGuffin” are kind of building up tension. So, people who are listening to the album feel tense. I wanted to use this song to connect the intro songs to the ending songs. Because it is connecting those two parts when people listen to the album, it will be like a movie. And like how Hitchcock uses the MacGuffin in his films, it is really there for no reason [except] to throw people off, which will lead them into the ending songs of the album.
WTK: You have another song on the album entitled “Siren” that deals with heavy themes where you mention sirens and Greek mythology. How did you make that connection?
Auv: In the book, there is the character Starbuck, which the coffee shop Starbucks is named after. On the Starbucks logo, there is a mermaid but she is actually a siren… which is the name of the song. [The character’s] job was to call out to the ships with her voice so that they would wreck and the sailors would die. I asked Sabina to feature in this song to sing as the “siren” in this song.
WTK: Finally, what is the main message you want your listeners to get from the album?
Auv: I just want to tell them that this album has a lot to do with obstacles in people’s lives. Not necessarily overcoming them, but the process of dealing with them. That is what I went through writing and producing, and that is the emotion I want to portray. Anyone who is going through a hard time— no matter what it is— I hope they can listen to my music and gain strength from it.
Sitting down with Auvers for this interview allowed us at WTK to see just how serious he is about his music and how much thought, preparation, and effort goes into each individual song, as well as into the composition of the album as a whole. Because of that, we know that Auvers has an important message he wants to share with listeners and is bound to keep delivering it in an artistic, passionate way in future projects as well. As such, we can’t wait to see what this up-and-coming artist has in store down the road as well.
To purchase or stream Auvers’ new album, click here. You can also find his previous album by clicking here. Most information available on Korean music sites is under the Korean spelling of his name: 오베르.
A special thank you to E&P Company and Anotherview Label for inviting us to speak with Auvers in Seoul.
Kay is a writer for WTK and is fully convinced she hails from planet Mato. Breaking from her obsession with alien bunnies, she also enjoys the soothing sounds of Vixx in all their creepy glory. When not planning her not-at-all hostile take over of TS Entertainment, she is probably fan-girling with her sister or studying for graduate school.
Media: Yulia Yumagulova for What The Kpop
Featured Image: What The Kpop