KnT 'The Mirror' Showcase Interview
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Interview
1. Congratulations on your comeback with The Mirror! Can you tell us what the title of the album represents and how it connects to the overall concept?
Leah: Thank you! The release of this album is very special to us, the concept of 'The Mirror' began as a reflection of the self, the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. However, a mirror can also represent the duality inside you, the good and evil, the light and darkness as well as life and death. With our album and concept, we explore that kind of duality. Which is why we began as clear souls who became witches, this is also reflected in the album, the first five songs tackle the 'good' side while the last five are a descent into the 'evil'. It creates a very interesting loop of creation and destruction so I hope people can look into it with an open mind!
2. 'Virtual Angel' is the lead track of this album, and the lyrics seem to carry a strong message of love and empowerment. What do you hope listeners take away from the song?
Nara: Virtual Angel, as well as being the main point of our comeback, is also a song about us as idols, we hope the lyrics and message of the song can resonate with our fans and those casually listening. It's a reflection of how we can be there for people who need us even though we're not physically together, of course we cannot help everyone personally but I hope our music can bring some healing to the hearts of those listening to us
3. Your previous music videos, especially 'Flashback' and 'Bewitched', have a very intense storyline. How does The Mirror conclude this magical girl concept?
SoAh: Our concept is inspired by the anime series 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' which creates a story of suberting the stereotypes people have on stories of this kind, and so, we wanted to do the same with this comeback, 'Flashback' begins in a very sweet and excited tone after we made a contract for a wish in the first concept film, but slowly, our characters are stuck in a situation they didn't expect at all, this comes to light in the second concept film and escalates into 'Bewitched' when we're slowly falling into despair which all leads to the unavoidable 'Illusion'. For now, our conclusion is with Virtual Angel, where we have reached a higher level to magical girls in order to protect them and the world from any harm we can prevent
4. The storyline in this comeback seems to dive deep into darker themes like despair and redemption. How did you prepare emotionally to portray such a complex narrative?
Gin-E: We've been preparing for this release for a long time and was originally meant to be released before our last album with 'Non-Fiction' but we didn't feel like it was polished enough at the time and we didn't want to portray something in a way we weren't satisfied with. And so, we left it on standby for a little while, all of our members started taking serious acting lessons and we talked to a psychiatrist on how to portray our message in a way where we can show all of our human emotions realistically without suffering in the process. Honestly, it wasn't easy, the topics are hand are all something we could relate to a lot, specially on wishing for something that you might initially think it's great but ends up causing you and others lots of pain. Still, little by little we were able to create a story we're happy with, and songs we genuinely enjoy a lot.
5. The teasers like 'Magicour,' 'Grief Seed,' and 'Rewrite' created a lot of excitement among fans. Could you explain the meaning behind each teaser series?
Miyu: This comeback is filled with important details from beginning to end, and that includes our teasers as well. 'Magicour' encapsulates the first stage of our transformation, where we just became magical girls and are full of hope, each of the members has their own Soul Gems in their representative color and the name of the teaser has several meanings such as 'Magic Cure', 'Magic Core' and 'Magic Cœur' which means heart in French, it represents our bright wishes and hopes. The 'Grief Seed' teasers are the reflection of the 'Magicour' teasers, that's why our Soul Gems (SG) are flipped to the other side and become Grief Seeds (GS). In the 'Grief Seed' teasers we've become witches, and so, everyone gets a witch name as well as a witch portrayal, our witch names are also written in runes to represent the change that happened to our entire selves. And we conclude with 'Rewrite' once we have made up our minds to avoid the disasters caused by our mistakes, we come together as guardian angels to rewrite the past and protect those who matter to us
6. KnT has always been known for stunning visuals and choreography. What was the most challenging part of learning the choreography for 'Virtual Angel'?
Nara: First, thank you for thinking so highly of us (laughs) I appreciate it. As for our choreography, the most challenging part is always making sure that the lyrics and rhythm are taken into consideration when we dance, if there's not a good cohesion, it can look very messy. This time around, we have a lot of points that rely heavily into the five of us completing the details as perfectly as possible, it's something that elevates the choreography to a higher level and if even one of us fails, it can create a jarring performance. Which is why we worked extra hard to show the upgraded synchronization of Kiss and Tell this time around. Everyone, please anticipate our stages a lot~
7. We’ve seen your transformation into “Witches” in the previous videos. How did it feel to play darker characters before becoming 'Virtual Angels' in the end?
SoAh: It was quite challenging! We had never had such a dark style both musically and visually before the release of this album, it felt like an opportunity to expand our horizons even further than we had before. The songs' choreographies are also a very different style from anything we had danced to in general before, everything is very theatrical and dramatic which fits very nicely with the narrative heavy album we're going for this time. In a way the 'Witches' we played, helped us grow as artist and it was lots of fun to be able to do something that was not expected of us
8. The Mirror is your second full album. How does this album differ from your first full album in terms of musical style and growth as a group?
Leah: Our first album 'Vérité Infâme' was a very important moment in our career when we released it back in 2022, it's musical style was a big change from what we had released before and it sort of became the pillar of what KnT is even to this day, musically, the genres of the songs are completely different, once again we're trying sounds and styles we hadn't tried before and we're refining those we had explored in the past, as a group we have grown immensely and I think our 2022 selves would be proud of whom we've become today
9. How do you feel connected to this concept personally, and how does it reflect your journey as idols?
Gin-E: In general our concept captures a lot of human emotions and presents it through a magical girl lense, there's many things and moments of self doubt, insecurities, and change, as well as acceptance that resonate very deeply with me, I think for us as idols, it reflects every step we have taken to get to where we are today. Life is like a rollercoaster with many ups, downs and twists that you can't expect on your first try, but with resilience, you can get through anything and enjoy the ride as much as possible.
10. Finally, can you share a message for your fans, KiTeLing, who have been eagerly waiting for this comeback and continue to support you through all your challenges?
Miyu: KiTeLings~ thank you for waiting patiently for this release and being so interested in what our next chapter brings. This album is a gift for you so please love it as much as KiTe loves you~ Thank you!
₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹♡ 𝒃𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒆~
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