Thunder, Fire, Light and Moonlight: LUMINOUS' path head to success

Being in the K-pop industry for less than a year and having started walking down this path during a global pandemic must not be an easy task. But LUMINOUS, the 4-members group composed by Youngbin, Suil, Steven, and Woobin, is undoubtedly a group we should keep our eyes on. All five tracks featured in their second mini-album show a wide range of styles and impeccable voices, and the title track of it, All Eyes Down, has an addictive upbeat. «Between Light and Darkness (Self n Ego)» is what you can define as a no-skip album.

Panorama.it sit down with the boys, whose global pr is handled by Mj Tonz, for an exclusive interview for the Italian fans.

Welcome back, guys. You debuted not long ago, how was your first comeback?

Hello, we are Luminous! This was our first comeback and we wanted to show better performance and music compared to our debut. So it seems like we were more nervous and excited than during our debut.

You held a showcase for the first time. Were you excited? What did you do before going on stage?

We couldn’t have a proper showcase for our debut due to COVID-19, so we had our first showcase with our comeback. It was thrilling and nervous to think about meeting our fans online and offline. We shouted to ourselves to not get hurt on stage and have fun.

Your second mini-album is called "Between Light and Darkness". Can you tell us more about it?

Our mini-album “Between Light and Darkness (Self n Ego)” is about the internal struggle between the ‘self’ which is the pure true self and ‘ego’ which is the self you create under the impact of the external environment.

Your title track, "All Eyes Down", is a hip-hop track that edges between hope and fears. Where does the inspiration come from?

Our Luminous series’ theme is ‘youth’. So we thought a lot about how we could define youth. They say that youth is filled with the challenges you take to achieve your life and dreams. So our first album’s message was ‘tough but beautiful youth’ and we had our own Luminous-styled brave answer. Our recent title song ‘All Eyes Down’ has that message. So you can say it is a celebration of youth. Often during your teens and twenties, things are unstable but also beautiful and we expressed that youth in music. It is a special song and we hope that this song can be a self-portrait for all.

During your media showcase, you also performed "Scintillation". I was really impressed with this song, the R&B vibes. But I'm curious: which is your favorite track on this album?

Youngbin: “Want it more?”. There is a line that says ‘Perfect (happiness/timing), does it exist?’ and I really felt that lyric, so I’d recommend this song.
Woobin: “Want it more?”. It seems like happiness is what we all endlessly long for so I recommend it
Suil: “섬광증(Blind)”. Like a moth chasing light, I really felt the idea of chasing your dream and goals so I will choose this.
Steven: “Trouble”. It is a song that looks into the freedom within you and I think that spoke to me

In this album you explore a lot of genres, is there something you are curious to try?

If given a chance, we’d like to have a breezy concept with a fun summer song.

You debuted last September: how has your life changed in these last few months?

We’ve just achieved our dreams~ We felt a sense of accomplishment and a great feeling of gratitude and happiness. Before our debut, we used to sing other singers’ songs, but after our debut, we are so happy that we can show a performance that is under our name.

What was your first impression when you first met?

Steven: I first thought Suil was unapproachable. He can seem almost shy at first but he actually is full of aegyo and pranks so it was very different from the first impression I had of him.
Woobin: I first saw Youngbin when we had a company meal at a barbeque joint. He would not eat and keep on cooking so I offered to cook but he just smiled and said ‘no you go ahead’. I remember that.
Youngbin: When I first saw Woobin at the barbeque restaurant, I was the last member to join the group. So to make a good impression I was cooking for those present at the meeting but Woobin was saying ‘hey, I can take over, please eat’ which made me think that we two would be good friends. And now we are.
Suil: When I first saw Steven, I was a bit shy but after spending time with him there are lots of things we click on, and it was very different from our first impressions.

If you could describe each other with a word, which would it be?

It would be ‘family’ ‘brothers’.

Luminous has its own fictional universe and all of you symbolize a different element. Suil is thunder, Steven is fire, Young Bin is light, and Woobin moonlight. Do you feel well represented by these elements?

Yes, we think so.
Youngbin: As I am the oldest and the leader, I have to guide the members and embrace them. So the bright light and at the same time I am like the cube that through prism collects different lights into one.
Suil: I think my confident stage presence was well captured since my thunderous light can capture the attention in a strong way.
Steven: I tend to be a perfectionist. I think that personality translates to a passion for music and performance so that image was seen in me.
Woobin: We are idols but we don’t just have magnificent performances but also soulful music and I am the main vocalist. I think this has been represented as the moonlight and it also shows the spectrum of Luminous.

Have you ever been to Italy?

No, we haven’t yet. If given the chance, we’d love to go and have a concert there.

I have one last question: who is Luminous right now? And who will they become?

As our name (the light that shines even in the darkness) suggests, we try to be the people who can represent youth and help reflect light on peoples’ lives. Our universe and idea are to be a ‘friend like light’. We’d like to be friends through music and we are using the Luminous series to send our message. "Let's be 'friends like light' who can represent the youth of this era and shine on life" is our motto and our goal. This is the reason why we are pursuing music. So we’d like to be your special person: both an artist and yet a friend and make songs that can show this.