Hyungwon pushes a rough piece of black fabric, threads roughly interlaced, underneath a microscope. He looks closer, observing and taking notes of the various substances made visible through the magnifying glass. Puzzled, he observes his surroundings, before glancing at the massive hole in the ceiling. The twist is then revealed: he himself is under a microscope of sorts, this time being surveilled by Shownu.
The two-minute album trailer for ‘The Unseen’ then continues on this baffling hallucinatory journey through the world of Shownu and Hyungwon, as traverse into alternate dimensions that ultimately lead back to the same piece of fabric. This ambiguous, psychedelic introduction to the MONSTA X sub-unit sets the perfect precedent for what they have in store for us; that “we are all conflicted in some way”, as Shownu describes.
Much like the threads of Hyungwon’s fabric, every single version of ourselves interweaves and merges to make us who we are. Human beings are multidimensional by nature, but some of these dimensions are born of perceptions from others, and could even be contradicting and confusing, but nothing is more important than who we really are on the inside. For Shownu x Hyungwon, MONSTA X’s first sub-unit, this concept of our innate nature and uniting these varying facets of the self sits at the crux of their debut mini-album, ‘The Unseen’.
“One of the main themes of the album is that there is a ‘real me’ and there is a ‘me’ that I want to be,” Shownu explains during the duo’s video call with NME from Seoul, a week ahead of ‘The Unseen’’s release on July 25. “The way others see me and the way I see myself is different. I’m ready to be all of them.” This is a theme that shows up throughout the album, but its sultry, laid-back lead single ‘Love Me A Little’ reinforces this the most, in the form of a message to a lover. “It’s more focused on love in the title track,” Hyungwon – who co-produced, wrote and arranged the track – chimes in, describing the song as a plea to a lover to love them just a little bit more as they evolve as people.
But according to the duo, the focal point of ‘Love Me A Little’ is actually its accompanying choreography, devised by Shownu in collaboration with dance crew FreeMind. “The song focuses a lot on the choreography and the performance, so it’s a song where you can listen to the track while being visually inspired by the concept,” explains Hyungwon.
Shownu then opens up about the work poured into designing the choreography: “I have always worked with the choreography team and we were able to work through our different opinions [on the dance] together. But in this case, I made it and actually directed it to the team first,” MONSTA X’s leader and main dancer shares. “The experience was very new for me and was definitely not easy.”
If the tender allure of ‘Love Me A Little’ feels like a divergence from what we’re used to from MONSTA X, then the rest of ‘The Unseen’ is a radical departure from the boyband’s comfort zone. ‘Love Therapy’ relies on a groovy undercurrent of 808 bass, keeping instrumentation minimal as the duo’s syrupy vocals add a charming contrast to its weight. Shownu and Hyungwon then croon sweetly of their achievements on the smoky, piano-backed ‘Roll With Me’, while electro-pop synthesisers really soar on ‘Play Me’. Even the boringly titled closer ‘Slow Dance’ is a dream-pop masterpiece with gentle 8-bit notes sprinkled throughout.
These songs present such a stark contrast to MONSTA X’s usual repertoire that asserts Shownu and Hyungwon’s dexterity as artists with a fearlessness when it comes to exploring sounds. “MONSTA X, as a group, has a specific kind of energy and power that we all have when we’re together, but this unit is simpler and more formal,” Shownu says. “We thought our direction and styles were very similar, so we decided to do this project together. We thought [our] different qualities create a different kind of synergy that works well together.”
That being said, things were far from breezy in the creation stages of ‘The Unseen’. “The rappers of MONSTA X aren’t in this unit, the song and our vocals are very different from the usual [MONSTA X] songs, so we did feel a little bit burdened because the both of us had to adapt to filling the songs on our own,” Hyungwon points out. Even as a producer, Hyungwon described producing for the sub-unit as a “new challenge” for him, despite his rich experience in the field. “Producing songs for the unit was very different from MONSTA X. I had to think more about us instead of the team as a whole,” he says.
Shownu and Hyungwon’s debut together also marks an important milestone in the former’s career – ‘The Unseen’ marks his first music since he was discharged from South Korean military service earlier this year. Hyungwon tells NME that work for ‘The Unseen’ had begun while Shownu himself was still in the military, and that wheels for the real work were immediately set in motion once he was discharged.
“I was a little worried because I had to start preparing [for the album] as soon as I came back from my service,” Shownu reveals, also adding that his concerns extended to a significant change in dynamic when it came to just the two of them. “But [eventually], I think the concept and the tracks came together really well and I’m excited to see how promotions will go.”
Their efforts have more than paid off in the form of a musically cohesive record that speaks to their near-decade-long experience as idols in the field. While Shownu and Hyungwon focus on unravelling the metaphoric threads that tie who they really are as people, the ultimate message of ‘The Unseen’ is to “love yourself”, as Hyungwon enthusiastically exclaims, in spite of all the complexities that come with being human. “We always want our fans to love themselves and work on bettering themselves.”
Shownu x Hyungwon’s debut mini-album ‘The Unseen’ is out now
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