Kang Daniel
The color cyan contains an essence of a cool, calm and bright blue, a sentiment that fits well into the next step of Kang Daniel’s story.
Both in album sales and technical abilities, the star is one of the top performers in the K-pop industry since breaking out on his own last summer with his first solo EP released under a self-created entertainment company. But a brave move of breaking out completely solo led to stresses like a legal situation with his former label, issues appearing on television and parts of his personal life being revealed—all leading to a hiatus for the artist just as he released a new single at the end of 2019. Understandably, Daniel was looking for calm.
Like his debut album Color on Me, Kang Daniel’s Cyan has an understated sense of pop sophistication to it. Lead single “2U” has a subtle-but-rocking synth-pop sound that’s refreshing as it is catchy. That theme continues throughout the five-track set that includes the snappy, electro-pop cut “Jealous” and the half-beat-heavy, half-funky-harmony-driven “Interview.” It doesn’t smash you over the head with an overwhelming amount of sounds and influences like some of the best K-pop can, but instead invites you to settle in and learn more about the increasingly colorful music world Kang Daniel’s creating.
The singer-dance-entrepreneur came to the United States in February of this year, not only to put the finishing touches on Cyan (a new EP that he tells Forbes he “put his heart into”), but to film a reality show that lets viewers watch him experience the joys of everyday life and travel (Hello, Daniel is currently airing on South Korean television). On a relaxed, sunny day in Los Angeles, Daniel speaks with a self-assured calmness about his new projects as well as about overcoming the hardships that came before them.
While he hadn’t revealed Cyan as the album title at this point, no doubt he was embodying several elements of the color in this interview. Read on for more about Cyan, Daniel’s journey and what’s coming up.
Jeff Benjamin: There is so much to talk about but, first and foremost, I want to know how are you doing? I don’t want to focus too much on the past, but we know you needed to take a break in December, can you let us know what was going on?
Kang Daniel: It’s really good to see you, it’s been a while and last time you came to Korea. But this time I got to come to L.A. to say hi to you so that's a great pleasure. I'm here working on the projects that I've been preparing a lot, but everybody runs into a wall sometimes and that happened to me in December. But what gives me courage, and what I want to focus on more than what happened to me, is that I overcame my obstacles and it’s really that which gives me courage to move forward.
Jeff Benjamin: And now looking forward, you’re here for your album photoshoot, music video and other filming. How’s your time been?
Kang Daniel: Just the nature of being in a city like this, where it's so bright and warm, it kind of is giving me a vision on what my music should sound like. I’ve been to L.A. in the past, but rather than look back on those memories, I’ve been able to make a lot of memories this trip. Like the music video we shot for “2U,” we shot it in a theater that’s was built in the 1930s. I just really enjoyed it, the whole experience.
Jeff Benjamin: How would you describe this new album, “2U” and its choreography, compared to your past works?
Kang Daniel: The title track [lead single] “2U” has a sound that's gentle and comfortable—a mix of pop and hip-hop. I think it works well for spring. The choreography was complete before we got here and I’d describe the choreography as difficult. But what I mean by that is that it’s a difficult song to dance to, it might seem like it’s a little bit slow at times but we’re able to make it very spectacular in its own way. I took part and participated in the whole process of making this album. From selecting tracks, including title track, to recording, arrangements and mastering, it’s even difficult to choose one song as my favorite. I focused on putting my heart into it.
Jeff Benjamin: I was curious because L.A. is so well known for its own hip-hop and B-boy-style dance if we were maybe going to see more of that side come out in this comeback.
Kang Daniel: Ah moving forward, I believe the music will be like that, but you just reminded me of something. During the music video shoot, KYLE actually came out to visit the set—he’s a rapper I really like and there’s quite a few songs of his I like—and when I met him, I was speechless. [Laughs]
Jeff Benjamin: The album title Cyan has another color theme like your debut. Last time we had an interview, you told me you were finding your color as an artist. Is this the color for one album or does it represent you?
Kang Daniel: The “color” series is the process of finding my true colors, therefore I can’t say this first mini-album Cyan is my color, but I would like to say the “first button.” As if, I'm thinking about what to wear every morning, I'm going to try them on one by one and find the color that suits me the most. There are so many colors I want to try on though.
Jeff Benjamin: You also said you were learning to balance your CEO and artist side, but needed to remember the artist side. Have you found balance?
Kang Daniel: There's so much that I prepared this year to show people and there's so much more in me as an artist that I want to show. So there's a lot more of the artist side that I want to show people at the moment. I’m going to make a good balance like last year while also focusing on the artist side.
Jeff Benjamin: Your first move back to the industry was your Hello, Daniel reality show. Do you enjoy sharing your life in this way?
Kang Daniel: Communicating with the fans is always good, but this is the first time I've done international travel like this in a long time. And it’s been a long time since I've been able to enjoy myself this way. For example, I really like Marvel Comics and I was able to go to a bookstore [to look at Marvel books and comics]. I went to a record store and bought vinyl albums from Jimi Hendrix, Chet Baker, Kanye West. While the crew is here with me now, I’m looking forward to actually watching it through the screen too.
Jeff Benjamin: I didn’t know you had those influences in you, I see it though, very cool. Anything else surprising coming from you this year?
Kang Daniel: There’s a variety in the things I’ve prepared and everything I’ve been thinking about creatively in my head has now been organized, and I feel ready to present it. Even when I was on my break, I was constantly thinking about what I would be doing when I returned. I think the level of completion is going to be at a higher standard now.
Jeff Benjamin: When you do a hit a wall or get stressed, who can you lean on?
Kang Daniel: Of course I have good friends that I can rely on, but the one person who has been there that I can always talk to, face to face, is my mother. Even now when I talk to my mom, we just don’t know where the time goes and we end up talking for, like, three hours.
Jeff Benjamin: To wrap up, this wasn’t public but we saw each other at Music Bank at the end of 2019. I asked you if you were feeling happy and you said, “Yes...I think” and it made me a little worried. Are you happy now? It’s okay if no.
Kang Daniel: I’m finding my way. Every day I take it day by day, but I think I found the way.
