Backstage after their BST Hyde Park performance, K-Pop six-piece NMIXX speak on their experiences performing in Europe for the first time
NMIXX – consisting of Haewon, Lily, Jiwoo, Sullyoon, Bae, and Kyujin – debuted in early 2022 with the brilliant and divisive “O.O”. The song was dubbed by Dazed as “a showcase of NMIXX’s sweet to spicy vocal duality that happens to drive with its foot to the floor on a wet highway”, and was an introduction to MIXXPOP, NMIXX’s own take on switching up genre, style and pacing within a single song. This year, marks their long-awaited arrival in Europe, playing I-Days in Milan and then their first London show at BST Hyde Park, performing to thousands under the hot sunshine.
“O.O” sadly didn’t make the setlist at BST, but opening with B-side “Tank” (and its stuttering hook of “Freaky fresh, fresh, I'm so freaky fresh, fresh / I'm so freaky fresh, fresh, I'm so freaky”) was a powerful move. This was followed by, among others, the country-rock tinged “Run For Roses”, the fierce “Dash”, and three covers – Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U”, Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back In Anger” – for the younger and less initiated members of the audience.
The band also performed for a second time unreleased song “Moving On”, a mid-tempo heartwarmer that’s equal parts introspective and self empowering. Following their set, Dazed went backstage for a quick-fire interview with NMIXX, covering their thoughts on playing festival crowds and the inspirations behind new track “Moving On”.
What’s been your first impression of London?
Haewon: Nice weather!
Lily: It’s so famous for raining but luckily today it’s been wonderful.
Jiwoo: Lovely, pretty buildings.
Lily: I’ve seen a lot of London in movies and books and it’s kind of exactly what I was expecting from films like Notting Hill. And I really love book shops so I want to go to one later.
What is your sound of the summer?
Kyujin: Our song, ‘Rollercoaster’!
Lily: Everyone has been talking about Brat Summer and I’ve been listening to Brat too a lot, so I’d say that’s my summer album.
”You can never totally predict what songs will be favourites. When we’re performing and can see people’s reactions, those [moments] shape my opinion of the music even more” – Lily
When you walk onto a big stage like today, individually, what is going through your head?
Haewon: ‘This is nothing.’ (Laughs)
Bae: I tend to make mistakes if I get nervous so I just think of it like a practice. ‘Let’s have fun, let’s enjoy this!’
Kyujin: Make sure I don’t get hurt, just [see it] like our practice. Have fun and show everything I’ve got.
Your EP Fe304 has been out for precisely seven months as we speak. Has that time given you a new favourite song or a new outlook on a track you previously weren’t sure about?
Lily: When you’re preparing it you can envision what the fans will think but you can never totally predict which songs will be their favourites. So after it comes out and we get their reactions, and when we’re performing it and can see that reaction, those [moments] for me shapes my opinion on the music even more. All of our NSWERS said they liked ‘Dash’ so it made it even better for me. Then there’s ‘Break The Wall’, which I did like but it wasn’t my favourite. But NSWERS really liked it, so I listened to it again and was like, ‘Oh wait, it really is such a good song’.
Haewon: I had that last year with ‘Rollercoaster’ which I thought was an easy listening song, and that was its strength. But the fans love it so much that I now really like the song as well.
You’ve said previously that you don’t classify songs as ‘experimental’ or ‘public friendly’ but after the more straightforward production of last year’s Expergo, Fe3O4: Break was a definitive return to the MIXXPOP style. Do you think you were ahead of the curve with ‘O.O’? Where does MIXXPOP and NMIXX go from here?
Haewon: MIXXPOP at the moment is more understood by audiences and I think ‘O.O’ had to be there so that people could realise [what] MIXXPOP [was]. At the time, I didn’t mind [the reaction] because it was needed to get us to where we are now.
You played a new song, ‘Moving On’. What’s the inspiration behind it?
Lily: It’s like, no matter what the people around me say… Maybe in the past I would have gotten stuck on some of the things they said but I’m stronger now, especially together [with NMIXX], and I can kinda move on from that.
Would you say that this track is a reflection on NMIXX’s career from debut to now?
Lily: There are lyrics in the song that are about how at the start we didn’t know our way, finding our way through the maze, and we’re just moving on from that to a better place. So I wouldn’t say it’s entirely about our career because we weren’t ever lost, but I think we’ve definitely grown since then, so it’s reflective in that sense.