Plus Magazine

NMIXX, the 6-member girl grou who caught the eyes of K-pop fans with their debut last February, has returned with their first mini album [expérgo]. Recently, NMIXX members celebrated their first debut anniversary and had a meaningful time with the fan club NSWER. They have now opened the prologue of the second series ‘Docking Station’ through their latest album. We, M Countdown Magazine, had a delightful conversation with the girl group NMIXX, who are filled with trust for each other and love for their fans.

NMIXX members, who have returned with their first mini-album [expérgo], please say hello to M Countdown Magazine readers! 
 

Hello, M Countdown Magazine readers. We are NMIXX. We worked really hard on our first mini-album [expérgo], so we ask for your attention and support.

Last month, you celebrated your first debut anniversary. It’s already been a year since you appeared like a comet in the music industry in February last year. What are your thoughts and feelings about this? 
 

HAEWON: I can’t believe it’s already been a year. We are happy that we can stand on stage now, more grown-up, one year after our first music performance on M Countdown as NMIXX.

You have been running vigorously without any breaks for a year. What is the part where you have grown the most? 
KYUJIN: I think we have grown in terms of composure and performance on stage.

After your single albums [AD MARE] and [ENTWURF] last year, your first mini album [expérgo] has been released. This EP is likely to hold a special meaning for you, who have been busy since last year. Could you briefly introduce this record? 
 

JIWOO: This album tells the story of NMIXX, who has become more courageous and moved forward, in order to connect with each other, facing the revelation of our senses, the changes in the world, and our own fears turned into a giant cat.

You finished the ‘New Frontier’ series and started ‘Docking Station’. Could you explain what themes will be included in it? 
 

HAEWON: This album is the first story of the new series ‘Docking Station’, which comes after the ‘New Frontier’ series! In this series, stories about DOCKING among NMIXX, fans, and members will be covered, centered around diversity, solidarity, and bonding. This story is about NMIXX rescuing and connecting people who have not yet awakened due to the enemy that harms our diversity.

Unlike the previous two single albums, [expérgo] contains six tracks. This album seems to be the result of your long and hard work. Among the songs included in the album, except for the title track, what are your favorites?

Lily: Personally, I like ‘PAXXWORD’ the most! ‘PAXXWORD’ is a song where NMIXX’s vocal tones and harmonies stand out. The track is about wanting to unravel the complex emotions of the person you want to connect with. Keywords like ‘Logging into you, hacker mode’ are the highlight!

SULLYOON: Personally, I like the song ‘My Gosh’ among the tracks. You can hear our warm vocal colors in this song! The lyrics are also very beautiful, so I recommend giving it a listen!

BAE: I like all of the songs on the album so it’s hard to choose, but these days I’m really into ‘Just Did It’! The hook and bridge parts are so addictive and I find myself listening to it often.

Even before the release of [expérgo], your pre-release single ‘Young, Dumb, Stupid’ garnered a lot of attention. That song is a genre of ‘MIXX POP’ that combines hip-hop and nursery rhymes, and it hit the taste of NSWER and K-pop fans perfectly. As this is a unique song that mixes children’s songs, could you tell us any interesting anecdotes from the recording behind? 
 

SULLYOON: Initially, when we listened to this track and even after listening to it many times, we couldn’t figure out what kind of children’s song it was, so we made a lot of guesses. I remember discussing with the members about various children’s songs that were candidates and wondering which one was included in this. Most of the songs we guessed were correct.

In ‘Young, Dumb, Stupid’, the choreography of the ‘Ding dang dong’ part in the chorus seems to be the point. The finger dance in this song reminds of the finger dance in TWICE Nayeon’s ‘POP!’. Can Gyu-jin, who did the ‘POP!’ challenge with Nayeon, give us some tips on the finger dance in this new song? 
 

KYUJIN: When I was younger, I wasn’t good at this finger dance either, so I practiced it diligently whenever I had free time. If you keep doing it consistently whenever you think of it, you will naturally get better at it!

Unlike the songs ‘O.O’ and ‘DICE’, which showcased NMIXX’s unique identity through a mix of flashy sounds, the title track ‘Love Me Like This’ from [expérgo] has a more mainstream and bouncy feel to it. What do you think are the strengths of the track? 
 

HAEWON: As this song is ‘MIXX POP’ which combines bouncy rap and R&B vocal lines, I think it preserves NMIXX’s identity while also highlighting the advantage of being easily accessible to everyone!

What do you think is the biggest charm of ‘MIXX POP,’ which only NMIXX can show? 
 

BAE: I think the biggest attraction is that you can listen to various genres in one song! It is a genre that you can enjoy all the way through without any boring moments while listening to the songs!!

What part did you specifically focus on during the album production process? 
 

JIWOO: Since the mood is different for each song in this album, we paid a lot of attention to performance practice to match the different moods of each song.

After watching the performance video of ‘Love Me Like This,’ which captures both the identity and popularity of NMIXX, it seems that there are more than one or two killing parts. If there is a choreography point in this song that surpasses your previous ‘Big Wave’ challenge from ‘DICE,’ could you introduce it?

KYUJIN: The part with the point choreography is in the chorus! It’s called ‘Move Your Hips Like This’’, and as the title suggests, you just need to shake your hips from side to side while making an L shape with your hands and spinning around! It’s a fun, exciting, and easy-to-follow dance.

The performance difficulty level that you show looks quite high since the title track ‘Love Me Like This’ has a fast tempo and the choreography that uses the entire body continues to appear. Despite the high difficulty of the performance, you still showed a perfect live stage at the past showcase and received praise from fans. We’re curious about NMIXX’s live performance secret. 
 

SULLYOON: Our secret is to drink a lot of water and make an effort to improve our stamina, and always practice singing while dancing.

Recently, your acapella version teaser became a hot topic. Could you explain what was the idea behind this plan? 
 

HAEWON: We thought it would be the best content to show NMIXX’s vocal color, vocal skills, and teamwork. Actually, it was quite challenging for us during practice, but we felt rewarded because many fans liked it.

It seems that you take great pride in your vocals, as shown by the fact that only the members’ voices are heard in the acapella. 

BAE: All the members have good skills and unique charms, so there are many aspects that we can showcase vocally!! Since many members have excellent singing abilities, we are confident in ourselves!

We heard that you have prepared a special song for NSWER, who has grown together with you over the past year, in this album. Can you explain what kind of song it is? 
 

JIWOO: That song is ‘My Gosh’, and it’s a soft pop style track where you can fully feel the sweet acoustic guitar performance and warm emotions. We expressed the surprise of encountering new emotions when meeting precious people in the song, and it tells the story of NMIXX finally finding the answer to fill the hearts through NSWER, having faced a wide range of emotions.

What would you like to say to the fans who are eagerly waiting for your comeback stage? 
 

SULLYOON: NSWER~! thank you so much for always supporting us and waiting for our comeback! We’ve worked hard, so you can look forward to it. We love you, NSWER♡