After a while of ODD EYE CIRCLE and solo activities, Choerry, HeeJin, Kim Lip, HaSeul, and JinSoul — signed under Modhaus — finally joined forces as ARTMS, dropping a debut with such dreamy, enigmatic vibes from the girls. Not all groups launch with such a polished full-length record, making their debut one-of-a-kind. This, among other things, is what makes ARTMS’ debut a stand-out, successfully building that solid foundation and introduction to ARTMS’ worldview, leaving the listeners wanting more — musically and visually.

‘Dall (Devine All Love & Live)’ is the quintet’s debut album, which boasts 11 tracks “url,” the title song “Virtual Angel,” “Sparkle,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “Flower Rhythm,” “Candy Crush,” “Air,” “Unf/Air,” “Distress,” “Butterfly Effect,” and “Birth.” Notably, members HeeJin, Kim Lip, and JinSoul contributed to penning some of the tracks. “The company has also been very open towards us being more creative,” HeeJin shared during an interview with allkpop over a Zoom call.

The focus song, “Virtual Angel,” in particular explores the love and connection between the artist and the fans. “It’s about going beyond the cyber world,” said JinSoul.

With ‘Dall,’ ARTMS further expands their intricate lore, which according to them, is also shown through their solo and unit releases — the lore that helped “open the gate” to ARTMS’ worldview, piquing the fans’ curiosity about the next thing they’re set to unfold in their anticipated storyline. Choerry also asked fans to “look forward to the mysterious and fun activities that ARTMS has yet to share.”

The five-piece group kicked off their inaugural ‘Moonshot’ world tour in South Korea on July 20 and 21. They will then perform in Japan on July 27 before heading to a total of 23 stops in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America from August until October. The official tour poster also hints at more cities of the ‘Moonshot’ tour. HeeJin also told fans to look forward to their performances, teasing that they have different cover songs in each country.

Fresh from their recently concluded two-day concert in Seoul, the members sat down with allkpop to dig deeper into ‘Dall,’ creative process, personal growth, and more. Keep reading to learn more about ARTMS!

You might want to check out our exclusive interviews with ODD EYE CIRCLE, HeeJin, Loossemble, and Yves as well.

Shout-out from ARTMS to allkpop readers:

allkpop: First of all, congratulations on your album! Tell us how you feel about coming together as 5 members after a while of ODD EYE CIRCLE and HeeJin and Haseul’s solo activities. Was there a different feeling preparing for this album, given that ‘Dall’ is your first one but it’s already a full album?

HaSeul: I think having a full-length album as our album is a very special atmosphere in itself. It was possible because there are now five of us. Since we have a huge amount of experience since LOONA, I think we prepared this album perfectly without feeling awkward or lost at all. It’s a very special moment for us to come back together and release an album. We really feel that we love each other and depend on each other very much.

allkpop: You’ve had a lot of releases, group, unit, and solo since 2018, but what unique sides or facets do you think were you able to pull off with this album? What’s something you’re proud of with yourself from this release?

HeeJin: In terms of uniqueness for this album, our pre-release song “Birth” has a sound and also a music video that comes with it that hasn’t really been shown by idols in the past. I think that makes us pretty unique. In terms of what we’re proud of while listening to the album as a whole, I can tell that the members have really amazing voices. They are amazing singers. That’s something I’m proud of.

allkpop: Did you feel pressure of being able to showcase improvement since your last album? How do you work towards finding what else you need to improve for the next album?

Kim Lip: The overall quality of the album that we released was really, really good. The expectations of our fans are a little high, and we, too, are looking forward to further amazing releases, so we felt a bit of pressure to release better releases in the future. Because of this, we’d discuss and consult with the company about how to make sure that our releases have improved quality. That is also one thing: we really want to make sure we get fully involved to really enhance the quality of the album and to meet up with the fans’ expectations.

allkpop: ‘Dall’ means “Devine All Love & Live.” Could you tell us more about what you want to convey with the album? The theme of life and love is evident in the album so I wanted to hear more thoughts from you on those as well.

JinSoul: The theme of live and love is portrayed the most in our title song, “Virtual Angel.” It’s about going beyond the cyberworld. It kind of also talks about wanting to get closer to the fans and to know how the artists approach their fans and vice versa. This kind of lore is also shown through our solos and our unit songs. There are songs that contain the color of LOONA as well. And that kind of opened new gates to the ARTMS’ worldview. We want to make this an album that shows a lot of different aspects.

allkpop: HeeJin, Kim Lip, and JinSoul participated in writing a few of the tracks. Could you walk us through your experience writing lyrics? Are you now more comfortable sharing your thoughts through lyric writing?

HeeJin: First of all, rather than saying I’m a little more used to it, I think I feel more comfortable with sharing thoughts through lyric writing. I think I gained more confidence in this area. And since the company has also been very open towards us being more creative and helping us be more confident in participating in writing, it really gave me the driving force and motivation to continue to work on writing lyrics for the next album as well.

JinSoul: In my case, it was my first time writing lyrics. I was very worried about how they would turn out. I had high expectations that the lyrics I wrote would be published and really hoped they would end up included in the song. Overall, it was a very good experience. I also realized that I would want to read more and look into literature, so I can be more inspired to write better lyrics.

Kim Lip: It’s the first ARTMS album, and it’s already a full-length album, so I am really thankful for the opportunity. I’m also grateful to the company for pushing us forward to write lyrics. Next time, the result will be even better. I hope that this continues, so all of the members can be more involved in this process as well.

allkpop: What was your initial reaction to watching the music video of “Virtual Angel”? It’s pretty unique that there’s the original music video and its “Human Eye” version. Also, were there any memorable moments from when you filmed it?

Choerry: When I first came across the editing for “Virtual Angel,” I was actually very taken aback. I was very overwhelmed at first because it was the first time I’d ever seen that kind of shimmery, sparkly look. But then I kept looking at it. The more I looked at it, the more the editing pulled me in, and I became addicted to it. I was really hooked on those creative aspects. There are a lot of illustrations that are very dreamy, but also kind of maximize the eerie, creepy vibes and atmosphere a little bit more in terms of “Birth” for example. It’s fun, and I really liked it.

allkpop: As you said, this album infused a lot of creative flairs, meanings, and symbolisms, from the album name to the tracks to the visuals like music videos and illustrations. It’s well-crafted. Were you intrigued at first? What aspect do you love the most about this album?

Kim Lip: In terms of the whole album and the tracks in it, I felt like each song had an impact. When we were practicing and choreographing, and after listening to these songs, as the songs have a very big impact, we were saying, “I wish there was choreography in every song.” This time, we’re also creating a self-made music video for “Unf/Air.” I think that really shows how much each song has a great value and has a great meaning to the members. When it comes to illustrations, for the visuals, you can see that there’s a cross-like shape shown throughout the whole music video. That is symbolic because it’s inspired by our official lightstick, which also has that kind of shape. It really stands out visually, but it also holds a great meaning and symbol to the group as well.

allkpop: I have questions for each one of you. For Choerry, you mentioned that “opening yourself up was not easy in the past, but now you feel like you’re growing up little by little as I express myself.” Could you describe to us the growth you’ve been experiencing within yourself? And as you express yourself little by little, will we get to see songwriter Choerry in future albums?

Choerry: At first, it wasn’t really easy to open up. I didn’t know how to express my thoughts and feelings. However, over time, talking to the members, I think I grew a lot because I was able to hear a lot of different opinions that widened my mind a bit. If I tell them something positive, the members will react very brightly and give great feedback. And if I mention something very sad or if I'm having a hard time, the members would give me very realistic advice. This really helped and gave me more of an outlook on how to think of things. It made me more mature. Hopefully, that would open up more doors for me possibly writing lyrics and being more involved in the album as well. I'm looking forward to the day when I can make more effort and participate in songwriting.

allkpop: For HeeJin, you said in our interview last year that you hope your fans to get energy from everything you do. But for you, where do you usually get your energy from these days?

HeeJin: It was quite tough preparing for the concert because it required a lot of effort. I actually used to have a lot of trouble and hard times. But standing on stage and receiving all those cheers and support from the fans really gave me a lot of energy. Recently, I really wanted to find new good songs because when we prepare for our concert, we have to listen to the same songs over and over again, and I get tired and sick of it. So, I was really looking for other great songs to listen to and to just refresh. Lately, I feel like I'm gaining strength and energy again to keep myself going forward by listening to new good songs.

allkpop: For Kim Lip, you always keep practicing to not fall behind. Was there ever a moment you feel like you’re in that situation, you feel like you’re behind, and what’s your mindset like if life throws you this kind of challenge and what have you learned from that?

Kim Lip: During my trainee period and when I made my debut in the beginning, I thought that I was very behind. I really set my standards very high for myself, so if I made even the slightest mistake or deviated from something like that, I’d be worried about it. I was the type of person who would get very heartbroken and fall into a very deep state. But now as I’m more experienced, during practice or whenever there’s a performance, I now think that having fun is the most important. I tend to not really think about those mistakes. Having fun would really throw me out of those bad situations or thoughts as well.

allkpop: For HaSeul, how do you think the artist HaSeul improved over time, and what skills do you still want to develop?

HaSeul: ARTMS has taught me how to enjoy myself more on stage. And since I’m being on stage more and more, I think I've developed a lot of crisis coping skills, or should I say, the ability to cope with unexpected situations that occur on stage, not only for me but also for all the members. We have developed and have become more professional on stage. So, you can say that ARTMS, our growth is actually becoming more scary. I think our growth in the future will be more scary, so you really have to watch out for us.

Members: Oh, scary Haseul! (chuckles)

allkpop: For JinSoul, you said in our interview that you’re working to love every single part of yourself! You also said that you used to regret and blame yourself for small mistakes in the past, but then you started accepting those. How is that process going right now? Is there an instance or a moment recently where you appreciated or thanked yourself even for a little thing?

JinSoul: In the past, I thought more negatively, but now I turned those negative thoughts into more positive thoughts to keep me going. Also, something that I'm really proud of lately is that I've been going to the gym pretty consistently. I actually had a workout today. I’ve been very consistent with my workout routine and just being more active. Even though I want to cancel those lessons, I’d be really concentrating and say, “No, I’m not going to cancel the lessons.” I think I did well and I want to praise myself for that.

allkpop: You said in an interview that “ARTMS, rather than being a totally new project, has risen above many wounds and adversities from our previous agency.” How would you describe who you are now as an artist after going through a lot since LOONA? Any favorite moments so far with ARTMS?

HaSeul: ARTMS has been a newly formed group, and we’ve been through a lot. You can say that the group is quite amazing for really enduring and going through all of this. When it comes to us mentioning the previous agency… A lot has been resolved, a lot has been organized. That’s a pretty good thing. And when it comes to our favorite moments so far, there are two: the first one is when ARTMS was formed and the second is when we held our showcase for our first full album ‘Dall.’

allkpop: As we mentioned earlier, you just completed your two-day show in Seoul, congratulations! How would you describe this tour’s atmosphere? What can fans look forward to in terms of the stage production and your performances?

HeeJin: In terms of the ARTMS’s’ atmosphere, rather than really focusing on every single performance, it’d be nice to really look forward to the interactions with the fans and the overall atmosphere of just enjoying the show altogether. Something for the fans to look forward to is the different cover songs that we are going to show in different countries. The fans can really look forward to a diverse number of stages!

allkpop: Lastly, do you have anything else to say to allkpop readers and your fans?

Choerry: First of all, please look forward to the mysterious and fun promotions that ARTMS has yet to share, as well as the upcoming lore that we will be showcasing. Please look forward to our tour and performances. Lastly, a big, big love to our fans, OURII!

Socials:

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YouTube: Official ARTMS