Arcades - MOTS 7 interview

By Shinara Hussain

Imagine my delight when I realised that I would be getting the best birthday present this year when I found out that the new BTS album, "Map of the Soul: 7", was to be released that day. When it arrived, it did not disappoint; a full album with tracks that would make us laugh, cry, and get hype to, it broke all previous records and gave them their 2nd number 1 album in the UK.

One of my favourite songs from BTS' previous album "Map of the Soul: Persona" was Mikrokosmos, which a certain UK duo had a hand in; and they did not disappoint again with Inner Child from "Map of the Soul: 7". Join us as we have a chat with ARCADES.

Thank you guys for speaking to us again; with the release and amazing success of Map of the Soul:7 (HELLO UK NO.1 ABLUM... AGAIN!) our team has been brimming with questions!

No worries at all... always lovely to talk to you guys 😉

I think we can all agree it’s been a whirlwind journey since the release of Map of the Soul: Persona. How have things changed for you?

Well things have changed on every single front, we have now moved into a new studio that looks like an enchanted forest, lol. We are working every day and finding that we are busier than ever, so we have the boys to thank for that. 

You have quite a sweet relationship with ARMY, what has that been like? Has the fandom support changed since last year? How does it compare to what you’ve experienced before?

Aww bless. We just continue to be amazed with the kindness and thoughtfulness of the ARMY. Their support towards us as producers has been nothing short of beautiful! And we like to make sure it’s a two way street.

Did the approach to this collaboration on Inner Child differ as opposed to when you worked on Mikrokosmos and Jamais Vu? What were the differences between the tracks?

Well on this occasion it started in the same way as usual with us sending out some early track ideas and the guys came back on Inner Child but they had their own vision of how it should sound. We had some back and forth with PDogg transforming it into what it is now, and then with the track in place Tae, and Namjoon (I believe), got working on the lyrics which obviously came from a very personal place for Tae.

Was the process easier as you have experience in the way they work, and have a relationship with them already?

I feel like every time we work with BigHit it’s always a very fun and enjoyable experience as they are very focused and know exactly what they want and are always super friendly in their approach. 

Was it easier, or did you feel more pressure as Mikrokosmos had such an impact?

I guess there could have been some pressure after the success of Mikrokosmos but again I felt like we just wanted to produce something we knew that would last forever and sound good every time it is played live. We like to imagine a stadium full of ARMY singing along. I think Mikrokosmos and Inner Child both have that impact. 

Yes! You went to the Wembley concerts, what was that experience like? I was in tears as soon as the first note played, but how was it for you; hearing a song you helped create being sung by thousands of people in such an iconic place?

Ah yeah, hearing Mikrokosmos live and hearing everyone sing along is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It was absolutely incredible! 💜💜💜

You've said that Inner Child didn't come from a specific brief; how did it become the song that it is now, and how was it decided to be a Taehyung solo?

We had no idea what BigHit had planned when we first started working with them on the track and we didn’t find out it was going to be a Tae solo until we heard an early version being sent back with his vocals on it, there was no mistaking Tae’s voice hehe. Love it! 

Inner Child has a much more personal meaning for you, especially the earlier version as you have mentioned before; how did you feel when you heard the final version?

Yes this song has a huge special place in my heart. It was the last song that we were working on that I got to play Chris and he adored it. So every time I hear it, it takes me back to seeing him sitting back, closing his eyes, listening and enjoying it. And the final version just got even better. If you are looking for pure heartfelt emotion, then Tae is your boy! 

Did the lyrics change the feeling of the song for you?  

Yes definitely, the song meaning has obviously changed since the initial demo version, but that’s normally the case. Tae wrote it as a story where he is reflecting on his childhood, and in normal BTS style there is a heart-warming message that things will get better! He is an incredible storyteller and can convey emotion in his performance in an unbelievable way which is exactly what we love in singers.  

You’ve said that Inner Child is perfect for a stadium performance; how would you imagine an Inner Child performance to look like?

I would imagine Inner Child live being like a journey, starting with Tae’s intimate vocal behind that single guitar part, and finishing with the entire ARMY all singing along as part of the big ‘woah oh’ chorus. Lots of emotion, lots of tears but bringing everyone together with one voice! 

Has your approach to writing/producing changed since working with BigHit and BTS? Do you go in with a different perspective regarding the creative process?

Definitely, working with BigHit has made us realise that the production should be part of the journey and not just a backing track; we like it to develop as the song grows and help convey the same emotions as the vocals. When we sent off the first version of Mikrokosmos, the first thing the guys suggested was adding extra sections, a rap section, a new middle 8, a fresh outro and some big anthemic ‘woah oh’s’. When we heard how it turned out, it was like a great lesson to us. I’ve said before, BigHit are the best at what they do so it was like having the best teachers in the school. Hehe. 

Is there a certain lyric/melody that you were proud of in the songs you helped write that people may not notice? 

We don’t tend to play a big part in the lyrics as it always comes from a very personal place from the boys but we are 100% proud of everything we have got to be part of.

Have you had any other artists (Korean or otherwise) wanting you to be involved in their song writing as a result of your work on Map of the Soul?

Yes we have actually started working with several other artists so we (all going well) have several upcoming releases with some very cool and super talented artists that I hope you guys will enjoy, and of course we will always credit BTS and the boys for giving us the chance which can lead to this for us. We owe them everything.

How do you feel being part of the Map Of The Soul series?

Being part of Map Of The Soul has been the most exciting thing in the world and I still have to pinch myself every day that we got to be part of it, we will always be super grateful. 

Do you like to collaborate with relatively unknown artists also to give them a platform to showcase their talents and a different sound to what is out there now?

We will collaborate with everyone and anyone that can give us that feeling, you know; where everything just feels right. The level of fame or notoriety comes second to making sure we all walk away with the best result possible.

Music should always come from the heart. 

Once you know which artist you are collaborating with, do you bring forward any ideas you may already have, or do they give you a brief of what sound they are looking for? How do you choose which offers to accept?

Quite often we approach artists that we have heard that we instantly fell in love with. Then we will either send them a track to see what they do with it or we will all get in a room with a guitar and start something fresh and letting it develop naturally. This doesn’t always come back with the result you expected, sometimes better, sometimes not, but you always have to trust the process.

Am I right in thinking that you also had a hand in Sweet Night with Tae? 

Yeah, BigHit asked us if we could recommend any female vocalists and we introduced our friend Matilda Mann who has a gorgeous voice, although at this point we didn't know it was for a Tae song! We got her in the studio and did her vocal part, still without knowing it was for Tae, but his voice is unmistakable.. and as soon as we heard it we knew. And we fell in love with the song as soon as we heard it! He's a genius! 💜

Arcades recently moved into a spanking new studio, what goals do you have for your own projects? What are you working on right now? What can we expect from you?

Yes, our new studio is covered in plants and fairy lights with a wisteria tree in the corner and it feels magical, like an enchanted forest... so working in there is very inspiring and we have found that it has even showed in the results.

We will continue to work on original stuff but most of our work at the moment is writing for/ with others. We have a whole host of dreamy pop sat in the banks waiting for the right time/artist to release it. Hehe.

From listening to your music and collaborations, it shows you also like to write positive messages within your music. When making the melody, do you intend to give it a soundtrack/coming of age kind of feel or does it happen organically

Ahh, that is very sweet of you to say. I guess it sort of naturally happened that way and that has sort of become part of our sound.

It’s always lovely when we work on a song and people come back and say ‘we could tell this was you guys’. That’s a huge compliment to us.

What would you say your biggest strength is when it comes to making songs?

I’d say that myself and Max both being guitarists is our true strength. It has helped carve out our sound and style; it took us a while to embrace that, but now it’s where most of our initial ideas come from. 

And finally, we can’t leave without asking you Matt about the 2^nd BTS related tattoo, tell us a little bit about it, (and also a background to the 1^st one. (*ahem…my idea gave you the inspiration by the way!)

Hahah, awww of course the first tattoo was very special to me, as it is the Persona heart with the words ‘shining lights’ written in Korean, but the second one has a more simple but deep meaning to me. When Chris (March) was in the hospital we would spend 3 or 4 hours every day talking on FaceTime and we would both do the little finger heart to each other every 5 mins which I learnt through working with BTS. I think about him every day but having the finger heart tattoo means I’ll never forget and to make it relate to the album I have a little 7 on the top and with the word ‘love’ written in Korean around it. So I think it’s safe to say working with BTS really has affected every area of my life and I’ll always be ARMY.


Photos courtesy of ARCADES