Kpopmap had the honor of covering ASTRO MoonBin & SanHa’s comeback showcase. Here’s everything that you need to know about this dynamic duo’s new release! MoonBin & SanHa walked onto the stage in hip black suits looking stylish with high collars, cross accessories, and colored contact lenses as accent points. MoonBin’s red hair was also very striking. Looking happy and healthy, they mentioned their excitement to be making a sub-unit comeback after 2 years. They emphasized that as much as AROHA (their fandom) has waited for this album, it will be worth the wait because the album is that good. MoonBin & SanHa shared that they hoped to become ’the saviors of people’ and their ‘hideout’ as artists through this comeback. On Mar. 11, Fantagio Entertainment released the first teaser for ‘WHO’. An exhilarating beat showed us glimpses at MoonBin & SanHa’s dark and dreamy facial expressions with elements such as red lights, mirrors, and burned candles building the mood. The teaser showed that this comeback is highly-conceptual and raised expectations. MoonBin & SanHa mentioned that they put a lot of effort into their concept. They chose to go for powerful but subtle movements and gestures instead of exaggeration and added focus to their gestures and facial expressions. They also prioritized the beat over the melody and paid great attention to detail. MoonBin said that the goal for the ‘WHO’ performance was to make it so captivating that you can watch it without sound and still feel like you can hear the music from the way that they use their bodies to express themselves. “REFUGE” comes in two concepts, namely ‘THE EAST’ and… … ‘THE WEST’. Kpopmap asked: “REFUGE” comes in two concepts, ‘THE EAST’ and ‘THE WEST’. Which of the two concepts do you think suits each of you the most? I personally think that SanHa suits both concepts really well. SanHa had a lot of concerns while we were preparing our comeback but I didn’t have any. In my opinion, he has the ability to pull off any concept so I thought he would do well and think he suits both of the concepts well. MoonBin In my opinion, MoonBin suits both concepts well, too. While preparing for this comeback, he shared a lot of his opinions. MoonBin has a fit body so he looks good in anything that he wears. He’s also an exceptional performer so I think that he suits both concepts well. SanHa Additionally, when asked which concept they think suits them the best, MoonBin answered that instead of a concept that suits him well he prefers the ‘THE EAST’ concept because he has always wanted to try performing a stage in hanbok (Korean traditional clothes). Whereas, SanHa said that he prefers the ‘THE WEST’ concept because he thinks the suit suits him better and that AROHA’s reaction to his ‘THE WEST’ concept photos was a lot warmer. Since MoonBin & SanHa want to become their fans’ “REFUGE”, they were asked what they seek “REFUGE” in. MoonBin answered that he enjoys going on drives into nature to recharge and zone out. Otherwise, he finds refuge in speaking to his family and members. SanHa mentioned that he enjoys going camping and creating his own space. The album “REFUGE” consists of 5 songs. ‘WHO’ is the first and title track on the album. It is a pop dance song that has a strong and addictive quality. It shows their dark and sexy charm. ‘BOO’ is the second track on the album. It is a pop song that SanHa thinks suits MoonBin’s musical color extremely well. ‘DIA’ is the third song and ‘Distance’ is the fourth song on the album. ‘Distance’ is an acoustic song that MoonBin thinks suits SanHa really well as it matches his cozy warm vocals. The duo had pre-released a single ahead of their comeback called ‘Ghost Town’ on Feb. 11, which gave AROHA a pleasant treat while they waited for the comeback and was intended to raise suspense for it too. ‘Ghost Town’ now acts as the final B-Side track on “REFUGE”. MoonBin & SanHa said that they actually released the song early because they liked it so much and because the lyrics were connected to ‘WHO’ which would add to the completion factor of the comeback. You can watch the full music video for ‘Ghost Town’ here. Kpopmap also asked: You showed us a new side of MoonBin & SanHa in your pre-release single ‘Ghost Town’ and now with your new mini-album “REFUGE”. How do you think you have changed musically and conceptually since your initial sub-unit debut? As the first sub-unit to come out of ASTRO, I think the fact that we were able to release our first album is meaningful in itself. So this time, through “REFUGE”, we want to take the opportunity to show that ASTRO members can pull off diverse concepts. We prepared a lot to be able to show a new side of ourselves without losing the connection to our first mini-album. MoonBin Do you have a message that you would like to deliver to fans through the lyrics? Please suggest your favorite lyrics or song from the album to them. I’d like to recommend the song ‘Distance’. It has a message about overcoming difficult times and especially the line that says, “When I try to escape from this place,” will be good to focus on when listening to the song. MoonBin I’d recommend the chorus of ‘BOO’, there’s a part where MoonBin and I go back and forth singing the lyrics which gives off a different charm and shows off our chemistry. SanHa When asked which phrase would summarize their chemistry they went for ‘Tom & Jerry’. Although the cartoon characters are known for their banter and chasing each other around, they actually take care of each other a lot. MoonBin reiterated that you can see that Tom can easily catch Jerry but just chooses not to. He thinks that he would be Tom and SanHa would be Jerry. They then shared what the point choreography for ‘WHO’ is. MoonBin & SanHa said that it is the part that goes, “Who are you looking for?” where they extend their hands from their faces as if dragging out their souls. We had the pleasure of watching their electrifying performance of ‘WHO’ to finish off the showcase. It had such high performance value that it was chilling, truly portraying the dark nature of this concept. You can watch the full music video for ‘WHO’ here. MoonBin & SanHa finished off the showcase by saying that they hoped they would become a sub-unit that makes people curious about the next thing they’ll do and the concept they’ll try. What do you think of “REFUGE”? Let us know in the comments.
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