KR&B artist Babylon is set to start his first ever US tour this October, fresh off the release of his newest project “EGO 90’S PART 3!” Just weeks before he departs from South Korea to the US, Babylon sat down with us to chat about influences, EGO 90’S, and what fans can look forward to at the “Beautiful Memories Tour!”

THIRTEEN: Hi, Babylon, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today! Firstly, what would you like readers to know about you as an artist?

BABYLON: Something that’s big for [me] is that trends are like “trends” but classic is forever, and that’s something [I] try to preserve in my “EGO 90’S” albums. And something else that [I] would like to do as an artist is kind of take down the borders of “trendy” or “classic” R&B and be able to be an artist that’s an all-rounder and do both and not be confined to two different genres. With [my] first US tour [I’d] like to preserve the original R&B feels as, you know, the states is the home of R&B. [I] want to be able to layer it with [my] KR&B styles and mesh the two genres together to make a performance that’s great for [my] listeners to hear.

THIRTEEN: That being said, what do you want fans who are new listeners to know about this new project? Obviously you said it is super timeless, but what is something you’d want a new listener to know?

BABYLON:: [I] want new fans and listeners to know that [my] name and identity is R&B, but, [I’m] also into sub-genres of like R&B City Pop, R&B Jazz, [I’m] a well-rounded artist!

THIRTEEN: So, considering all of those influences, how was the process different from creating this project (“EGO 90’S”) different from past projects?

BABYLON: As [I’ve] been making music for a while now, and a lot of time has passed since [I] first started making music. The values that [I] have has changed as [I’ve] continued to mature. So, when [I] was younger, [I] was more focussed on what the trends were going on, what sounds were trendy. And now [I] focus on what’s more natural and classic to [me], and that’s currently [my] main focus, which had a lot of influence on this past album. Something else [I] did differently for this album was storytelling. [I] kind of wanted to make it almost like a movie with the stories [I] was telling through [my] music.

THIRTEEN: Yeah I definitely got that vibe from EGO 90’S! Are there any artists in particular you felt like you were pulling inspiration from?

BABYLON: So, in “EGO 90’S” Part One and Two they have a completely different feel from “EGO 90S” Part Three. So Part One was more influenced on Korean R&B and Korean sounds, and Part Two was more inspired by American Jazz and R&B, and Part Three was inspired more so by Japanese movies. [I] watched a lot of Japanese movies while [I] was making this album. We really took “simple is best” and kept everything very simple with an emphasis on [my] lyrics. So [I] listened to a lot of Japanese Pop and really took that as reference.

THIRTEEN: So kind of shifting gears, where does the name “Babylon” come from? Where did you find the inspiration for that stage persona?

BABYLON: So Babylon took heavy reference on noir films, that’s one of [my] favorite genres. [I] saw The Godfather with Scarface and there was a shop called “The Babylon.” When [I] first saw the shop [I] saw the pink neon sign and just the vibes that it gave off to [me] were very classic. In the storyline, in that business, they met great people. They progressed the great business and people fell in love there and [I] got inspired by all the amazing things that happened within this place and the whole story it’s telling. The process of everything that happened within The Babylon. So at a young age [I] saw it as a creative and classic name of something [I] wanted to reflect. 

THIRTEEN: You’re speaking a lot about influences from movies and films! Are there any other movies, other than Scarface that have really influenced you or that you’d consider a favorite?

BABYLON: Animation Coco!

THIRTEEN: Ah, Pixar!

BABYLON: Remember me (sung to the tune of “Remember Me” from Coco)! And animation Soul!

THIRTEEN: Going back to tour, what can fans who have never seen you live before expect for this upcoming tour in the US?

BABYLON: So as a KR&B artist, [I] feel that [I] will deliver on the singing, obviously because that is [my] job. The baseline is [I] will sing very well and everything else is [I] want to deliver a very professional performance as an artist and [I] want to mesh the two genres of KR&B and R&B together. [I] want to show that KR&B is a high level genre and fans can expect have a very natural connection at the concert because [I] want to make everything very natural and want natural communication with everyone.

THIRTEEN: How do you think the experience of playing shows here in the US will differ from shows in South Korea? 

BABYLON: In the states [I] think [I’ll] be more free and creative while performing. Almost as if [I’m] emersed into [my] emotions, as if [I’m] method acting, like [I’m] really putting myself into the space of original R&B. So [I] think that will be the biggest difference.

THIRTEEN: Is there anywhere you’re most excited to visit?

BABYLON: [I] can’t pick a city [I’m] most excited for! [I’m] equally as excited to visit all the cities. And [I’m] very excited to meet [my] US fans and have a great live performance! Though this opportunity of having a US tour [I] want to work with other American R&B artists to deliver great music.

THIRTEEN: You mentioned you’d love to work with other artists, do you have any dream collaborations?

BABYLON: Bruno Mars, Jacquees.

THIRTEEN: Just kind of wrapping things up is there anything listeners and new fans can look forward to? Will there be more “EGO 90’S” or will this be the end of that chapter? 

BABYLON: Something that new fans and old fans alike can look forward to is Part Four of “EGO 90’S.” It’ll be released after the tour. [I] plan on having another concert when [I] get back to Korea. [My] “EGO 90’S” part 1-3 are in production to be LP vinyls. [I] wanted to give a more analogue and classic vibe to [my], so they’re turning into records! In America [I] have plans to collaborate with some American KR&B artists and aside from that [I] plan to have another album with a different vibe from my “EGO 90’S” albums. It’s a little bit more chill and a little bit more wet. Yeah, there’s a lot to look forward to!

THIRTEEN: Thank you so much for your time! It’s amazing to meet you, looking forward to seeing you in Chicago!

BABYLON: Can’t wait to see you soon!