Standing apart from the K-pop music scene is a group of young guys who can not only sing, but play their instruments and compose their own music. They are the acoustic-pop trio Lunafly, comprised of Sam Carter, leader, guitarist and singer; Shin Tae-ho, who goes by the stage name Teo, on vocals, percussion and piano; and singer and guitarist Han Seung-yoon, who goes by the stage name Yoon.

“When people look at the moon, they receive a lot of different emotions,” Teo says, explaining the meaning of Lunafly. “All these different emotions represent the feelings we want to share with people with various genres through our music.”

“We want people to hear our songs and relate it to their lives,” said Carter, a British-Korean who first made his mark in the Korean entertainment industry by appearing as a contestant on MBC Star Audition season 2. “I think that’s the only way people can be touched by our music.”

In September, the trio released their self-composed English debut single “Super Hero,” and later that month released their first album, “How Nice Would it Be,” which is also the name of the album’s title track. 

“Unlike many other bands, we also release songs in English,” said Yoon. “We all sing and write our own songs.”

The track “Super Hero” is the English version of the “How Nice Would it Be” Korean track. The song is about a couple who were once together, but have since broken up.

“And at that time, the guy didn’t treat the girl as well as he should have,” Carter explained. “But he wants to come back into her life and he’s saying he can be different and now, ‘I can be your super hero.’”

The Korean version of the song has a bit of a different story.

“This version is about a love that hasn’t begun. When people look at one another and think, ‘How nice would it be,’” said Yoon.

The band members describe themselves as a group that does not want to limit themselves to one specific genre.

“We have a lot of plans in the future to experiment. For each album, we are going to have a different concept,” said Carter. “For our first album, we decided to go for a romantic concept, which is why I would say that all our songs have to do with love.”

Teo, who describes himself as the “atmosphere maker” by being the funny, cute and chic guy, shared how the trio came to be.

“The three of us just happened to meet at our recording studio, there was no schedule so one of the producers said, ‘Since we have time why don’t we just record something,’” he said. “This was about eight months ago …and that’s how Lunafly came to be.”

Since then, the three have formed a close bond and friendship, constantly laughing and joking around.

“Unlike Teo, who has such a great personality, I feel like when I talk, the atmosphere becomes so gloomy,” Yoon said, laughing as the other two members poked fun.

“You saying that just brought the room down,” Carter laughed.

“The three of us spending so much time together has made me realize that I enjoy hobbies that I can do alone,” Yoon said, smiling sarcastically.

Lunafly will be performing their first ever solo concert at the FM Hall in Tokyo on Dec. 1.

“We have plans to change it up, we are experimenting a lot with different sounds and different genres,” Carter said. “I think our fans can expect something a little bit different in the future.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)