Safari is small society within the sociology department that composes and writes songs. The society was begin by three students in 2013, and was initially organized not as a society, just an informal crew to satisfy the creators’ interests. Safari was formally created as a small society in the sociology department in 2016. Their musical genre is undefined, but primarily acoustic. They compose creative music and hold non-genre-specific concerts. The Ajou Globe (AG) met up with Han Chang-hui and Jeong Hui-jun to talk about Safari.
AG: What’s the difference between Safari and other music small societies?
Safari: If we define our music style as acoustic, there is Lucas in the College of Social Sciences. Instead, we are characterized by creative music. We use computers for composition. I think Safari is the only small music society that does this.
AG: Safari has many composed songs. Where do you get inspiration?
Han Chang-hui: I am inspired by the details and experiences of daily life. For example, our song “2:00 am on Facebook” was inspired when a girl I like had a birthday. I wanted to write her a Facebook message, but because I wasn’t very close with her, I just posted some unrelated text on my Facebook page. She “liked” my post, and I really happy about it. Like this, we compose songs about situations that many students have probably experienced. Furthermore, “It’s Time To Be Boring” and “Awkward Relationship” are about our experiences.
AG: Which of Safari’s songs do you like most?
Jeong Hui-jun: I like “It’s Time To Be Boring” which is based on my experience. It is my first composed song, which I will sing in the concert on September 12.
Han Chang-hui: My first song composed with guitar is “Awkward Relationship,” but I like “It It’s Time To Be boring” too, because it is my first song made using a computer.
AG: Now, let us talk about your events. What events are memorable to you until now?
Safari: We think orientation was a memorable event. We are making a small society for the first time, so we don’t have any manuals. Our first performance was in the newbie orientation. We decided to make a new small music society in January 2016. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to practice and compose songs. Nevertheless, we practiced and composed right up until the performance. On the actual day, our songs were a little bit lacking, but our department sang together. It was an impressive memory.
AG: Problems are usually happened in the new society. What difficulties does Safari face?
Han Chang-hui: I think the biggest problem is member numbers. People feel uncomfortable because of our title, “creative music.” For this reason, students out of our department don’t apply, even though we have posted many ads and expanded our scale to all students in the College of Social Sciences. Another problem is that some member can’t concentrate only on Safari because of their environment. We have enough time, because I am on a leave of absence and my friend lives alone near the college. Some members have difficulty combining study with participating in a society. However, we manage to practice regularly now.
AG: Moreover, Do you play concerts outside too?
Safari: We do not play concerts outside, but we try to participate in many contest exhibits. We made the cut once, but we couldn’t go to the contest because we had an appointment on that day. Now I come to think of it, I would like to have gone. We also try busking if we have enough equipment.
AG: What is Safari’s future plan?
Safari: We really want to make an album. Not on a big scale, just 10 songs, using our existing songs. To do that, we have to raise our songs’ quality. Then, in a year we can give our album to our acquaintances and others. We can’t guarantee that we can make the album this year, because we have lots of activity planned in the second semester. We are planning to make a YouTube channel too. In the channel, we will post our activity and concert videos.
AG: Finally, do you have any last words for students?
Safari: Anyone who interested in composing, singing, and playing an instrument apply to Safari! Please feel free to apply. It is okay if you do not have skill. We need just passion! Our songs are good, so we want many people to hear them. Thank you.