19 Feb 2020 Dailysports Interview① “Dreamcatcher “Our unique metal concept is more a source of inspiration than a burden”
[Dailysports Hwang Jee-young]
Image courtesy of Dreamcatcher Company
The group Dreamcatcher returns with their new world ‘Dystopia’ following the conclusion of their ‘Nightmare’ storyline. Dreamcatcher, a group that has continued depicting dark concepts based on powerful choreographies – unusual for a girl group – plans to surprise the pop music world once more.
‘Dystopia : The Tree of Language’, their first studio album released on the 18th, is the starting point of their ‘Dystopia’. It tells a unique Dreamcatcher story about a world darkened by language, harboring wounds. The lead track, ‘Scream’ uses middle age witch hunts as a theme to make a statement about society creating victims of indiscriminate language attacks. Dreamcatcher opened themselves up about what they go through as entertainers and incorporated it into their world of Dystopia.
The members, who started off as the girl group Minx and worked hard to become the Dreamcatcher of today, laughed and jokingly said “It’s hard, but we love this job. It’s either this job or death for us.” “Idols are so exposed to the public, but all jobs must have their difficult points. A dystopia is the dark ideal but the moment you feel hurt, your reality can become a dystopia,” they said, adding that the track is relatable to everyone.
Other than Scream, the new album lists other tracks that offer a look into Dreamcatcher’s world. It also contains the previously released fan song ‘Full Moon’ and the prerelease track, which is Siyeon’s solo track.
-This is your first studio album after 3 years.
Siyeon: As this is our first studio album, it feels very emotional. Our fans have called us a ‘B-list powerhouse’ but were let down by how few B-side tracks we had, so it feels great to fill their wants. It’s an album that boasts both quality and quantity. The members had to go through a lot throughout the last 3 years to produce this album.
Dreamcatcher: We began preparing for this album last November. We shot the jacket photos while on tour, got back, had one day to memorize the choreography, and filmed the music video the next day. Then we filmed the music video for the Japanese version one week later so we had to memorize the Japanese choreography too. It was a challenging schedule but it’s what made this studio album comeback possible.”
-The ‘Dystopia’ concept is unique.
JIU: The music video features a tree that bears white fruits when people say positive words and bears black fruits when people say negative words. We incorporated a message about correct language usage, which is a social issue.
Siyeon: We face Dystopias in daily life. When we get hurt by words, there’s a dystopia caused by our wounds.
-What was your first impression of the song?
Sua: We didn’t have many dance breaks in the past, but there’s one here. As soon as I heard the track, I was reminded of a battlefield by how the beats came storming forward. It gave us great vibes because it’s a powerful concept that makes us feel like we can beat anything.
-I heard that the choreography is difficult.
JIU: When I first heard the song, I thought the dance would be hard.
Sua: Each member has a clear idea of what they want to do so they all speak up and participate. We all asked for a difficult choreography. We wanted a tight choreography that could live up to everyone’s expectations.
-Do you feel that the intense concept burdens you?
Siyeon: When you say Dreamcatcher, lots of people think of us as a metal group with a well defined concept. That drives expectations about us. But that isn’t a burden, it’s a source of inspiration. It makes us work harder. We talk a lot about our genre between members, and we communicate actively with our composers. They listen to what we have to say, too.
JIU: On the contrary, I enjoy the intense concept. It’s what we do, so I believe that people will come to appreciate that.
Sua: We tried to mix in electronica elements this time. It’s a collaboration with a genre that the public is more familiar with.
Gahyeon: I’ve always enjoyed intensity. This song is of a slightly different atmosphere than our previous tracks so it was a bit difficult. My facial expressions weren’t quite what I wanted, so it was frustrating.
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