[INTERVIEW] PULP Magazine K-Pop Annual Report – Editors’ Picks
Gothic mansions, dark woods, and vengeful ghosts inhabit the world of 7-piece girl group Dreamcatcher. Seeming to have come out of the Kpop version of the Upside Down, they combine elements of J-rock and heavy metal with horror-inspired imagery and theatrics. Their music videos (like the one for “GOOD NIGHT”) play like short films that give nods to J-horror and classic western horror. They expertly juggle these differing influences, making them a breath of fresh air and a group to definitely watch out for.
Formerly known as MINX, the group comprises of JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami and Gahyeon. Signed to Happy Face Entertainment, they re-debuted early this year under the Dreamcatcher banner with their single album ‘Nightmare’, getting everyone hooked with their title track ‘Chase Me’. They currently only have two other albums – ‘Nightmare – Fall Asleep in the Mirror’ and ‘Prequel’ – but they’ve already gotten nominations for Best New Female Artist, Qoo10 Artist of the Year and Best New Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA).
It’s common knowledge that you need to stand out in order to make a mark as musicians, but it takes a lot more to stand the test of time. In the case of Dreamcatcher, they obviously stand out, but the question whether they’ll be able to stick around is one they’ll only be able to answer in time. But judging from the nominations they’ve gotten and the stellar albums they’ve released, we have high hopes that they will. Contrary to the spooky mansions of their music videos, their future looks pretty bright.
PULP: First of all, can you share with us how Dreamcatcher was formed? How did you choose your band name?
Dreamcatcher: ‘Dreamcatcher’ was formed to challenge the ‘traditional concept’ of K-Pop girl groups by introducing distinctive metal genre and concepts. Originally, ‘dream catcher’ is a Native Americas’ talisman that catches bad dreams. That’s why we named the group as ‘Dreamcatcher’; in order to give you happy dreams and make you feel like in a happy dream as you listen to our songs. However, we twisted the concept of the dreamcatcher, describing all members as 7 different ‘nightmares’. Also, we’re going to show various concepts, not only ‘the nightmare’. You should keep eyes on our fantasy stories and the world!
PULP: What made you want to go for a rock-oriented sound?
Dreamcatcher: The most important thing that we considered carefully was having unique features and charms that other girl groups don’t have, and we chose rock music to make a strong and powerful impression that nobody will forget once they watch our stage with perfectly synchronized group dance. We are always doing our best with the pride of doing what all K-Pop girl groups have never done before.
PULP: What was the writing and recording process like for ‘Prequel’? How is it a progession from your previous albums?
Dreamcatcher: As time passes, we were getting comfortable performing as a group. We found that it’s fun to get friendlier with each other and build better performances. Especially since we only showed our dark images in previous songs, it was lovely to show our bright images through ‘Prequel’. Not only do we have strong and powerful images, but we also have seven lovely girls so please look forward to our performances in future.
PULP: You have started your first world tour concert in Japan. What do you look forward to the rest of the world tour?
Dreamcatcher: We’re looking forward to meeting our fans who are difficult to meet usually. We believe that we can improve ourselves more by performing in front of fans and experiencing many things. There are lots of countries we haven’t visited yet, so we are looking forward to meeting you guys! If there’s a good chance, we’d like to perform in China which is the home country of Handong. Until that day comes, we’ll be working harder.
PULP: Congratulations for being one of the nominees for the Best New Female Artist award at MAMA 2017! How do you feel about that
Dreamcatcher: It is a great honour to be nominated among many talented candidates. At first, we couldn’t believe that we were nominated, but on the other hand, we were glad that many people recognized us through our hard work. We, Dreamcatcher, have just started our work, so we’ll do our best to improve ourselves and make our fans be proud for being our fan. Look forward to us.
PULP: What should fans look forward to from you in the near future?
Dreamcatcher: We hope that fans will look forward to everything we do. We’ll do our best to give high expectations so that every time you see us you’ll be asking, ‘What will Dreamcatcher do this time?’
PULP: Lastly, what is your message to your Filipino fans?
Dreamcatcher: We always appreciate the love that Filipino fans give us, and we always do our best for that support. We hope to see Filipino fans as soon as possible so wait for us until we meet each other soon! We love our Filipino fans! See you very soon!
PULP Magazine is a Philippine-based monthly music magazine that is published by the Fookien Times Philippines Yearbook Publishing Co. Inc. and which has catered to Filipino music fans in the country and other parts of the world for over a decade now.