What comes to mind when you think of a "smoothie"? Something sweet with a refreshing taste. However, NCT DREAM decided to choose another meaning to their "smoothie." They are talking about crushing and breaking the dark reality just like a "smoothie."
"We expressed the harsh reality of youth through a dark-colored, dirty smoothie. It means that we will go our way without worrying about the external judgment and prejudice towards us." (Renjun)
NCT DREAM stands up to the cold gaze of the world. It sings about the pain and wandering of youth. Negative thoughts, will be sent into a blender and crushed into a smoothie.
NCT DREAM held a press conference at Grand Walkerhill Seoul on the 25th to commemorate the release of its fifth mini album, "DREAM()SCAPE."
"DREAM()SCAPE" is an album about escape. It depicts a process of escaping from the difficult reality and leaving in search for a dream. Emotions in the process of escape are expressed through music. The story is about sympathizing with the pain of youth.
"We've done a lot of songs about dreams and hopes," Renjun said. "This album started with the thought of wanting to send messages of support and comfort to those who may not have any dreams."
"There were times when we didn't have any dreams either. We wanted to open a consensus and make an album for the youth," Mark said.
The title of the album has mixed up the narrative. Parentheses are added between the words "Dream" and "Scape." Jeno said, "The bracket '()' symbolizes 'escape'. It can be seen as exit doors to escape from dreams."
The title track is "Smoothie." It is a hip-hop dance track. It has an attractive 808 bass line and snare rhythm. It is characterized by groovyness created by repeated chanting. The dynamic development is unimaginable.
The lyrics contain NCT DREAM's confidence. "There are many noises, prejudices, and judgments that we don't want to hear from the outside," Renjun said. "We wanted to deliver a message of ignoring them and crushing them like a smoothie."
The title song was decided by the members through a vote. "I thought this was the song that could express us well. Also I thought I would be even more confident once the performance was added," Haechan said.
The intense choreography in the music video caught the eyes of viewers. "It was the hardest choreography ever, especially the end-chorus part," Jisung said. "Differentiating choreography of this song is the relaxation within it. We earned harming performances as a result."
Each member collected different smoothie ingredients and blended them at once. Jaemin pointed out, "I portrayed the bad emotions with black dirty smoothies."
The album contains a total of six songs. It is a setlist that takes into account growth following escape. The main songs include "I Can't Feel Anything," "Box," "Carat Cake," "Unknown" and "Breath."
They also paid attention to the arrangement of the tracks. "In fact, we could have put the title track at the top. However, based on the overall flow of the song, we decided that "I Can't Feel Anything" should come first," Haechan said.
This album is the first page of NCT DREAM's new narrative, so they worked extra harder. Jeno hinted, "The new album is just the beginning of a new journey. We'll talk more about it later."
What is youth defined by the NCT DREAM? Haechan replied, "Youth is a dream. I felt that this could be the most youthful moment for us as well."
Lastly, Mark said, "Our ambitions have been upgraded to the next level. However, I don't want to lose the dream and hope I had from the beginning, adding, "We will show you various colors in the future."
"DREAM()SCAPE" will be released on various music sites at 6 p.m. on the same day.
<Photo=Dispatch>
<Translated by=Jisu Kim (Dispatch)>
