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| Members of K-pop act iKON pose during press event at the new headquarters of YG Entertainment in Mapo District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of YG Entertainment |
New EP 'Flashback' shows reinterpretation of 1980's pop music
By Dong Sun-hwa
Hardly anyone expected that K-pop act iKON would drop the retro-flavored song, "But You," which lacks the group's signature hip-hop elements. Given that the majority of its most popular hits like "Love Scenario" (2018) and "My Type" (2016) were based on hip-hop, numerous people thought iKON would put out a similar song this time to continue its winning streak.
But the YG Entertainment act chose to step out of its comfort zone. "But You," the lead single off its fourth EP, "Flashback," is a track of the synthwave genre that reinterprets the sound of the 1980's pop music in a modern style. Through its lyrics, iKON members sing about their longing for their lost love.
"Since we are releasing a new music offering after more than a year, we wanted to showcase our unexplored side to people," Jay said during a press conference at the new headquarters of YG Entertainment in Mapo District in western Seoul. "We wanted to surprise them by showing that we can pull off a totally different style. For us, this is our new challenge."
Bobby, who took part in penning the lyrics of all six tracks in the new EP, added, "We always try to be experimental in our music and show off our diversity."
All six members agreed that Ju-ne loves old school vibes the most.
"When I was thinking about the 1980s, the first thing that came to my mind was pop singer Michael Jackson," he said. "I also thought that the era had a festive look and this look is clearly visible in our music video."
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| Teaser for iKON's fourth EP, "Flashback" / Courtesy of YG Entertainment |
"Thanks to my parents, I could get a glimpse of the 1980s," he said. "Since pop music was something dominant during that time, we tried to highlight some of its elements in our mini-album."
Nevertheless, those who love iKON's hip-hop music will still find "Flashback" mesmerizing, as it also offers various hip-hop songs ranging from "Dragon" to "Gold." In the former case, Jay, Bobby and DK have songwriting credits on it.
"For 'Dragon,' I likened iKON members to mythical creature dragons, because all of us can rock the stage beyond the scope of people's imagination," Bobby, who got married and welcomed his first child to the world last year, explained.
Seungyoon and Mino of K-pop boy band WINNER, which is also represented by YG, composed "Gold" and "At Ease," respectively, in cooperation with Bobby.
"We are so thankful to Seungyoon and Mino for their contributions," DK said. "In the case of 'Gold,' I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it."
The iKON members moved on to talk about their growth.
"About eight years have passed since our debut in 2015, and I feel that all of us have achieved maturity in many ways," Chan said. "Most notably, we have become more responsible about our career."
Jay chimed in, saying, "Appearing on Mnet's competition show 'Kingdom: Legendary War' (2021) has led us to take a further leap as well. This was our fourth time to be featured in a competition program, but we still learned a range of things and tried to incorporate these into our fresh EP."
The K-pop stars then talked about what they want to accomplish with "Flashback."
"If our fans can be proud of us for pulling off a new genre, we will be more than happy," Chan said.
Jay added, "Topping a music show will be great, but it will be even better if we can frequently hear our new songs on street corners or in restaurants, just like 'Love Scenario.'"
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