BTS’ very own leader, RM or Kim Namjoon has effortlessly carried the weight of his responsibilities since the group’s debut, and his latest and first full-fledged album Indigo documents his inner world going through the overpowering journey that has put him in the public eye, more than he could’ve anticipated. Being a Kpop artist brings its own share of mandatory practices, like constantly exhibiting your life and actions to the world, which is bound to take a toll on the person one way or another.
Detailing the vision of his new musical endeavour, he describes his album as a “Record of RM… From the colours of nature, human, etc…Documentation of my youth…in the moment of independent phase. Sun-bleached record faded like old jeans… the last archive of my twenties.” Prevalently known for his appreciation of nature and art, visiting endless museums and art exhibitions, he transfers the same attitude to his record, a rather personal penning down of his innate emotions that don’t always find their absolute footing in other releases of the group.
Having formerly released other mixtapes or playlists, his 2015 RM and 2018 Mono, the septet’s leader walks another path, alone this time, while continuing to flesh out his various personas, as he’s attempted to colour in through his other solos like BTS’ Intro: Persona as well. This time the musical sentiment resides on a different spectrum when compared to his hard-hitting, darker toned 2015 mixtape.
Mono worked out the same theme of alienation, but with a rather solemn sound. However, for Indigo, he opted for an uplifting soundscape lingering on rock, R&B, electronic, hip-hop, brimming with collaborations with artists, in whose music he found a safe space, much like we do in his.
Wild Flower by RM With Youjeen
Receiving a music video release on December 2, 2022, for the right reasons, Wild Flower puts RM in a field full of flowerbeds, right in the midst of easy, laid-back natural environs as opposed to his eventual re-entry to the explosive stage setting with his performance while being flooded with flashing lights and fireworks.
While in many cases, fireworks have been presented as a positive and enchanting imagery, RM chooses to deflect the norm by pitting it against an open flower field, where he feels more connected to his inner self. The blasting fireworks, though attractive, push him into a constant state of suffering through his self-ignited anxieties. Even though it was his own wish to strive towards these flaming desires, he claims that his fame has now shackled him and his personal expression, keeping him from being himself.
The chorus lifts off the ground with Youjeen, the lead singer of rock band Cherry Filter, also asking to “light a flower-work” instead. With the power of the sparkling fireworks in his palm after having achieved it all through the years, RM now hopes his words and poetry to reach out to people as a soothing extension of his artistry, resembling a flower.
Caught in a storm, his troubling thoughts once again find a visual representation in the music video, as he iterates the common perception of society leaning on the loudest voice for assertion, while he too is consumed in the noise of his career, hoping to present silence as an asset and superpower. The song is ultimately a cry meant to voice out the pain felt during all those times when one feels disjointed or estranged from one’s soul, rendering it difficult to identify oneself.
Indigo and Its Offerings
Starting off with the first track titled, Yun with Erykah Badu, which speaks the masterpieces of the South Korean artist Yun Hyong-keun (also painted the album cover) into existence, while highlighting how unrestrained one’s childhood is. Stringing the same idea, he moves on to the next song.
In a life where most of us are entrapped between the regrets of the past and the uncertainty of tomorrow, in his second hip-hop track fuelled by jazzy sounds, Still Life with Anderson Paak, RM hopes to move past it all. Wanting “to escape the frame of this canvas”, he doesn’t want to be held by either the timeframe of the past-future dichotomy, or his life being on display for others to name him or put him in a box.
For the third title, All Day, he works alongside Epic High’s Tablo to consolidate the need to believe and dream even when others try their best to clip your wings. In addition, the same concept of stardom being in tune with capitalist gains of the industry and barely leaving any room for retrospection again permeates into this track’s storytelling as well.
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Leading with a rather pop sound, Lonely, backed by stadium cheers at some intervals, visualises his exhaustion after travelling for numerous tours overseas, and developing a dislike for hotel rooms and “cities I don’t belong”, burning with the desire to go back home.
Change pt.2 may be a nostalgic throwback (for old fans) to his collaboration with Wale for Change. However, this track is built completely different with a haunted electric makeover, shunning all those people, things and emotions that changed around him over time, and even his old self that may have made mistakes in the past. While in Hectic with Colde, the two artists reveal their love-hate relationship with the perennially racing city Seoul. Finally, the last closing track No.2 with Adult Ceremony’s parkjiyoon is an acoustic ballad, in which the artists promise not to look back anymore despite all the setbacks they had to face in the past.
RM Indigo: Worth Streaming?
YES! Without a doubt, yes! The album is a heartening expression of all those confusing feelings we’ve all felt at least once. Listening to RM’s music has always felt like a warm hug, as he admits to relating with the listeners’ worries as well even though he’s primarily voicing out his own concerns. The tracklist boasts an exhibition curated by the rapper, bringing together various forces around the world for his first solo album to list out some themes he’s commonly mentioned previously too, but by opening up more this time.
Certain symbols like the ‘trendsetting era’ we live in and how it constantly crowds our judgements, his own ‘poetry’ that has helped him come this far and become the beloved musical auteur he is today, blossoming flowers, silence, childhood and more help him convey his message while drawing out vivid imagery that leaves us with no choice but to applaud his efforts, while holding back our tears.
All 10 tracks of RM’s Indigo are available on Spotify. Go tune into the masterpiece without any further delay!
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