OnlyOneOf’s latest EP titled seOul cOllectiOn has the band seOul drift-ing into our hearts. The release of their new album as accompanied by the title track’s music video premiere, that brought along with it a long explanation of the theme the members sought to tap into with this song. Taking on a vibrant and fast-paced look, the video is led by its overt cyberpunk vision, which hides underneath it a profound message about loneliness and one’s urge for freedom.
The six member (KB, Rie Yoojung, Junji, Mill, and Nine) K-pop boy group formed by 8D Entertainment has often charted out with their story-led narratives and expressed the same through their music, but kept the meanings for the same open to the fans’ interpretation and creativity. With this one, however, although the MV and the song’s tune present themselves as gritty entities, but the lyrics are in stark contrast with both of them, which requires you to turn on the subtitles of the video.
A lot of thought, time and effort has been put into the story building of the song’s narration. As opposed to the usual choice of upbeat, bubbly and positive representations adopted by K-pop artists, OnlyOneOf stands their ground as true idols who are not shying away from addressing the bleak realities of a space that’s been overshadowed by the glamorous makeover of the landscape. Seoul has now become a city of dreams in South Korea, and even more so, a playground for K-pop to flourish and assume news shapes every day.
The overall cyberpunk aesthetic of the video’s visual scape may hint at the city being awake 24/7, with lights shining in the distance at all times. However, the sordid symbolism of the cyberpunk employment is not just the advancement of technology (again responsible for changing the mood for K-pop as virtual groups are also starting their journey now), but the murky loneliness experienced by people in this ever-racing city is also being addressed at the same time.
The song begins with the sounds of the car engine revving that counters the common image that is used to illustrate loneliness – silence. The long explanation left behind by the group under the video details that the song sings of the “dreams of young minorities”, which is subtly captured in the video sequence through the image of rainbow-coloured bag, while the lyrics assure the listeners that “they way you’re going is real”.
In a way, these words offer a comforting validation to all those people who feel suffocated by the burdens and expectations of the world, and despite being surrounded by others, feel lonely at all times. This again goes back to the idea mentioned by the boy group – “Just because there’s light doesn’t mean there’s also hope”.
With left field bass according the track with a heavy sound, the tune is styled in such a way that instead of highlighting the deafening silence that accompanies loneliness, it’s more focussed on the clouding of one’s thought process. The sped up path opted for races ahead and chooses to expand of the darkness harboured by not only the youth, but also the streets of Seoul.
Watch the seOul drift Music Video
OnlyOneOf’s latest EP seOul cOllectiOn is now streaming on Spotify.
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