Following the successful release of his playlist “Mono” and the music video for “Forever Rain”, RM has dropped the lyric video for one of his tracks “Seoul”. The video was released today via YouTube but the announcement of the release was also made on Twitter and VLive.
“Seoul” is the second track off the playlist. In contrast to the first track “Tokyo”, Seoul has a positive vibe but the change in the mood and music might be due to the subject matter that differs in both the tracks. In terms of musicality and sound, the song is an amalgamation of different genres. To some, it might seem to lean more towards indie music while to other, Seoul might sound like a lo-fi hip-hop song. The beauty of the track lies in its ambiguity and the motif finds its place in both the sound as well as the narrative.
Lyrically, Seoul talks about RM’s fascination with the city.
Taking up the most mundane elements of the city life including buildings, parks, and city lights, RM talks about the time he has spent in Seoul. Instead of presenting a glossy picture of the place, RM’s wordplay attempts to attain an equilibrium, a balance of experience that comprises of both positive and negative aspects. Equating “Seoul” with “love” and “hate”, RM humanizes the place and talks about accepting it with all its beauty and flaws.
His fascination then sounds like a relationship that has its own rough patches but the liaison is such that he eventually comes back to his love.
At first, the track seems to be out of place from the theme being followed in the playlist. But one understands its significance when one listens to Mono carefully. Thematically, Mono talks about the self that has transitioned from self-doubt to contentment. Seoul is the perfect exemplum of such transition. Placing both love and hate within a single entity, RM has beautifully personified a location and presented it as a metaphorical allusion to our physical and mental self. Like a city that has its own dark and glorifying tales, we too have our own inner demons that we need to deal with before we can attain the state of peace.
The lyric video is an aesthetically brilliant representation of the concept. As shared on YouTube, the people involved in the track are:
- Director: YongSeok Choi (Lumpens)
- Assistant Director: Guzza, HyeJeong Park, MinJe Jeong (Lumpens)
- Director of Photography: HyunWoo Nam(GDW)
- Composition: Joonki Min @ Sunshine Underground
What do you think about the track? Share your thoughts via tweet @CelebMix. Also, check out the complete review for the playlist here.