The South Korea-based group Dreamcatcher has been building their unique punk-rock spin on K-Pop for several years, and their new EP Summer Holiday takes a satisfying deep-dive into their own interpretation of summer.
Established with a core unit of seven members (JIU, SUA, SIYEON, HANDONG, YOOHYEON, DAMI, and GAHYEON) Dreamcatcher has found a very expressive niche in their horror-tinted realm that essentially encourages listeners to draw on their perceived uniqueness. In just a few years, (which included navigating roster changes, recalibrating their style, etc.) Dreamcatcher has stepped up as a reputable voice in music and has helped push the evolution of genre expansion while being the staple of a pop/rock coalescence in South Korea.
As expected, the group’s next major challenge would be to expand their music to audiences overseas, which has progressed with excellence – recently earning Dreamcatcher an impactful debut at #6 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart with the EP’s lead single “BEcause”. In terms of style, the track feels like the embodiment of Dreamcatcher’s horror and rock merger, making it a perfect choice to facilitate this self-aware comeback and essentially strengthening their overall artistic identity.
The fun goes far beyond “BEcause”, as we quickly realize that despite beginning with a familiar introduction to Summer Holiday, we see an eager shift into a diversified six-track EP. The memorable sound of the group moves on to a growing resurgence in city-pop, an always reliable EDM inspiration, and a traditional pop song, making the EP a perceptive era for the Dreamcatcher Company artists. The group’s inquisitive desire to expand their horizons allows us to see the Dreamcatcher we know, and other avenues that they might pursue in the future – as these seven women have surpassed the need to accommodate industry standards.
After the EP dropped, we quickly became fascinated by the next cycle of Dreamcatcher’s addictive sound, so these summer-themed tracks required a conversation with the group’s roster about everything Summer Holiday – and some of their favorite summertime activities.
You’re back with your new EP, and it feels like a mix of the classic, edgier Dreamcatcher we know, with some tendencies to branch out in some pop/dance music too! When you started working on Summer Holiday, what were some of your ideas or hopes for the EP?
GAHYEON: Through our main track “BEcause”, we were hoping to demonstrate Dreamcatcher’s signature music style. But through the rest of the b-side tracks, we wanted to show that Dreamcatcher not only has this strong, dark side but also diverse charms and talents.
DAMI: We also hope that more people get to know and love Dreamcatcher more. And we wanted to show that we have so much potential and we are continuing to grow by showing our capabilities and diverse sides and styles to Dreamcatcher.
You’re a group that seems to keep growing with every release, so you constantly have new fans discovering your music by the time you make a comeback! Does that growth and expansive adoration make you approach your craft any differently?
HANDONG: Yes! This encourages us to explore new and diverse genres as much as possible. If we take “Airplane” for example, it was definitely a genre that we explored for the first time but so many people have loved and supported the song.
YOOHYEON: It’s no doubt that we feel so proud and happy as we receive more love as we grow, but it does come with pressure at times. And this pushes us to work harder to show a better performance and music during each comeback and to show new sides to us!
The intro has a really fun, almost eerie-pop transition into your lead single “BEcause” which has some addictive horror-themed aspects with a great rock twinge to it! Were there any challenges to crafting this song, or does that particular style feel pretty comfortable at this point?
SIYEON: The eeriness and Dreamcatcher’s unique way of expressing horror elements feel so natural to us now. It’s not difficult expressing this as it has become a part of us. However, for our [Summer Holiday] album, we didn’t want the entire album feeling like our usual eerie/darkness since it’s a special album. So we worked on slightly diluting the eerie vibes for this album.
“Airplane” is such a sweet, synthy pop track with some retro instrumentals scattered throughout – what was your first reaction to taking on something that’s outside of the norm for your group’s unique, grittier vibe?
JI U: We wanted our fans to think ‘Ohh it’s been a while since they’ve done something so refreshing and light! It’s fun!’. I thought that it’d be amazing for our InSomnias to hear this type of music from us. It really goes well with the overall summer vibes since it just lifted up our mood from our first listen.
SU A: Our Special Mini Album [Summer Holiday] stays true to its name since our songs will make you envision a vacation spot, the ocean, and the refreshing blue sceneries; it’ll immediately feel like the summer has indeed arrived. And when we first heard the songs, we really enjoyed it together because we really thought our fans would be able to have fun listening to Dreamcatcher’s version of summer. And a majority of our members chose the songs from this album as their all-time favorite.
The next song “Whistle” has this upbeat, hopeful tone to it with a lot of great creative choices. Since the song is said to accommodate that starry, summer night vibe, what are some of your own favorite ‘summer night’ activities to partake in?
SIYEON: I like to go on a drive to see the summer ocean! I would love to see how the waters spread across at night while listening to “Whistle”; this would really make me happy.
GAHYEON: I like to enjoy the summer nights! I like to eat ice cream or shaved ice at home under the air conditioner!
JI U: I also love being under the air condition while eating a bag of potato chips with a can of beer on summer nights! Just thinking of this helps me to cool down, and I think I really enjoy this feeling because it makes me feel like I’m unwinding and finishing the day off.
YOOHYEON: During summer nights, I like to ride my bicycle, or take a stroll, or listen to music as I take a walk. Or I like to enjoy the evening by listening to my favorite songs as I read a book!
DAMI: I like to keep the fan on while watching my favorite TV channels. It is those moments that I can be stress and worry-free, so I am really happy.
SU A: On summer nights, it’s the starry night that I love the most. I like to find a terrace or go to the Han River to look at the stars to enjoy the summer night breeze as well. And I especially love rainy nights, because I like to leave the window slightly ajar to smell the air and listen to the rainfall as I watch television.
HANDONG: I definitely like to eat watermelon while watching a movie with the air condition on full blast hehe Or I like to go out for a walk to eat street snacks – I used to enjoy watching the crowded streets at the night markets.
“All Day Long” fits right alongside some of the best city-pop music this year, and it feels like it has longevity behind it! What would you say was the best part about getting to delve into this specific sub-genre?
GAHYEON: Wow, thank you so much for loving our song! To be honest, I didn’t know how the city pop track would blend with our style at first. But JI U had worked on the lyrics and songwriting for this wonderful song and it was like a gift to us. We were extremely thankful to have this song as part of the album.
JI U: I feel that working on various genres helps us, Dreamcatcher, to expand our vocal reach. I guess we can say that it enables us to pull off a variety of genres and styles. By doing so, we look forward to see what kind of genre or style we’d be exploring next.
The EP ends with “A Heart of Sunflower” and it’s a beautiful song about love and loyalty in some capacity – what would you say was the heart of this meaningful closing track?
YOOHYEON: “A Heart of Sunflower” feels like a sad song to me. The song is about how one has already had a change of heart but the other is still in love. Just like how love comes in different forms, if we had shown love in a form of obsession in “BEcause”, then in “A Heart of Sunflower” we show a sad love of how one cannot move on.
The music video for “BEcause” was just released as well, and it has such a mix of glamour but has this haunting, artistic approach to it as well! Was there one moment that immediately stood out to any of you when you were able to actually see the video for the first time?
SIYEON: I loved how the computer graphics expressed doppelganger well in our music video. It was interesting to see how another “me” was created visually to express our song.
HANDONG: For me, it’s the scene where a part of my body disappears from the curtain. Everyone thought that it was a double but it was actually me. A staff was behind the curtains to pull me out.
You’ve earned a reputation as being artists who break the mold, and that’s something that you’re still proving to do with Summer Holiday! After getting your first number one earlier this year, and selling a record number of albums, what kind of hopes do you have for the future of Dreamcatcher?
JI U: Our biggest goal is to present good music for our InSomnias. I personally don’t think there’s an album that I didn’t like from our discography. It’s such a blessing that we were able to release a good album each and every time. I really do want to win a music program, but putting out good music has to be my ultimate goal.
SU A: We’re so thankful that so many people have shown so much love and we want everyone to know that it’s all due to our fans that we are so happy! We often talk about our future together. And we sincerely hope that you all continue to wonder about our new music and look forward to Dreamcatcher’s stories and music.
In closing, looking back at the process of making this EP, what would you each say was the biggest lesson you’ll take away from this experience?
SIYEON: Our biggest takeaway would be that Dreamcatcher is capable of expressing various genres and vibes! And it feels like we have gained our own unique style so it has helped us to gain more confidence over time to try and explore more.
DAMI: I also think that we were able to get to know ourselves better by trying a variety of genres. We get the opportunity to realize what we’re good at and what we like, so these sorts of experiences have provided a meaningful time for us to think about this.
Summer Holiday is available now, and check out the music video for the lead single “BEcause” included above!
