By Ashna Shehzeen Hossain
A close look at fascinating K-Pop label Dream Perfect Regime
I always find myself looking for lofis and chill Korean music playlists. YouTube has these amazing playlists and one fine day the tempo and beat on a single track caught my attention. To my surprise, a man (a very good looking one) with a voice of gold was singing in English.
So, I decided to look up more info on the track and I have ever since been hooked onto DPR (Dream Perfect Regime). A band consisting of Koreans who grew up in places like Guam, Australia, USA all joined together to form a team where they are a complete production house consisting of DPR Live (Hong Da-bin), DPR Ian (Christian Yu), DPR Cream (Kim Kyung-mo), and DPR Rem (Scott Kim).
DPR Live, the first DPR artist to release an album, is from Guam, but of Korean origin. A former dancer, and aspiring phycology lecturer, his rapping skills are immaculate, and his music genre is eclectic, and his constant desire is to influence positivity. Dabin produces the light, feel good music – my favorite tracks include, “Hula Hoops,” “Text Me,” “Jasmine,” “Martini Blue” and constant on my playlist is “Summer Tights.”
DPR Ian, who grew up in Sydney, began his journey as a K-Pop artist in a band called C- Clown, where he was recognized as Rome, and highlighted as a rapper and singer.
However, being an idol in Korean pop terms wasn’t his cup of tea. Gradually, he rebelled against his pop contract and found himself in the company of talented, like-minded people who later formed DPR. Ian’s journey in the team started off as a brilliant creative head, and he directed almost all the music videos produced by their team. He is also known to have directed videos for other notable Korean musicians.
DPR Ian, whose Korean name is Ba Rom, talks about his mental health and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during his school days. His struggles are portrayed in his music, and he channels his feelings through creativity, a mechanism he was taught by his therapist. Ian calls himself a perfectionist, thus he takes full charge of his music and video production. He’s a great imaginator and his music videos are proof of his out-of-the box music videos. This creative genius has also talked about experiencing artist’s block and being caught in his perfectionism. At different stages of his life, he has transitioned from metal to K-Pop, and so on; he often thrives on creating these whole new identities.
DPR Ian is known to have produced two solo albums which consists of amazing tracks including “Beautiful,” “No Blueberries,” “Dope Lovers,” “Merry Go,” “Calico,” “Mr. Insanity,” “Winterfell” and many more.
Different stages of DPR Ian are portrayed through very melodious tunes and meaningful words. These tracks are accompanied by music videos which clearly explain the meaning of these masterpieces. Check them out on YouTube.
My first and most favorite track remains “No Blueberries,” which also has a very creative video directed by DPR himself. This track talks about incongruities, like blueberries in ice cream. I personally believe his music genres range beyond R&B with a mix of hip hop, alternative, house, with some addition of his base skills and range of vocals; it’s a blend of genres.
If you are looking for some creative, thoughtful, melodious English songs, sung by a Korean pop singer along with very creative videos, do give them a listen. DPR Ian’s album Mood Swings in This Order and Mood Swings into Order would surely give your personal playlist something new and rhythmic. Both the albums have a lot to say about a certain character. Under the belt of DPR, there’s also a lot that DPR LIVE has to offer as well. Their second world tour is ongoing as this article is being written, and the finale is slated to happen in South Korea this month.
To conclude, DPR goes out of K-Pop’s usual concept as a group who’s helping define what’s cool in Korean hip hop and Korean R&B. Just type DPR on YouTube/Spotify and get blown away. “DPR WE GANG GANG!”
Photo: Last.fm
