The band Dragon Pony announced a full-scale sprint to mark the year of the red horse.
Dragon Pony held a showcase to celebrate the release of their third EP RUN RUN RUN on the afternoon of the 10th at YES24 Wonder Rock Hall in Seodaemun District, Seoul, and discussed the new album.
Dragon Pony is a band under Antenna composed of four members: vocalist An Taegyu, bassist Pyeon Seonghyun, guitarist Kwon Sehyuk and drummer Go Ganghun. After the digital single Jigu Sonyeon released last July, Dragon Pony made a comeback about eight months later and said, "Since this is the result of work we spent a long time on, we finished it with pride. As you waited a long time, we will present it confidently this time as well, so I hope you listen to it a lot."
Dragon Pony's new record RUN RUN RUN is an album that connects the coming-of-age narrative of imperfect youth the band has developed through the songs they have released. Faced with countless choices with no definitive answers, it conveys the message of running wherever the heart leads rather than getting lost in complicated worries.
An Taegyu said of this album, "If our previous albums were about solidifying the aspiration to start, this time I wanted to convey the image of running properly. It's an album made with the aspiration that we all run together in various senses."
Pyeon Seonghyun added, "If previous albums up to the last had many unreleased songs written during our trainee days, this album contains songs made specifically for this album and honestly captures the emotions we felt after debut. We tried to show many new contents and musical genres."
As with previous works, this EP also has all members serving as main producers, handling the lyrics, composition and arrangement of every track, cementing their presence as a self-producing band.
On this, Kwon Sehyuk said, "Everyone participated as producers again. The advantage is that we used a variety of instruments we hadn't used before. I learned cello when I was young, so I tried adding cello sound."
The title track Ah, everything goes my way! is like an incantation the singer gives to themselves, containing the passionate cry of youth who want to live true to themselves rather than by standards set by the world. From the intro that hooks the ear with a technical and graceful guitar riff, the richly arranged instrument sounds surge forward with powerful energy.
An Taegyu described the new song as "a song that contains the cry of wanting to live true to myself rather than following standards set by the world. The point is the instruments that pile up colorfully. There are many intense performances, so it's fun to listen to. It's a song that makes you feel like anything could happen, like casting a spell on myself while chanting to myself."
He continued, "I really think this is the timing where we need to do well now, and I feel like we should follow the title. I think it's the song we needed most given how much effort we put in. It's a song the members unanimously liked."
When asked what they worried about most while preparing this album, Pyeon Seonghyun said, "We had a fairly long gap. So we worried a lot about what kind of songs would be good to show and what stories of our colors to tell. It was hard to find our own color," and answered, "We talked a lot and captured those parts well. The CEO listened to this album and praised us, saying it finally sounds like your color, so I felt good."
So what is Dragon Pony's identity? Go Ganghun said, "One of the strongest identities I felt I found through this album is that in performance we became bolder without intruding on the song's atmosphere. I think we achieved growth in finding compromises well."
Pyeon Seonghyun continued, "I think youth living in this era are imperfect. I hope those youths can sympathize and receive comfort as we honestly lay out our imperfect stories. Being honest about those stories seems to be our identity."
With this year being the year of the red horse, the activities of Dragon Pony, which has three members born in the year of the horse, are also anticipated. Go Ganghun vowed, "I will do everything as the title suggests." An Taegyu said, "Since the members other than me are born in the year of the horse, I receive good energy from them. I hope we can carry out many activities comfortably this year, including this album."
Finally, when asked about the achievements he hopes to accomplish, An Taegyu said, "Musically, I hope to firmly imprint our identity. I want our songs to remain on many people's playlists for a long time," and explained, "I think the band scene is being revitalized now and more people are visiting festivals. But I'm not sure if the public knows us well. That makes me think we have to work harder. Like saying we want to be a lubricant, I want to get closer to the public through this album."
Pyeon Seonghyun expressed the hope, "I wouldn't rule out numbers entirely, so I'd like to try charting."
Meanwhile, Dragon Pony's third EP RUN RUN RUN will be released at 6 p.m. that day on various music sites.
[OSEN]