The Emotions Driving Replica Dream
Vocalist Chanmin tells the stories behind the indie band’s songs.
Please introduce yourselves and share what skills each member contributes to the group!
Hello guys! We are truly grateful to meet you through this interview. We are a Korean indie band based in Seoul. Our members are Ahn Woojin (guitar), Lee Ji Goo (bass), Hwang Junha (drums), [and me]. [I am] in charge of art directing and song-making. Woojin and Ji Goo are also in charge of song-making, as well as the band’s coordination. Junha is the leader of the band and manages [our] schedule.
For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “Replica Dream is ___” or “Replica Dream’s music is ___”?
“Replica Dream’s music is a story of a naive youth who overcomes frustrations and failures and eventually makes obvious growth.”
What is the story behind how you became a band?
Junha was digging [through] YouTube and found [my] cover [of] a famous Korean band. He sent a message to [me] with a vague thought of doing music.
Please describe your newest single, “Naphthalene”!
The song “Naphthalene” [came out of] my experience of unexpectedly missing someone when I smelled stinking Naphthalene. Just like that smell doesn’t go away easily, I was hoping a memory or emotion could stay longer. I just felt responsible, that I should turn that hope into a certain medium.
Please talk about each of these songs:
“Dopy”: This song was written based on the emotion [of] inferiority. To watch people around me grow so fast, I felt very insignificant, because I was at a standstill for a long time. But through this song, I wanted to [send] a hopeful message, and I expressed that with a rushing, strong sound: “Let’s move forward in [our] own ways.”
“1st”: This was the first song I wrote after I finished my mandatory military service in 2023. The title “1st” came from that, and I wanted to challenge myself by using a style that I hadn’t tried before. This song [expressed] my hope [for] another beginning for the band. The songs before this were focused on pessimism, while this one focused on my rockstar aspirations.
Any song from Vandalism: “Farewell.” This song started with a question: “If I die suddenly, what is going to happen to the words that I never got a chance to say?” Some people around me were gone, and I thought death was not too far away from me. I felt I needed to write [down] that [worry] that I could die anytime. It almost feels like I wrote my will with this song, but I am hoping the listeners will listen to this song easily, just like looking at someone’s diary.
Any other song you want to talk about!: “This is not what I want.” This song is about the emotions that I had in my heart from when I was teenager to now. I always strove for “something” [and] didn’t know what it was, and I kept moving forward to find out. The “light” in this song represents that “something.” But when I faced the results, I felt dispirited rather than happy. I put my longing to touch that “something” [in the song, but] that is yet to be embodied. Still, that “something” is my biggest motivation.
How do you come up with ideas for the visual aspects of your music?
Amazingly, when we work on a song for a long time, an image comes up naturally. Based on that, we collect suitable references, combine those with our vibe, and work on the visual, agonizing to find out how we can metaphorically express a song’s mood and message.
What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
Our short-term goals are to work on our upcoming songs a bit more, release them in a way that captures our fans’ ears and hearts, and, of course, do higher-quality live shows. Long-term, we are hoping to attend domestic [and] international festivals and let more listeners hear our story.
Lastly, is there anything else you want to say about yourselves or your music?
It is truly an honor for us to say hello through this interview. We are still a band who has a lot of room to grow, but please stay tuned, as we will always do our best!
Check out Replica Dream on Instagram here and on YouTube here!
Answers have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Photo courtesy of Replica Dream.