RM Indigo: The Last Archive of His Twenties

BTS member RM's highly anticipated first full-length solo album, Indigo is finally here. After working on this album for nearly four years, this album inputs the life experiences of RM that have shaped them thus far and has placed them within each track so that each listener can find themselves within each story being told. RM expertly combines his appreciation for contemporary art and various genres of music by including pioneers of both to be featured on this album.

In a few concept photos from RM's Indigo album and the Indigo album cover art, he poses with the late Yun Hyongkeun's artwork entitled "Blue." Not only is Yun one of RM's favorite artists, but the painting ties into the title of his album, as indigo is a shade of blue.

RM chose the title Indigo for his album as it is the color of jeans that can be derived from nature. The sentiment behind the name also lends itself to wanting to contrast with the black-and-white imagery he used for his "Mono" mixtape. He wanted to bring to life the color that he had within his life and the different colors that the featured artists on the album bring to each song.  

Didn't get a chance to preorder your RM Indigo album before release day? No worries! The Daebak Company is both the book edition and postcard edition of the album, as well as the set! 

The Book Edition of RM's Indigo album includes an outbox, a 100-page book, a CD, 2 postcards, 1 random photocard out of 3 possible designs, a fabric card, an instant photo, and a poster. 

The Postcard Edition of the album is a Weverse Album version of RM's Indigo album. It includes an outbox, a 32-page lyric book, 30 postcards, a random photocard out of two possible designs, an instant photo, a user guide, and a QR guide. To listen to this album with this edition, just download the Weverse Albums application, log into your Weverse or social media account, scan the QR code and then download your album!

With ten songs to travel through the journey of what was RM's twenties, the exclusive collabs present on the RM Indigo album only solidify how remarkable this body of work is. Each track takes on its unique sound and story to pull the listener right into reminiscing about what it means to truly be yourself and reflect on old chapters of life that made you who you are today.

The first track on RM's Indigo album features narration from the late artist Yun Hyongkeun at the beginning and end of the song. He gives advice that RM has interpreted within this song. The inclusion of the narration is quite fitting in that the song expresses what RM learned and felt from looking at Yun's artwork. 

The melody of the song gives off that smooth 90s r&b feel that is mandatory when working with the legend that is legendary singer Erykah Badu. RM expresses wanting to be human before making art, as he grapples with the idea of wanting to get in touch with the person he was before all the fame. Erykah Badu's brassy vocals provide a neo soul vibe that reinforces the idea that one must know themselves before being able to provide their true self within their art. 

In an interview with Tong Tong Culture, RM explains that while most native English speakers look at the title of his second track and think "inanimate object," he interprets the title of the track Still Life as a way to say "Life goes on." This song explores the idea that while Life may be a picture, it can go beyond just a fixed canvas. 

This track has an energetic and funky feel reminiscent of the vibe that Anderson Paak brings to his music with his group Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic. This feel-good track coincides with the song's message about continuing to move forward regardless of what happens in "life."  

In All Day, RM described the track as finding individual originality in a world of algorithms. His hero Tablo, from group Epik High, drives home the message of living in a world that only wants the ability to fold people in whatever way serves them most, like origami. While the song's melody is laid back, the beat makes you want to bop your head to it. It's definitely a track that anyone can use as a confidence booster because no matter what haters say, "we know we fly, all day."  

The title of this track, Geonmanjeung, which features Kim Saweol, translates to Forgetfulness. It was the first song RM worked on for his Indigo album. With a surprisingly original sound that included no virtual instruments by combining acoustic guitars, whistling, banging on tables, rubbing jeans together, and crashing toys, the mellow melody sounds like a masterpiece straight out of a hit k-drama. Kim Sawol's delicate vocals add the perfect cherry on top to this song that will surely have you coming back again and again. 

Produced by his long-time friend HONNE, Closer describes meeting someone and having such a connection with them that it feels like you can't get close enough to them. Mahalia and Paul Blanco's smooth, sultry vocals subtly and effortlessly express the longing desire to be close to someone beyond physicality. If someone looked up the definition of k-r&b, this song would be it. 

This song is about the changes RM experienced that he thought would remain the same. He worked with eAeon on this song, who he previously collaborated with on RM's song Badbye and eAeon's song Don't. This song has a funky techno element and explicitly calls out the person RM used to be as someone he no longer identifies with. 

The melody quickly switches up in the middle of the song to a jazzy downbeat. It is almost a way to show the listener that he transitioned into accepting all the changes he mentioned beforehand. 

Even though this is one of the shortest albums of the songs, dare I say that it was an intentional move to symbolically and abruptly tell the listener change is a part of life, accept it, and move on with your life.  

RM described this song as the one he believes listeners will be able to listen to most comfortably. Having worked on the song in a hotel, it describes people's mutual sentiment when they look at a picture or go on a trip. The song's melody has a chill vibe but, mixed with the lyrics, leaves an underlying feeling of sadness. It's a song that anyone can relate to and will surely become a comfort song for anyone with a million thoughts running through their minds as they sit alone and stare at the ceiling in their room.

Hectic is a city pop song, which is a style of Japanese pop music with western influence that includes styles like funk, soft rock, and R&B. RM wanted to test the limits of the genre as it is typically only sung by women, so he used the male voice of Colde to make this track special. The word hectic is defined as a frantic activity, but this song expresses the desire to find a reason to keep moving through those hectic days over a melody that is the opposite of hectic, smooth, and harmonic. 

The title track of RM's Indigo album is Deulkkonnori, featuring Jo Yujin, which translates to Wildflower. RM describes this song as his wish to live as an enduring, quiet wildflower instead of a momentary and explosive firework. This ideal is painted beautifully throughout the song's music video, featuring picturesque fireworks and RM scenes within a field of purple wildflowers. 

RM compares living life like a firework to indulging in his dreams. Still, he quickly realizes that the happiness that comes from it is short-lived when he realizes that he would rather be himself and live quietly as a wildflower, even if that means giving up all the fame that he was so desperate to achieve. It's an explosively thought-provoking song with an equally explosive rock element to the melody that leaves a haunting feeling against Yujin, desperately belting out, "Light a flower, flower work." 

The last track on the Indigo album features Park Jiyoon. The song takes on the lesson of "Don't look back," which derives from the legend of Orpheus in Greek and Roman mythology. RM wants the listener to realize and accept that the choices you made yesterday led you to who you are today, and there's no point in looking back because you cannot change it. 

Her unique vocals harmonizing with RM's provide the comfort we all need when we feel unsure of the decisions we've made up until now. No.2 was the perfect way to end this album as it also symbolically ends the chapter of RM's life in his twenties with acceptance and only the desire to look forward to the future.  

Interestingly enough, RM said that once he releases his album, he will no longer listen to it because, at that point, it is no longer for him but for the listeners, as he hopes that they add more meaning and life to the album with their own interpretations and sentiments felt by each song. 

He hopes that the listener will come back to listen to the songs on this album periodically, like a bookmark in life. Each song shows a shade of indigo representing various facets of life that RM has gone through. RM's Indigo album truly is an archive of his twenties; with its release, he has also released himself from that chapter of his life. 

RM, also known as Kim Namjoon, is the leader of BTS. He is a part of the rap line in the group but often lends his vocals to singing backup vocals in various tracks for BTS as well as for his solo projects. He is known for his deep voice while rapping, lyrical prowess in songwriting, and being an impeccable music producer.

RM has two mixtapes: a self-titled debut mixtape entitled RM and his second entitled Mono. His solo songs with BTS include Reflection, Trivia Love, and Intro: Persona. If you want to hear some more of his solo projects check out his 2021 BTS Festa track Bicycle, Change ft. Wale, Winter Flower with Younha, Seoul Town Road with Lil Nas X, and one of his latest collabs Sexy Nukim with Balming Tiger.

In his free time, RM likes to read and travel the world to visit art museums. He was even featured as the voice for the audio guide for an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art(LACMA), entitled "The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art", which features 10 Korean art pieces. 

Want to learn more about BTS's RM and what his group BTS is all about? Check out some of these articles from The Daebak Magazine.