The One Song On BTS RM’s “Indigo” That Stands Out For Its Unique Production Style
Today, on December 2, KST, BTS leader RM dropped his much-anticipated solo album Indigo. The ten tracks on the record all deal with different styles of lyrics and genres, making it a very versatile body of work. While every song on the album has its unique bragging rights, for example, an Erykah Badu feature or a Tablo verse, one track stands out for its very making process.
In a pre-release interview, RM highlighted the track “Forg_tful.” saying that it was the first track he worked on for the album. He then revealed that the song’s production was done in an entirely unplugged method. The term “unplugged” in music production implies that no electronic instruments were involved in creating the sounds.
RM explained that the track might surprise audiences since it is predominantly folk-sounding. The instrumental was created with several acoustic sounds, such as an acoustic guitar, whistle sounds, the rubbing of jeans, and the thumping of his desk. These were only paired with Kim Sawol’s and RM’s vocals to create the final version of “Forg_tful,” with obviously mastering involved in the process.
The song could startle you. I used acoustic guitar, whistle sounds, banged the desk in the studio and rubbed the jeans like this, and crashed the toys in the studio. The song is made of unplugged sounds, without any virtual instruments. The process was entirely unplugged.
—RM
The BTS leader pointed out the same feature of the song during his post-release live broadcast, where he talked about each of the pieces on his album at length. While talking about the making process, he also mentioned that this song came to him like fate, which marked the beginning of Indigo.
건망증은 인디고의 시작점, 운명처럼 다가온 곡 pic.twitter.com/FAoQHSFhgf
— 브리이에₂ (@briller613_bts) December 2, 2022
This is a song called ‘Forgetfulness.’ It suits me well, right? This song was the first one out of the ten tracks on ‘Indigo.’ If I remember it correctly, I worked on this song in mid-2019, with guitar player Eun Hui Yeong. My friends often tell me, ‘I gave you that update, I told you this and that, why don’t you remember? I’m sad.” I hear that all the time. So, I was wondering, ‘Why am I like this?’ That’s when I suddenly came up with the melody, from the start to the chorus, along with the lyrics. This was a rare case, honestly. But the song really came to me like fate. And while working on this song, ‘Indigo’ came together. So, as much as it is a ‘starting point,’ the song is meaningful to me.
—RM, Weverse Live
As a songwriter involved in every behind-the-scene-making process of his work, it is evident that RM is proud of successfully pursuing a creative process that differs from his usual electronic-based song-making. It gives ARMYs all the more reason to love the track, and the album at large, as an authentic piece of art that came straight from his heart!
BTS
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