I don’t remember exactly when the dreams started
But it would always be the same
Alone, on a dry distant planet 
Somewhere beyond our universe, trapped

Following the release of DPR Live’s debut album Is Anybody Out There? comes “Kiss Me + Neon”. As the title hints: this is two tracks weaved into one. It follows after the lead single “Legacy” a song highlighting DPR Live’s rapping ability as well as the theme of the entire record. Unlike Live’s last two EP’s namely “Coming to You Live” and “Her” this MV and the aforementioned album follows a narrative tied to space travel. 

The DPR Live experience is deeply tied to its MV’s. This is due to Live himself being a part of a group named Dream Perfect Regime or DPR for short. The group itself functions as a label and “a multi-genre music and video group” with Live being their flagship artist. As such, everything released by Live has been deeply interwoven with DPR’s visual world. “Kiss Me + Neon” is no exception to this rule, and the record Is Anybody Out There serves as their greatest combined effort to portray their talents as a group.

Every track on the record is primarily composed and arranged by DPR Cream while all the lyrics are handled by DPR Live. DPR +Ian (pronounced Christian) is the primary director and editor for this MV and every MV in DPR Live’s discography. DPR Rem serves as the executive producer for the record. It truly is an in-house affair and will likely remain as such.

The MV starts off moulded into a faraway space and time where Live finds himself dreaming of an unknown world. His signature love-lorn lyrics remain throughout, especially with the largest body of sound entitled “Neon”.

“Kiss Me” serves as an intro track, with the MV stating that the events of “Kiss Me + Neon” occur “2 weeks before impact”. This hints that DPR Live will land on the unknown planet he had been dreaming of. The MV for “Legacy” occurs “30 minutes before impact” indicating that “Kiss Me + Neon” is chronologically the first MV in this story. This interwoven connection between the two MV’s show that much like the record itself, the MV’s will explore visually what we have already heard sonically.

The visuals used in “Kiss Me” are diluted in animation making everything seem dreamlike and warped in colour. This is complemented by all of its runtime being caught in a dystopian bedroom likely stationed on a spaceship-space. DPR Live’s helmet shimmers in bright red colours projecting an astral plane within the room. It is wonderfully crafted imagery, that lingers until taken away by static and the introduction of “Neon”.

I wonder if I’ll ever see you again,
I still remember how we met and
How your kisses made it go…

“Neon” stands as one of the highlights on Is Anybody Out There? therefore having it accented by a stunning MV makes it all the more captivating. What makes it stand out from rest of the record is that it feels less attached to the concept of the album. It is a euphoric love song that stylistically matches the music found on his previous two EP’s. Admittedly the key hook of the track which bellows out “blast off to the future” is definitely in line with the concept of the record.

The visuals for “Neon” are primarily based on a viewing station outlooking Earth. This again ties in with Live’s search for the planet he had been dreaming of at the beginning of the video. There is also a series of glitching tv-screens the moment the audio for “Neon” kicks in mimicking The Weeknd‘s “Call Out My Name” lyric video.

The costume design for this MV stands out. Spacewear has remained fairly rigid both in reality and in filmmaking. DPR’s take on NASA‘s astronaut flight suit is refreshing. Its unique buttons and hand-embroidered symbols make me desperately want to own a pair. Not to mention the disco-infused helmet that would make for the ultimate headset.

DPR must be praised for their brave leap into a concept album and visual package that hasn’t quite been seen to this degree in the Korean hip-hop scene. The shooting for the distant planet seems reminiscent of the 1984 film Dune based on the novel by Frank Herbert. Interestingly there is also a remake of Dune set to hit theatres on December 18th 2020. DPR have as such touched upon a timely visual nerve that expands as far as the eye could see.

DPR Live has truly flown past all expectations for his debut album. DPR as a whole have also raised the bar for the visual spectacle that their MV’s have become. The sky is no longer the limit for what DPR Live can achieve both musically and visually. It is also very likely that DPR will continue to release MV’s for Is Anybody Out There?. Since the entire album hinges on a visual component that has slowly unravelled into the MV’s “Legacy” and “Kiss Me + Neon”.

Dreamperfectregime, The Verge, YouTube (1)(2) Images via DPR