"Heartbeat bum bum bum —kick on the drum drum drum—Boom-boom, chicka boom, chicka boom" are the iconic lines on title track ‘Beatbox’ by NCT Dream. The "Beatbox" was released on 30 May 2022 as the lead single from the repackaged version of their second album Glitch Mode—released on May 28, 2022. Beatbox has 90s hip-hop style with a fun and a perfect chorus. Through this title track, NCT Dream brings back the old school concept with an incredibly catchy song that gives off positive vibes and arrangements which focus on highlighting the group’s vocals.

As a repackaged album of the Glitch Mode, it contains a total of fifteen songs, including four new songs as in addition: the title track "Beatbox" and the b-sides: "To My First", "Sorry, Heart", and "On The Way". This repackaged album is truly fascinating with its various achievements, starting from selling more than 300 copies on the first day of its release, taking first place on the i-Tunes Top Songs Chart in several countries, achieved the Grand Slam title, and many more. Besides that, the thing that is no less cool and what I cherished is this album uses eco-friendly material as well! It means this album is a 'green' dream. Let me tell you more about why this album is eco-friendly, read till the end!

1. Printed with biodegradable Soy ink and Eco-friendly UV coating

We can see the words "printed with soy ink" on the back of the album which means that this album is printed using biodegradable soybean oil ink and an environmentally friendly UV coating that does not emit volatile organic compounds, thereby reducing the burden of environmental pollution.

2. Paper certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC Label) 

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a globally recognised certification system with million hectares of forestland certified under its forest conservation standards. FSC is the only timber certification supported by world environmental NGOs, including WWF, Greenpeace, and The Woodland Trust. When any wood or paper product bears the FSC label, it means that its raw materials come from responsibly managed forests and that all companies in its supply chain adhere to the highest standards of sustainability when producing them. In this way, FSC certification helps keep forests alive and thriving, while providing producers, brands and consumers with sustainable and responsible forest product choices.

So, in this case the Beatbox album uses paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to support sustainable forests. It's hella great! Because did you know? According to WWF — globally, the world is losing 18.7 million acres of forests every year – equivalent to 27 soccer fields every minute! 

 

3. Self-made album cover design by the members 

This album is even more special because of the album cover design that the members made themselves along with special attention to environmental protection. Each member participated in the cover image design, booklet and CD as well in the line of the "Beatbox" concept by adding each individually handwriting and drawing. “Beatbox” was released in two different versions, such as the photo book version and  digipack version. The digipack version of the Beatbox album consists of seven versions with the front covers of each of the seven NCT Dream members in each version. Meanwhile, the photobook version consists of a photobook containing full-color pictures of the NCT Dream members.

What's even more impressive, this isn't the first time their album has been eco-friendly. The previous album — Glitch Mode, can also be said to be an eco-friendly album. This was stated by two NCT Dream members, namely Jaemin and Chenle during the Glitch Mode live countdown on the NCT Dream YouTube channel. Jaemin said that the digipack version of the Glitch Mode album is made of 100% environmentally friendly paper. Chenle added that the digipack version can be easily recycled. This is so dope!

 

I conclude that the Beatbox album itself is a new breakthrough in the K-Pop world. This album is high value, worthy and a green album. Through this album, which contains songs full of enthusiasm and positive vibes, it is in line with the spirit of voicing environmental issues and climate justice in the world. In this case, music can also be an element in making fans aware of environmental issues. I hope this eco-friendly concept will be a trendsetter for K-pop green album initiative and merchandise as well. Hopefully the company keeps doing this and to more eco-friendly K-Pop stuff. In the future, I hope that K-pop concerts will also carry an environmentally friendly concept.

That's all, everywhere I go bring the beatbox 🎵💚🌱

 

References:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.k-odyssey.com/news/amp.html%3fncode=1065591484793866 

https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/018/0005224941 

https://www.prakati.in/why-you-should-look-for-fsc-label-while-buying-wood-products/