“Thrilled about our first comeback” Dragon Pony, growing up, powerfully returns with ‘Not Out’ with an autobiographical story (Comprehensive)[DA:On-site]

Dragon Pony, a band affiliated with Antenna, has made their first comeback with a more mature look.

On the 19th at 2 PM, Dragon Pony‘s second mini-album ‘Not Out’ release commemorative showcase was held at Yes24 Wonderlock Hall in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. On this day, Dragon Pony performed the main title song ‘Not Out’ and the sub-title song ‘NEVER’ and participated in a Q&A session with reporters.

On this day, Go Kang-hoon said, “I feel pressured and nervous, but I will work hard to show you an improved side of myself”, expressing his feelings about the comeback. Ahn Tae-gyu said, “Since the first ‘POP UP’, some time has passed and we are back with our second album ‘Not Out’. It doesn’t feel real yet, but I will work hard to show you a good side of me,” and Pyeon Seong-hyeon shared his feelings, saying, “I‘ve been waiting for today. I’m so happy and excited that my second album can be released to the world.”

Regarding the new album, Ahn Tae-gyu said, “Our previous album was like a pop-up store opening, an album that showed what kind of team we are and what kind of music we will make. Many people have shown interest and loved us since our first album, so we made this album with more confidence, with the determination to go even crazier and run harder. It contains a lot of our stories. It depicts ‘dreams’, ‘future’, ‘success and failure’, ‘love and separation’, which are essential to people going through the anxious period of youth. ”I wanted to convey the message of ‘Let’s move forward even if we fail‘ while cheering on all the youth living in this era,“ he explained.


‘Not Out’ is Dragonpony’s new album, released approximately six months after their debut album, their first EP, ‘POP UP’, was released in September of last year. Each track contains Dragonpony‘s autobiographical narrative and a cross-section of their imperfect youth, and like their previous work, the four members served as main producers for this album as well, leading the writing, composing, and arranging of all the songs.

The title track and album name, ‘Not Out’, is taken from a baseball term meaning a strikeout that is the only strikeout in which a player can still get on base. It compares the appearance of modern youth who constantly challenge themselves to pursue their dreams to a baseball term. With the motto, ‘It’s not over yet!’, it contains a message of hope and passion that if you move forward with a strong will even in an uncertain and bleak reality like a long tunnel, you will eventually achieve your dreams.

Pyun Seong-hyeon explained, “While living, when you feel tired, worn out, and frustrated, I wanted to say, ‘It‘s not over yet, it’s just the beginning’, and we wanted to hear that too. We wanted to melt our deep emotions into it more.” Kwon Se-hyuk said, “I wanted to deliver a message to those who, including us, are trying hard and working hard but feel like things aren‘t going as planned. I put in the feeling that we will keep moving forward, whether the end is destruction, success, or failure.”It’s a song that stays true to the basic elements of a band. I worked on it while imagining a scene of us all running around and having fun at a festival.”Not Out’ was completed with the help of Antenna‘s Yoo Hee-yeol, the CEO of Antenna. Ahn Tae-gyu mentioned CEO Yoo Hee-yeol’s advice and said, ”He talked about Dragon Pony‘s direction. Since you are a band, you should create Dragon Pony’s worldview and concept through honest stories.“ Based on the CEO‘s advice, this album contains more autobiographical stories than the previous work. He said, ”They helped us to better convey our honest stories, and we also tried hard.“

In addition to the title song, the sub-title song ‘NEVER’, which depicts the moment of deciding to break up after hesitating, with an appealing voice and a strong rock sound in the latter half, ‘Waste’, which is perfect for enjoying the stage with a fast beat filled with various FX sounds, ‘Altruism (To. Nosy Boy)’, which features a vintage sound and a splendid driving performance section including a guitar solo in the latter half, and ‘On Air’, which contains the excitement and thrill before going on stage, are included in total of 5 songs that combine various genres based on an authentic rock sound.


All members of Dragon Pony work together as main producers. They ”bring their own demo songs and work together. At first, we clashed because each of our colors were distinct, but now that we understand each other’s colors well and incorporate them into our songs, we can present better songs,“ he said.

Regarding the process of resolving conflicts of opinion, Pyeon Seong-hyeon joked, ”We sometimes argue not only in music but also in everyday life.“ He confessed, ”As friends and colleagues, we think together and sometimes cry together to create one music, and I think we‘ve become closer. I think we create better results by comfortably sharing our work stories.“ Ahn Tae-gyu confessed, ”When there’s a conflict, like Kang Hoon said, we try to find a way to accommodate everyone‘s opinions as much as possible. I’m happy that we can create the best result and that we can see our growth.“ Go Kang-hoon said, ”I think there was some ‘friendly competition’ among us while working on this title song. We each wrote a song, made a list, and had our own vote. He recalled, “It was a really exciting process.”


Since their debut in September of last year, Dragon Pony has gained diverse experiences by performing on stage at various festivals. In particular, Pyeon Seong-hyeon recalled the Busan International Rock Festival, their first festival since their debut, and said, “At first, there weren‘t any audience members, but as we played hard and showed our rock spirit, more and more people came. Later, the space was filled. The beautiful sight was impressive.” He also showed confidence by saying, “At that time, overseas festival officials came and said, ’It was great. They enjoyed our performance.‘ They decided to perform at overseas festivals on the spot, so it’s memorable.”

Dragon Pony said, “We often imagine ourselves as headliners at festivals someday. “I will work hard to dream of one day being able to headline a festival under the stars and the moon,” he said, expressing his determination. He chose the Glastonbury Festival as the festival he would like to perform at, saying, “It’s a stage where almost all the rock bands we respect have performed, so if we can perform there, I would have no more dreams.”

Dragon Pony will hold their first solo concerts in Seoul on May 3 and 4 and in Taipei on May 23 and 24. Pyeon Seong-hyeon said, “I want to create a place of unity where young people can all have fun together, jump around like crazy, and shout.” Ahn Tae-gyu said, “We are preparing hard. You can listen to all the songs on the new album live, and we are also rearranging and preparing previously released songs so that you can only hear them at this concert. We will also show a new side of ourselves by playing instruments that we don’t usually play,” and added, “As a band, we are confident in our live performances. I think you‘ll fall for us if you watch our stage. Please look forward to it,” he said.

Dragon Pony’s second EP, ‘Not Out’, will be released today (the 19th) at 6 PM through various music streaming sites.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo | Sports Donga Joo Hyun-hee reporter teth1147@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.