Watch NCT 127’s track-by-track guide to their album ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’

To mark the release of their fourth Korean studio album ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’, NCT 127 have talked NME through every song on the record, sharing their reflections and inspirations – watch the video above.

• READ MORE: NCT 127 – ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’ review: genre experimentalists continue their chaotic streak

Coming a year after their previous album ‘Sticker’, ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’ first landed with a splash. The intense hip-hop title track of the same name dropped a day before the album was released, and member Taeyong explains: “I believe this is the kind of song that NCT 127 does best, so we all had fun working on it.

“And it’s the combination of all these [elements in the song] that brought colour to the visuals of ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’.”

‘질주 (2 Baddies)’ features 12 tracks spanning the genres of hip-hop, dance, and R&B. One subgenre NCT 127 discovered in the process of making the record is UK drill, on the song ‘불시착 (Crash Landing)’. “I actually just learned about the genre UK drill through this track,” Taeil reveals to NME. “I didn’t know much about UK drill, but KENZIE [a co-producer on the album] wrote us such a great song and I think it’s one that really brought out our 100 per cent.”

Taeil had initial doubts about ‘불시착 (Crash Landing)’ when it was first presented to him as a demo. “It wasn’t fully my style,” he admits. “But after listening to the version with our voices, I’d have to say my affection for this song grew even more.”

As they go down the tracklist, NCT 127 also explain that they are channelling “savage outlaws” on ‘Tasty (貘)’. “It unfolds a story of easily defeating villains from one’s nightmares,” Jungwoo explains. “I’d like to say it’s an attractive track that presents the dark, charismatic side of NCT 127. While working on this track, I learned various new vocal skills and also focused on figuring out how to make my voice come out in a cooler way. It feels like I’ve discovered a new me!”

Watch NCT 127’s track-by-track guide to ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’ in full above.