Kep1er (Klap Entertainment)

Kep1er, a project girl group formed through Mnet’s idol survival program “Girls Planet 999” in 2021, returns as seven with the new mini album “Tipi-Tap” on Friday.

This is their first album release after Kang Ye-seo and Sakamoto Mashiro departed from the group in July.

The remaining seven members of the group extended their exclusive contract with Klap Entertainment and WakeOne Entertainment becoming the first K-pop project group to prolong their activities beyond their initial contract.

Project K-pop groups launched through audition programs are usually signed under a two-year contract.

“We tried to emphasize each of our members’ characteristics in this new album to fill in the void of our two former members. We also wanted to show that we can fulfill our fans' needs even as a group of seven. So, we worked on enhancing our vocal and performance skills,” said Chaehyun of Kep1er during a group interview with local reporters in Seoul on Tuesday.

The remaining members decided to continue group activities, as they believed there were still many things they wanted to do as Kep1er.

“We want to perform in many parts of the world, including China where our member Xiaoting is from. We know that we have a lot of fans in Brazil, Malaysia and Singapore, so we are doing our best to be able to meet with them as soon as possible. But now we have to rearrange our vocal parts and choreography as a group of seven. We want to make it perfect before showcasing our first-ever standalone concert,” said Huening Bahiyyih.

For the album's title track, Kep1er tried a new genre called hyper-pop -- a loosely defined electronic music genre from the UK in the early 2010s.

“The song progresses brightly and smoothly with a lively melody and soft synth sounds, then showcases an addictive chorus by incorporating a unique twist on South Africa's Gqom rhythm. It reflects our bold and distinctive energy, expressing our determination to run anywhere in search of love,” said Yujin.

“We have three versions of concept photos for this album and they are all very unique. One version is chic, the second is kitsch and the last is lovely. This was our effort to show that we are a versatile group that can digest any concept and genre,” said Hikaru.

To continue expanding their artistic spectrum, some members are also studying composition and lyric writing.

In this album, Youngeun took part in writing the lyrics to two B-side tracks -0 “Drip” and “Heart Surf.”

“I thought that not only the main song but also the other songs should gain a lot of popularity. I wanted to highlight the members' charms, so I wrote lyrics tailored to each of them. When I heard the mastering with the members' voices, I felt proud that my lyrics were completed with their voices,” said Youngeun.

Kep1er looks forward to continuing its journey with the fans who helped the group debut through the audition program.

"Every time we perform, we remind ourselves how desperate we were to get a chance to perform on stage when we were trainees. Since we debuted with the love of our fans, we feel we must maintain our sincerity when performing. We treat every performance like it's our last. We also monitor ourselves diligently. I’m really grateful that the members are so passionate, and I feel we made the right choice by continuing our journey as Kep1er,” said Yujin.