SEVENTEEN’s JxJ brings ‘landscape of dreams’ to life with EP ‘Dreamscape’

SEVENTEEN members Jeonghan and Joshua unveiled Monday their first extended play (EP) as the duo JxJ, a record that explores the intersection of fantasy and reality.

Titled “Dreamscape,” the EP evokes a “mesmerizing ‘landscape of dreams’ where subconscious illusions blooming in sleep and real-world ideals constantly overlap and collide,” label Pledis Entertainment said in a press statement.

“Across 7 tracks, the album turns the unfamiliar beauty discovered at the intersection of these two realms into an immersive sonic experience,” it added.

The album’s lead track, “12 o’clock,” offers a modern take on disco and funk music from the 1970s and 1980s.

The song follows a search for “you” — which could refer to a lover, a goal or a dream — as its narrator moves between midnight and noon, Pledis explained.

The single is accompanied by a music video that follows the K-pop duo in a “dreamlike pursuit of their ideals.”

The video also features a mythical creature that combines a peacock, symbolizing splendor, and the Ouroboros, representing an eternal cycle. The creature serves as a metaphor for “traversing boundaries between reality and fantasy.”

The EP also includes solo tracks from both members: Joshua’s alternative rock song “Not Personal,” which he co-wrote and co-composed, and Jeonghan’s electro-house track “Coloring,” which credits the singer as a lyricist.

JxJ are also set to embark on their “Journey Into [Dreaming]” tour, which will kick off with three shows in Incheon, South Korea from October 30 to November 1, before heading to Saitama, Macau, Taipei, Busan and Hong Kong.

The duo is the latest two-person sub-unit of SEVENTEEN, whose members have recently focused on solo and unit activities as some of their bandmates have gone on hiatus to fulfill South Korea’s mandatory military service.

Jeonghan previously teamed up with Wonwoo for a duo release in 2024, before both of them began their military service. Jeonghan has since completed his service.

Other SEVENTEEN duo units include those comprising Hoshi and Woozi, S.Coups and Mingyu, DK and Seungkwan, and Vernon and The8.

Debuting in 2015, the 13-member SEVENTEEN ranked as the second best-selling recording artist globally in 2023, just behind Taylor Swift, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

The group has also been appointed UNESCO goodwill ambassadors for the youth.