Vitamin String Quartet Just Released a Whole Album of BTS Covers

BTS‘ music is the gift that keeps on giving. Though the K-pop group is currently in between albums and its members are focusing on solo projects and preparing for mandatory military service, the group’s catalogue has inspired new interpretations of several of its hits songs. Such is the case for Vitamin String Quartet, whose new album Vitamin String Quartet Performs BTS — released on Friday (Oct. 21) — sees the group tapping into BTS tracks such as “Idol,” “On,” “Black Swan” and more.

“It’s been thrilling to put together VSQ Performs BTS. BTS’ music is built for performance; it’s something that serenades as much as it moves. That sensational combination of song and dance is at the heart of what we’ve accomplished with the album and all its content,” James Curtiss, director of A&R and creative director of CMH Label Group, said in a statement.

Along with the arrival of the classical group’s album was the debut for its “Black Swan” video, which features a male dancer performing ballet to the tune.

“Against a clean, stark palette and backdrop of black, white, and industrial grays, we are telling the story of a ballerina who pushes himself to the breaking point of performance, transforming from a delicate, gentle danseur into a vivacious, rapturous soloist,” Curtiss noted of the inspirations behind the “Black Swan” visual. “That is contrasted with the performance of the quartet on camera, the music he hears in his head, pushing him to the next level. It’s a visual revelry that encapsulates all that both VSQ and BTS bring into listeners’ lives.”

Vitamin String Quartet Performs BTS arrives just before BTS member Jin is set to debut his solo single “The Astronaut” alongside Coldplay in Buenos Aires on Oct. 28. The BTS member will be the first of the septet to perform military service in South Korea.

“Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government,” BTS’ label BigHit Music said in a statement. “Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”

Listen to Vitamin String Quartet Performs BTS, and watch the video for “Black Swan” below.