Vitamin String Quartet - VSQ Performs BTS [Blue]

The global pop of BTS meets the old-world poise of a string quartet on VSQ Performs BTS, pressed on blue vinyl.

Vitamin String Quartet have spent more than two decades translating rock and pop into chamber music, and BTS gave them a rich challenge: songs that fold hip-hop, EDM and funk into K-pop's polished maximalism. Released in 2022, the album takes on hits from across the group's rise, rearranged for two violins, viola and cello by the Los Angeles ensemble best known for the string covers heard in Bridgerton.

The quartet clearly relished the puzzle of translating the trap bounce of "On" and the South African-inspired rhythms of "Idol" into bowed and plucked strings, and both come out sounding playful and fresh. "Spring Day" becomes a wistful, aching ballad, while "Fake Love" leans into its dramatic, minor-key tension. Thirteen songs in all, from "Black Swan" through to "Stay Gold", make up the vinyl sequence.

It is a charming listen for members of ARMY who want to hear favourite songs from a new angle, and a lovely introduction to the quartet for everyone else, equally suited to a quiet evening or a study session. The blue pressing gives it a suitably bright, cheerful finish on the turntable.