Armenian-American artist KÁRYYN has announced her Calm KAOSS! EP, due for release via Mute on 22 May 2024. She has also shared the EP’s first single ‘the REAL’ , watch the video below.
On the EP’s striking lead single ‘the REAL’, KÁRYYN harnesses her humility and newfound power to break through the hyper real, her strident and distinctive vocals burrowing through an electrifying mainframe of electronica. the song strips away at posturing and ego, reminding us that we are all one consciousness. It’s words based on a Sumerian poem The Descent of Inanna — a tale of a goddess who enters the realm of death in search of wisdom — and themes from the Vedic text The Upanishads, which declares: “[o]neself is a world for all beings.”
It’s ne of the first productions from her collaboration with James Ford. “I’ve always been an I to We person,” she notes. “What excites me is collaboration.” The track shines with both producers’ transcendent chemistry, building a limitless recording space where KÁRYYN’s vision can come to life. “There is no other,” she reminds us. “We are all reflecting one another.”
Born in the prolific period following her European tour, Calm KAOSS! was created in partnership with British record producer James Ford (Blur, Haim, Gorillaz, Depeche Mode, Florence & The Machine). The project sees KÁRYYN commune with her past, present and future selves, traveling through time to reveal transformative premonitions from the future in scientific and spiritual language.
The EP sounds like KÁRYYN pulling her ideas into the human body, away from the nostalgic ethereal, through soaring melodies, transcendent soundscapes, Middle Eastern choral tradition and crafted modular synthesis.
Today’s announcement follows KÁRYYN’s recent release ‘Anthem For Those Who Know’, a song of personal protest co-produced by Hudson Mohawke,.
Completing the EP is a remix of ‘the REAL’ from Australian techno producer and DJ HAAi. The EP serves as a bridge, carrying KÁRYYN from the formative inspirations of her first releases to a moment of self-assurance and revelation, as she continues to channel messages from the future.
Calm KAOSS! EP: https://mute.ffm.to/karyyn-thereal
Photo credit: Ally Schnaidt: