Káryyn is one of the electronic pop artists who admit the “ethereal” label, a label that partly explains a proposal that is both pop and experimental. Káryyn, who has performed at festivals such as Sónar and collaborated with Apparat on his latest album, ‘A Hum of Maybe’, released his debut, ‘The Quanta Series’, in 2021, an album that you will like if you like artists like AURORA, FKA twigs, Woodkid or Fever Ray.
American of Armenian origin, Káryyn has become known for the intensity of his productions, the power of his vocal performances and his compositions, such as ‘EVER’ or ‘BINARY’, also linked to the work of the first Arca. In ‘Fountain of Peace’ he provided vocals to an atmospheric electronic production by Daniel Avery.
But Káryyn is ready to make a major leap in popularity. Their second album, ‘Physics Universal Love Language (Pull)’, which comes out on May 29, has been presented with such powerful singles as ‘Collapse Phase’, today’s Song of the Day.
‘Collapse Phase’ highlights Káryyn’s vocal power, as the production moves beneath her voice like a tectonic plate, really getting going in an almost instrumental chorus, punctuated by vocal chops from the artist, before a beat close to drum n’ bass enters. The song sounds so good in part because James Ford is one of the producers involved.
‘Collapse Phase’ uses scientific, almost metaphysical language to narrate the process of a relationship that is breaking down. It’s very Björk the way Káryyn describes the process as “affecting our form” and “reorganizing our existence.” The chorus “you put a pause on our love” suggests that love has not been broken, but it has frozen. In the end, this “collapse” reaches a logical “final phase,” with Káryyn ready to begin a new stage of life.
