Reykjavík Grapevine - mar 2020, Qupperneq 23

Album
Listen to ‘Lovelife’ on all streaming
platforms.
Electro-psychedelic-post-hip-hop-
pop collective Cryptochrome has con-
sistently been pushing the envelope
of sound since they debuted in 2013.
The eclectic elders of the booming
Reykjavík rap scene, the group is now
back with a new EP ‘Lovelife’—an
effort chock full of dreamy vocals
mixed with fresh pop beats and in-
tense flow, perfect for cheering up
the last few days of winter. We sat
down with the group to get a feel for
the release, track by track.
People Come
This song focuses on the strength
in sharing your vulnerabilities,
and acts as a portal into a feeling of
being understood and seen with-
out the shame that is solidified
in solitude. There’s also a hint of
sexuality, which we see as the ul-
timate form of trust and vulnera-
bility, and a playful approach to an
otherwise very heavy subject. Vibe
with the vibraphones.
Who’s
Who do we surround ourselves
with? Who do we serve? Who real-
ly has our best interests at heart?
And are we those people ourselves?
We so often spend our lives talk-
ing ourselves down to a degree we
would never accept someone else
doing, time for a little honest,
passionate life-long self-loving.
Right?!
Part of Me
This song is about the power we
give away, the power we unwitting-
ly exude, the power inherited from
societal constructs, gender, and
background. It’s about ownership,
where service distorts into control,
where the need for safety shifts
into imprisonment, enmeshment,
“privilobliviousness,” and the ro-
manticisation of it all. We flip the
script and stick it in a disco ball.
Polly
“Polly” is the first song we wrote
at the beginning of our journey
into polyamory, about the begin-
ning of our journey into polyamo-
ry, and the strong impressions it
was making. The personification
of personal freedom within a com-
mitted relationship. The wealth of
growth it has offered, continuous-
ly, and the deep introspection that
ensues.
Kali
This whole EP was written in a
period of huge realisations in our
lives, of cord-cutting on a massive
level, and we felt as if it were the
energy of Kali sweeping through
our existence, beheading the old
and ushering in the new. Through
beautiful coincidence, we connect-
ed our producer Secondson with
Halldór Úlfarsson, maker of the
now-famous halldorophone, whose
eerie drones permeate this song
perfectly. Haunting, bass-heavy
mantra-music.
Cast it Away
Get rid of it. Dance it away. If it
doesn't serve you, get it as far away
as necessary, and do so however
you please. This is a kind of ritual
song for us, everyday type spell-
casting, and it’s in the music, too.
Secondson travelled to Carn Menyn
in the Welsh Preseli Hills to record
the singing stones, at the site from
which the Stonehenge bluestones
were mined, and transported for
hundreds of miles, for their sonic
properties. It’s the first time they
have ever been put on record, and
there’s something magical in that
megalithic connection with the
past. We bring it into the present,
and use it to sculpt the future.
Music 23The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 03— 2020
TRACK BY TRACK
‘Lovelife’ by
Cryptochrome
Trust, vulnerability, polyamory, and imprisonment coalesce
Words: Cryptochrome & Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Art Bicnick
“Who really has our
best interests at heart?
And are we those peo-
ple ourselves?”
gpv.is/music
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