Reykjavík Grapevine - mar. 2023, Síða 15

Breathe Deep
And Enjoy
The Ride
Words: Daníel Þorsteinsson and Josie Anne Gaitens
Image: Daníel Þorsteinsson
TRPTYCH is the solo project of
electronic musician, drummer and
designer, Daníel Þorsteinsson. A
prolific artist, he has been releasing
music — at least once a year — since
2016. His latest album, ‘Inner Terres-
trial MMXXIII a.D.’ is a sprawl-
ing journey of ambient drones,
disembodied voices and distant
drum beats. At two and a half hours
long, it’s not your average casual
listen — it requires commitment.
And yet listeners who make the
time are well rewarded by the rich
interior world that TRPTYCH invites
us to be immersed in. Curious to find
out about the inspo for these epic
numbers, we asked Daníel to talk us
through the album, track by track.
Infinity
This opener is so important to me.
My wife named it and the feel of it
is definitely about building up and
getting into a groove or a state of
mind, the right frame of mind. It
has an ethnic but futuristic feel to
it and sets the tone for what’s to
come — let the journey begin.
Rain
This is an ode to water, which is
beautiful and the most important
substance on this planet.
Open Up
We should all open up to what
we don’t know. Be open minded.
This track has sort of a 90s feel to
it and starts off pretty bright but
takes a dark turn into the void.
Anything can happen.
River
This song is supposed to make you
feel like you are floating down a
huge, deep, clear river and you go
with it and become one with it.
Just flow.
Age of Dissolution
This is about us becoming one
with the universe and realising
that we are as much a part of it as
everything else. We are not sepa-
rate entities.
A Lonely Night
This continues the theme of the
song before. We may feel lonely
but we are all together. It may
sometimes feel dark, scary and
lonely, but there is always light at
the end of the tunnel. Which leads
us into the next song…
Nýr Dagur
…It’s always good to wake up to
a new day, new opportunities.
Anything can happen.
God Molecule
This song is the feeling of coming
down from a 5-MeO-DMT journey
and realising that we are one
with the universe and when it all
boils down we ask ourselves the
question, “what really matters?”
Sometimes we get stuck in stupid
stuff that really doesn’t matter.
MMXXIII a.D.
Let’s stay in the now, in 2023, and
make it as weird and as great as
we can. Sonically, a lot of alien
lifeforms visit this song.
Tonight
When the night comes, anything
can happen. Some things only
come out at night. This song has
a lot of romantic vibes to it.To
me, the chord progression in this
one asks “what can happen?” It
ends without answering and that’s
the point: we can only find out
ourselves by living it.
Breath
…But before we go out, and what-
ever happens, first take a deep
breath and enjoy the ride.
Moon
The moon is huge, scary, floating
and unreal. It pulls Earth towards
it and when the moon is full we
are off to space.
Jörð
An ode to the blue planet. There’s
so much here that we don’t under-
stand.
They Are Here
Soundwise, I love albums that end
with question mark songs and
this one definitely had that feel-
ing for me. Musically, this song
tells the story of futuristic alien
species landing on ancient Mayan
grounds.
‘Inner Terrestrial MMXXIII a.D.’
is available to stream on Spotify,
or to download via Bandcamp. You
can follow TRPTYCH on Insta-
gram to keep up to date with their
latest releases.
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TRACK BY TRACK
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