KÁRYYN Shares New Track 'the REAL' & Announces New EP 'Calm KAOSS!'

Armenian-American vocalist, songwriter, composer, producer and multimedia artist KÁRYYN has announced her forthcoming new EP Calm KAOSS!, due for release via Mute on May 22, 2024. Alongside this announcement she has also shared the EP's first single “the REAL."

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. 

On the EP's lead single “the REAL”, KÁRYYN steadies herself in humility and a newfound power. One of the first productions from her collaboration with James Ford, the song strips away at posturing and ego, reminding us that we are all one consciousness. The song is steeped in the 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.” 

“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.” 

Elsewhere on the EP, KÁRYYN offers a message of fortitude from the future (“Calm KAOSS!”) and a critical examination of otherness in her haunting cover of Armenian folk song “Odaroutioun” titled “ODAR” (meaning “other” in Armenian). 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, lauded on release by the press who have been her consistent champions (Pitchfork, Clash, Crack, FADER, Resident Advisor…)

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.