Interview with KÁRYYN (2/2)

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

Los Angeles-based artist KÁRYYN, who has Syrian-Armenian roots, began her solo project in 2017. Read the second part of the interview with the artist about her new album “Physics Universal Love Language (Pull)” here. You missed the first part? No problem, you can read it here .

Frequencies for the body

A central element of the album is its physical impact. Around 60 percent of the songs are tuned to 432 Hz. “This frequency has a calming effect on the body,” she explains. “I’m interested in how to bring this depth into a pop context – so that you are held even in intense moments.” In contrast to this are pieces based on 440 Hz – subtly shifting the emotional perception. It is a subtle, almost invisible play with resonance.

Between past and present

KÁRYYN’s sound world draws on many sources: Syrian, Armenian, Western pop and club music. But nothing about it seems like a quote. “These influences are not consciously placed – they are simply part of me”. She remembers her childhood between Syrian satellite TV channels and provincial America. “I listened to R&B while the call to prayer played in the background.” Later, electronic music and studies with avant-garde composers were added. It all flows together – as an organic whole.

Time, control and dedication

The album also conceptually questions certainties. Time is not linear for her. “I only understood late on that other people perceive it that way,” she says. It is similar with control and letting go. “They are not opposites. There is control in letting go, and there is surrender in control.” In the end, it all boils down to one concept: transformation. “That’s all I’m interested in,” says KÁRYYN. “It’s about really feeling experiences, staying with them and integrating them into what you become next.” This attitude makes “Physics Universal Love Language (Pull)” a radically open album. It demands participation from the listener.

Music as an experience

What remains after listening? For KÁRYYN, the answer is clear: “I want people to feel everything – even what they have repressed. And above all, hope. That they realize what power they have to change.” It is an ambitious claim. But this album lives up to it. Because “Physics Universal Love Language (Pull)” is not a work that explains itself. It has an effect. Like an invisible force.

Jan Schütz (Meersein)

We also talk to the artist in our May/June issue.