Dylan, what is KRIYO?
KRIYO is a Mid Tempo project I did a couple years ago. Heavy glitchy sound design with an emphasis on organic instruments and weird electronic influences. Every song I tried unique things like switching up the rhythm or blending in real percussion to add life to what I thought was a cold and digital sounding genre.
KRIYO was my second “commercial” musical project; promotion, distribution, artwork all that jazz. Also my first time I put great effort into the visual side of a project. It was also my first time producing electronic music, specifically Mid Tempo which I thought had a really interesting cyberpunk-esque sound.
I labeled myself as a multi-instrumentalist because I was always experimenting across different instruments and currently would even describe myself as a solo band, since I’m working on three experimental rock songs. I think of myself less as a “producer” and more of a songwriter now then I did back then, because the song writing, production, and creation of art have all melted into this one big passion that I believe is becoming more common.
Tell me about your experience being a solo artist / band
Being a solo artist is liberating cause you can really lay your mind out onto your “canvas”, you control every detail that goes into a song and the result is a sonic experience you’ve fine crafted to your tastes.
What solo writing lacks is the unpredictability and energy of working with others, there have been countless times I’ve played with another guitarist, drummer, etc and I was taken to a new place musically that I couldn’t achieve if I was alone in front of a computer. Though, I’ve had plenty of late night lightning bolts, sudden great music ideas that write themselves but I couldn’t really carry them out with another artist unless I kinda direct them.
I wouldn’t say being solo is better or worse then playing with others, it depends on the genre and artist. Every artist has their own talents and things they bring to the table
What are you working on now,
what does the future look like for you?
It’s hard to describe what I’m working on now because it’s still in the early writing stages, but I’m imagining a rock sound and look that are really unorthodox, eccentric, weird, dark, catchy.
Before I wrote the first song in this style, I saw a Death Grips concert and it was like a breath of fresh air, a big jolt of creativity hit me and it made me wanna bring a really unique energy through my music.
I think my future will be focused on pure artistic and emotional expression, peeling back the creative limits on myself and diving into a sound no one has heard before.
I don’t really go by KRIYO now, and don’t have a name for this new project yet but I’m planning to keep my tradition of incorporating “cold” into my name.