From Iceland — Track By Track: ‘Songs 4 Crying’ By KARÍTAS

Track By Track: ‘Songs 4 Crying’ By KARÍTAS

Published October 18, 2019

Track By Track: ‘Songs 4 Crying’ By KARÍTAS
Hannah Jane Cohen
Photo by
Matthew Eisman

A newbie on the scene, KARÍTAS brings a delicate mix of harmonic pop and trap. Backed by producer Dadykewl, she’s here with her first EP ‘Songs 4 Crying.’ We sat down with KARÍTAS to talk about the release, track by track.

If I had to describe ‘Songs 4 Crying’ in a few words, I’d say it is dark, vulnerable, melancholic, romantic and sad. The original release date was meant to be in late-August, but I decided to postpone it until we were slowly heading into winter when seasonal affective disorder starts kicking in. I don’t have a solid explanation for why I decided to name the EP ‘Songs 4 Crying’—it’s just a fun title that fit. There’s no guarantee that you might cry, but if you do, that’s great.

Intro

The intro was made by Daði, my producer. He took a few random takes off the EP and put it together to make a melancholic dark intro. It has a “Stranger Things” vibe to it, which is pretty cool.

Wear Somebody Else

“Wear Somebody Else” is a vulnerable take on how sometimes a person would just like to be someone other than themselves if they aren’t loved for who they are. It’s a raw and primal feeling because of course people should never change themselves for somebody else’s approval or love. But sometimes feelings don’t really make any sense.

She Can’t Love You

This is a cover of the 1982 disco hit “She Can’t Love You” by Chemise. I wasn’t much into the disco/soul/funk genre until last year, when I started to listen to this song and I noticed how upbeat the song was in comparison to the sad lyrics. So I decided to cover the song and Daði really put his magic on it by making chords of only my vocals in the beginning. We were also super lucky to get Einar Stef from Vök and Hatari for the drums. I know it’s a bit of a risk to cover an old school much beloved anthem, but I did my best to do this song justice!

Burn

‘Burn’ is the first song Daði and I made together. I’d say that it was written about a typical shitty relationship—a post break-up song about trying to let go of someone who isn’t doing you any good. Yeah, that’s about it.

karítas

Snake Skin

‘Snake Skin’ was the final step for me in a long healing process and a perfect way to end this EP. I got a little emotional when I heard the final mix of the song; it really hits a nerve with me since it’s written for a very special person who isn’t here anymore. It’s my favourite song on the album, so it made perfect sense for it to be the last track.

Check out Karítas on Facebook, and don’t miss her album release party on October 31st at Austurstræti 20. Read more Track by Tracks here.

Support The Reykjavík Grapevine!
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!

Show Me More!