Track By Track: TRPTYCH’s “Inner Terrestrial MMXXIII a.D.”

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 Terrestrial MMXXIII a.D.’ is a sprawling 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 separate 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 whatever 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 understand.

They Are Here

Soundwise, I love albums that end with question mark songs and this one definitely had that feeling 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 Instagram to keep up to date with their latest releases.