20 September 2022 |
You may know Sarah Bonito from the British indie trio Kero Kero Bonito, but the beguiling musician has just stepped out on her own – and we’re here for it. Under her new moniker Cryalot, Bonito is cutting her teeth with experimental sounds on an inaugural EP which she released a few weeks ago called ‘Icarus’. It’s a new beginning for the Japanese singer and the five-track record is entirely unlike the colourful art-pop of KKB its fans have become so familiar with. Rather, Cryalot takes a much more sinister turn.
On this un-treaded path, Bonito has created a genre-blending body of heavy hyper-pop leaning gems that echo the thematic conflicts of the darkest human emotions, bittersweet successes, courage, resilience and the pursuit of happiness. Elements of heavy metal and bleak lyricism prevail while her specific strain of euphonics will take you away from this volatile world.
Here, we chat with the mysterious music-maker for a quick fire round of questions.
1. Who is Cryalot? (And where does the name come from?)
“The project began when I was going through a dark period of my life. The name “Cryalot” became a way of taking back control of those moments of pain, and turned them into something more. I met Jennifer Walton when she was touring as a live member of KKB and after spending many moments with her we decided to make music together under this name.”
2. What’s the perfect song to introduce new listeners to your sound?
“”Labyrinth” – I think this song has the perfect mixture of hope and despair.”
3. Why did you feel drawn to the legend of Icarus when working on the EP?
“The story of Icarus is often told as a cautionary tale about the fate of man overreaching his limits. If you fly too close to the sun you will fall and drown. However, I interpret this as a celebration of courage and to emphasise the beauty of that moment. Regardless of whether the outcome is a success or failure, the moment in which we try to become something more, is powerful in itself. We’ve all been told the story of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun, but we haven’t been told the story of the boy who flew to a height no one else had ever reached. This is the Icarus that I wanted the EP to explore, to remind myself of this story in hopes of helping myself emerge from the dark place I was in.”
4. Can you describe your sound in just three words?
“No I Can’t.”
5. Your work often leans into notions of Heaven and Hell with an affinity for the darkness of Hell, and you are especially subverting your bubbly KKB personality, transforming it into something much darker. Can you tell us more about why you’ve taken this dark path with your solo music?
“I think the exploration of heaven and hell came from my fascination with a different perspective of the two of them. Some days I was in heaven, but before I knew it I was in hell. I feel like heaven and hell are not above and below, but they exist together in the reality we live in. This is why I didn’t want the EP to only highlight the success of Icarus’ journey. While I wanted to explore the courage of Icarus’ journey, I didn’t want to ignore the fact that he fell into the sea. I feel like this is what makes living life beautiful. Where we have failures, we also have successes, and I wanted to celebrate our attempts to reach these successes.”
6. “Touch the Sun” has such an uplifting, elevated feel to it. What was inspiring you in your personal life when you wrote the song?
“”Touch The Sun” is about the feeling that nothing can stop you and everything will work out perfectly in the end; this invincible and unshakable belief that we can overcome any obstacles. I wanted to capture this fleeting feeling when we wrote this song.”
7. What part of your debut headline show at Electrowerkz are you most looking forward to?
“I’m just so excited to finally perform the songs live after having worked on them for years.”
8. What is one of your favourite memories from your time working on Icarus?
“I really enjoyed making the art-studio set featured in the “Hell Is Here” video. Jennifer and I spent a day painting the art studio and we filled it with all my paintings and sketches from throughout my life. I put a huge part of myself into the video and I feel a real personal connection to it.”
9. What is your greatest fear?
“Not being able to create anymore.”
10. What can we expect from Cryalot for the rest of 2022?
“The EP release feels like a door has been opened. It’s a new beginning to something exciting! Expect more from Cryalot in the future.”
Photography by Dexter Trower & Sarah Midori Perry. Cryalot’s single “Touch The Sun” and Icarus EP are out now.
