Detalji releases their debut album, Truly, a simultaneously nostalgic yet forward-thinking love letter to club culture, joy and queer love. Detalji is the project of Helsinki based performing artist and dance music producer Krista Myllyviita. Influenced by trance, early 90ʼs rave and 80’s pop, Detalji has received acclaim for their unique sound and visceral live performances.
Written during the lockdown years of 2020 and 2021, Truly is a slice of pure escapism. Drawing inspiration from the soundtracks of video games they were playing during that time (namely Crash Bandicoot, GTA Vice City and GTA3) carefully weaved a comforting world of their own, creating distinctive sounding pieces of music that are difficult to place in a certain moment in time. Picking up the guitar after years of neglect also served this purpose, surprising their longtime fans with a completely new addition to their sound.
Truly takes its cues from the pioneering leftfield pop artists of the 80s and 90s. A tasteful dose of nostalgic dance and trance is melded together with a forward-thinking contemporary sound palette in a way that feels completely timeless and totally unique to Detalji.
Tracks like ‘Übermacht Revolter’ and ‘Speed’ showcase this. The former, named after a weaponised Sports Car featured on GTA Online, was inspired by The Chemical Brothers and the latter, a regular highlight of Detalji’s live set, provides Prodigy-esque dance euphoria.
Standout track ‘Keep Me Alive’ merges indie pop with low-fi drum and bass. The track is about miraculously finding a loving relationship after years of being lost. “A friend said it could fit well on a Fleabag soundtrack because of its bittersweet atmosphere,” says Myllyviita.
Whilst writing ‘Space Love’, Myllyviita drew inspiration from 80’s Suzanne Vega and Ray of Light era Madonna. “The song was composed quite effortlessly, and I knew right away what I wanted to do with the production. The goal was to create airy sounding music that was fresh and full of warmth. And that it would lift the listener off the ground for a flight through the morning sky. It was the first song with guitars I made for the album.”
“I came up with the lyrics to ‘Caribbean’ when I was thinking of my two friends who were in a relationship many years back, and how it took one of them almost a decade to get over it and accept someone new as her partner,” says Myllyviita of the album’s lead single. “While I was mixing the track, I was thinking of the beach in the movie ‘The Beach’ and an emerald blue ocean and I imagined a person standing there, listening to the sound of waves crashing into the shore and thinking of a person from their past.”
Title-track ‘Truly’ offers another change of pace, providing an ambient, more reflective moment. “It’s my personal favorite,” says Myllyviita. “I composed and played everything using my midi keyboard and VST synths and samplers. I was definitely channeling Moby’s Hotel Ambient and Twin Peaks as I was making this.”
Detalji was nominated for an Emma award (‘Finnish Grammy’) in 2020 and won a Femma award (‘Finnish Indie Grammy’) for Best Electronic Music in 2019. Since 2020 Detalji has toured around the world playing shows in the U.S and Europe including performances at SXSW, Eurosonic and Iceland Airwaves.
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‘Truly’ is out now
