In a world that forces queer people to stand up and fight back, Criibaby wants to connect with a sense of gentleness, curiosity and play. The singer-songwriter just released her debut album when i’m alone i feel weightless (Friends of Friends Music), a soothing electropop project with strumming guitars, luminescent synths and layered harmonies that float like clouds over an enchanted garden.
In this sonic cocoon, Criibaby looks back at grief and past trauma and then summons the courage to face herself so she can let go. “The big question that I’m asking is, what is holding you back from actually healing?” says Criibaby on a recent morning at the co-op music studio she helped build in West Berkeley, The Q.
Doc Martens emblazoned with happy and sad faces and long pigtails accentuate Criibaby’s signature look of head-to-toe lavender, from beanie to socks. Sitting cross-legged on a purple shag rug, beneath a set-up of mics and keyboards, our interview starts to feel like sharing secrets at a slumber party. Criibaby discusses her daily tea and meditation rituals that help her ground herself and connect to her feelings.
“I think we all, in our different ways, are escaping something,” she says. “There’s a truth that’s inside of you that has been knocking at the door for a long time and wants to be let out. It’s like a little puppy, you know, it just wants to be able to roam free.”
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Music has been a way for Criibaby to unlock those innermost truths. The artist (who uses both she and they pronouns) began writing songs in earnest after the death of a close loved one. Singing provided catharsis and also a place to explore identity. Conscious of the lack of queer representation in pop, Criibaby intentionally wrote lyrics without gendered pronouns, and expressing herself through music helped them own their bisexual and genderqueer identity.