EVOKE PRESENTS - Cryptid
For Release: Aug 22, 2025 | All Content Cleared For Posting
NYC-based producer, vocalist and content-creator Evoke has seen success in multiple domains: dance-floor collaborations with EDM producers, featured verses on hip-hop projects, even YouTube videos exploring the nuances of Bipolar Disorder. Now, as a synthesis of these seemingly disparate ideas, CRYPTID combines modern hip-hop-infused electronic music with cutting edge production and weighty, intricate lyricism. The EP explores the intersections of Bipolar Disorder, addiction recovery, and PTSD, highlighting Evoke's unique struggles and evoking comparisons to artists like Jon Bellion, Aesop Rock, and Twenty One Pilots.
“Feel like a creature, like a cryptid. These days kinda miss when I was addicted. Not because I miss the drugs, don’t miss shooting up, but I felt like a front-man, like a rockstar.” - CRYPTID
The lyrics on CRYPTID read like diary entries, contrasting the tight, polished production with something deeply and profoundly human. The titular track "CRYPTID," for example, uses the metaphor of being an elusive, inhuman creature to explore feelings of loneliness and addiction recovery, while "Fade" speaks to the disassociation that often accompanies PTSD. Accompanied by a physical cassette release, CRYPTID is Evoke’s most personal and most polished work yet.
“Despite the electronics, Evoke's songs are far from dance-club beats--Evoke's music is more subtle and subdued, consisting of layers and interesting instrumentation like effected guitars, as well as heartfelt lyrics.” - AXS
RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS
LYRICal MEANING
• Fade speaks to the hardships of trying to be an icon for others struggling with mental health
• Cryptid speaks to the struggles of long term addiction recovery, and how it impacts socialization
• The End speaks to the desire to let go of the past, and the fear of an empty future
Cassette Release
• Cryptid is being released on Cassette, with custom art designed by Evoke
• The cassettes each come with a unique “field notes” page
• The EP has nods to the cassette throughout: degraded audio effects, sounds of cassettes players, and a “This is the end of Side A” voiceover from the artist
“CRYPTID” Metaphor
• The album art is a processed image of Bigfoot’s iconic video appearance.
• Videos promoting the song feature Evoke in the woods, with degraded VHS style effects
• The album is accompanied by “Field Notes” that have sketches of Evoke & playful exaggerations of their personality traits
"The release is richly layered and awash with a plethora of subtle nuances, all of which accentuate the musical and lyrical theme it possesses." - EDMChicago
Rapper, producer, and singer/songwriter EVOKE was chewed up and spit out by the Colorado rave scene by age 17. More than a decade of sobriety later, the memories of dark churning electronica provide a backdrop for snappy, energetic flows, impassioned belting, soft heartfelt singing, and everything in between. With recent releases, Evoke has been building a steady buzz, amassing more than 26 million streams across platforms with songs like Departure, Future Holds, and Fall Into Me. Evoke has also developed a sizable YouTube audience by sharing stories about addiction recovery, being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and the creative process, with videos amassing over 200,000 views in total, known for speaking candidly and directly about mental health issues.