Cryptomnesia is the first release in a series of three albums recorded in 2006 by EL GRUPO NUEVO DE OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ. Despite the name of the group, Rodriguez Lopez is quick to point out that THE MARS VOLTA remains far and away his top priority. EL GRUPO NUEVO... is differentiated from the guitarist's other namesake projects by his selection of players, specifically Zach Hill (HELLA) on drums, Jonathan Hischke (HELLA) on synth bass, and Juan Alderete de la Peña (THE MARS VOLTA) on bass guitar. Additionally, Cryptomnesia features the vocals of guest frontman Cedric Bixler Zavala on eight of the album's eleven tracks.

Rodriguez Lopez completed the album in 2006, shortly after finishing THE MARS VOLTA's Amputechture. Cryptomnesia's tracks are a decidedly heavier affair than that album, a conscious decision on his part to switch gears from writing horn arrangements and complex instrumentation for an octet; it is, therefore, comparatively stripped-down and aggressive, with Hill's presence injecting a dose of chaos and inertia that are a keystone of the EL GRUPO NUEVO... sound. Bixler Zavala's vocals, tracked in 2008 after two years of his dwelling on the enormity of the recording, are certain to send even the most casual of listeners running for their lyric sheet. The ever-prolific Rodriguez Lopez continues to set the bar higher and higher for himself. EL GRUPO NUEVO DE OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ has been the stuff of rumors for three years; Cryptomnesia proves more than worth the wait.