I came to Witch House quite late in 2010 and was fortunate in a way that I could dive straight into it with lots of artists producing music that was starting to fall under this umbrella tag. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to describe the genre adequately. As with dubstep, I kind of know what it is when I hear it but to say that it's "x with a bit of y" is beyond me. Ironic really, that here I am trying to get a music blog off the ground and within half a dozen posts I've already admitted that I'm not good at articulating into words the sounds that I like.
The scene itself seems to be very low key, non-commercial and deliberately difficult to even name the artists involved. Keyboard symbols for band names is very common. How would you pronounce /// /\/\/\ \\\ or †‡† or even //TENSE// ? (the question mark is mine!). I've explored it mainly through word of mouth on forums and music sites. It has been fun though.
With that in mind, I did think of a way out of this conundrum. At the back end of last year, the first truly commercial compilation came out. The label Disaro from Houston released an album showcasing some of the leading names, ciphers and squiggles. I'll try and give a running commentary as I listen to it.
1. †‡† - Misery Walk
It's clear from the start that this isn't easy listening. Straight into the track, with no intro. A drone-y bassline with sampled voices instantly plunges you into an atmospheric treat. Sounding like a distorted soundtrack it's definitely electronica, dance music it ain't. Just as you are finally acclimatising to the noise it stops very abruptly. One of those - 'is my CD player on the blink' kind of stops, last heard on Portishead's Machine Gun.
2. Party Trash - Sky Clad
Even by track 2 you may get the idea of where this album is going. I swear I could hear late-80s Depeche Mode amongst the echo, reverb and kitchen sink that is thrown at this. Once again the drone, almost epic but then a kind of paranoid riff emerges. Another short one, finishing in under 3 minutes.
3. Fostercare - Cold Light
I'm on safer ground here. If you've ever spent any time listening to Suicide then you'll know what to expect with this but with that perversely the most listenable so far with a thumping drum beat throughout. I don't know why but it reminds me of the heavy industrial music that was played in that vampire nightclub in Blade 2. It even threatens to go into trance but then it also could be the Doctor Who theme.
4. //TENSE// - Versus Man
This has a very retro feel to it and British too. Imagine Leftfield or Chemical Brothers with the Mission guesting. No, on second thoughts, Sisters of Mercy. There are clearly influences from the Germans too with a very industrial sound grinding through. They may not be next door neighbours of bands like Wumpscut or Front 242 but they live on the same street. I like, too, that this is truly dance-able. Perhaps not as a first dance at a wedding though.
5. Modern Witch - Your Life a Movie
The album takes a more clinical turn here. Your Life a Movie is far more monotonous in the literal meaning of the word and by far the most minimal yet. The vocals feel very detached from the song and Julia Roberts and Kylie are repeatedly name-checked along with other modern phenomena such as mineral water and electronic mail. What do they have in common? I guess it's difficult to get excited about any of them. That probably explains the monotone.
6. Mater Suspiria Vision - Ritualz of the Crack Witches
Taking the baton from the previous tune, this has what sounds like a voice being played backwards on loop. The high hats and big drums thump out behind it with the 2 chords being played repeatedly on the keyboard. Strangely sinister but strangely soothing. Very strange.
7. ///'Horse Macgyver\\\ - Nod
Fans of Four Tet will feel at home with this. The pace is slowed down to a crawl with all sorts of sounds pulling you from one way to another. It seems that with Witch House, license is given to mangle the echo and reverb. I imagine this band is a sound engineer's worst nightmare.
8. White Ring - IXC999
One of the most successful of the bands from this album and it shows. It does have all of the elements of bloated distortion, dark and heavy bass and deliberately mistuned microphones but the quality shines through. Probably my favourite from the album if you were to ask me and the one featured below.
9. Raw Moans - Nectarine
I feel like this perhaps shouldn't be on the album. It's got a lightness to it that the others lack. It's most certainly a 'last track on the album' kind of song'. I can't quite put my finger on it but it almost (almost) could be Dream Pop. If I were to tag this track it would be 'least likely to be covered by Psychic TV'. For all that, I really like it.
Hopefully, you'll now understand why Witch House is so difficult to describe in one easy sentence and I think that was probably the intention.
Albums I've been listening to today: Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love, Martina Topley-Bird - The Blue God, Mary Gauthier - Between Daylight and Dark, Adriano - Bolada E.P.
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