Self Perception is a witch house project of Denver-based producer and studio engineer Colby Johnson. "Blood Memory" marks the return of his project as well as his label Grimoire Music, a witchy crossbreed of wave and dungeon-synth moods. Buy it here.
After suffering from Covid complications falling into coma and waking up weeks late, Cosmotropia de Xam is back with a new composition after this ordeal. "The Return (Instrumental Demo 2023)" is a classic-sounding Mater Suspiria Vision song, with war drums giving the track a momentum. One for horror fans. Stream above.
Over the course of last few months STRFLL has been exploring the ambient territories (with a great result btw), but I'm pleased to hear him back on the witch house grind with this new single "Spells". You can download it here.
Male Tears are finally back to their true, great form. "Delete This Conversation" prooves that they're at their best when exploring the gothic-tinted post-punk and darkwave territories. And the vocals finally sound good too. Overall, a gloomy, stand-alone gem. Buy it here.
Cosmetics are back! Grab the new 7" single with alternative versions of "Pillow Talk" and "Tell Me" here. New album next month!
Moon 17 is an industrial / EBM project from Kansas City, consisting of husband and wife Zack Hames and Samantha Conrad. Initially a solo project of Zack, it expanded into a duo earlier this year. Their first official single "Jellyfish" dropped last month, and is championed by Spike Hellis (who also signed M17 to their Over-Pop label) - no surprise why - it's a rather incredible and catchy as hell song. Download it here, and watch their live performance here.
Days of witch house past are long gone for Chino Amobi, but "Fashion Demon" may be the closest he flew to the occult genre in a while. Limited download here.
Sofia Reta is pretty much unstoppable now, every single track or release is quite incredible, and the same goes for curiously named "Malice [File 03:// Sigil]: Gravequake". Minimal club mayhem paired with voco-vocals of Xavier will make a perfect combo for goth ravers. Stream here. Hopefully we will get this in downloadable form in the near future.
Brand new single from Chelsea Wolfe, who debuts with it on Loma Vista Recordings. The emotional doom-pop track features her frequent collaborator Ben Chisholm on synth, as well as Jess Gowrie on drums and Bryan Tulao on lead guitar. Brilliant. Purchase here.
ZLUTS are a Brighton based duo (Jenny and Charlie) who make quite amazing blend of deconstructed club and futuristic witch house. They're good friends with Vascha, so that should say a lot about their take on music too. "Breaking Out Of Stasis" is their latest single that dropped a few days ago, at it may be their best one yet, a captivating, multi-layered club anthem that feels like a missing link between witchy bass music and industrial-leaning dreampunk. Cannot wait for more. You can download the track for free here.
Conjvre The Circle label put together this epic compilation of D040 tracks and pressed it on CD. The 17-song collection includes compositions from the last eight years of their presence, and shall be a great summary of their career so far as well as a great introduction to their dark Scandinavian universe.
Oráculo Records, in collaboration with Musa Records and Ombra Festival created a new vinyl series dedicated to the Valencia's 80s music scene. For anyone willing to dive deeper into it, check out this article and videos. Volume 3 in the series comes from Curses, who delivers four new beat hits under the banner "No Mercy". The cover art for the LP is probably the weakest part of the package - the tilar track as well as "Tuff Love" are simply incredible.
Pre-order the record here with a 15% discount, and check it out below.
Here's the first single from the upcoming album "Hate Devours Its Host" from Valance Drakes. Lush ambient glitchtronica mixed with abstract, deconstructed beats soundscape, perfect soundtrack for all the astral travelers. It will come out on September 29 via Amek Collective.
We had the demo version of this single a while ago, and now Sad Madona delivers the final edit of this ultra catchy jam that threads a fine line between witchhouse and dark electro. One of my singles of the year. Download for free here.
ACITYASLEEP is a dark electronic music monkier of Tyler Estes, producer based in Richmond, Virginia. "UnderYourSpell" is his latest video single promoting upcoming, yet to be named album that's slated for the end of this year. It will follow a 4-track EP he dropped in May this year called "Immortal" (available here for free download). The new single is a tasteful blend of vocal pop sensibilities and captivating melodies, backed with witchhouse beat peppered with trap influences - a mix that gives it a mainstream vibe, reminscent of some Sidewalks & Skeletons and Monomorte productions. Very catchy stuff, and a great appetizer for the full LP. Download the single here.
Chillean witchhouse power couple is back with a new album. Sort of. Humanfobia's "Pandemonio" came out in January this year via Internet Daemon, however last month it was picked up by Paco Moreno label and re-released with new artwork in CD format. The album is a haunted tribute to the early witch house sound, bringing to mind experimental works of Mater Suspiria Vision and Ponyboy. DIY approach is at the front and centre, it may be choppy at times, but it feels honest and dedicated. "Special Darkness 特別な闇" opens the album with a good kick, dark-rave beat with slower synth line and the horror-like vocals. However it's the "Hijo De La Aurora" that sets the tone for the rest of the LP here, with its slower tempo and Mist Spectra's vocals. My personal highlights are the dungon synth/ambient procession "Goblincore Forest", the mood building of "☾☾☾Luna Menguante en el cementerio ☾☾☾", warped melody of "Bruja Escarlata" and the ghost drone'd "†🩸Vampiric Ancient Transmutation II 🩸†". The record features three collaborations (with AudioBake, †ATMOS†PHERE † OF GOD AND † DEVIL† and IDTAL) and overall feels like a backmasking experiment crazy Christians warned you about in the 80s.
New single from the upcoming, and really anticipated by yours truly, compilation "Next Wave Acid Punx Deux" from Curses. Soft Crash is a collaboration between Imperial Black Unit's Pablo Bozzi and Phase Fatale, who deliver a dark tinted, fast pace EBM/techno anthem. Replicant music. The Punx compilation can be pre-ordered here.
Next level video single for CRAVE's "Phyllis", promoting his incredible album "Inner War Delirium". Conceived by John and Naiara Falls, and edited and created by the latter, the video is a perfect nostalgia pellet shot from a sawed-off shotgun. Visually it's like a point-and-click, survival action, and FPP shooter games merged into one, twisted video. PERFECTION. Make sure to buy the album here or here.
Discipline Productions is one of the most intense and exciting labels out there right now. Their latest tape comes from Golpe Mortal aka Yuta Oikawa, who supplied hard hitting techno aimed at underground clubs. Abso-fucking-solid EP that will consume you with its dark-tinted dancefloor hitters.
Grab the tapes here, and stream below.
NC Ives' live set from his Dagger Forest cassette launch gig, recorded at Signals, in Naarm Melbourne on August 30th. Trippy tape manipulation, celestial psych-ambient and oceanic drones are expertly mixed into a one-of-a-kind performance. Wonderful stuff.
Download the set for free here, and stream all the parts below.
Frequent Not Not Fun's collaborator Wave Temples posted on their SC latest track "Isle Of The Faience Amulet" that promotes the final release of the Shack in the Barley label. Nautical ambient and underwater drones on this one will soothe your psyche, it's a chill'er for all the zoned out seapunks. Grab the whole compilation here, it's free.
Maurr returns with a new single "Flores Feias", a sultry dark chamber nu-beat banger. It comes with an instrumental too, if that's your thing. Very freaking good. Support and buy here.
Pulsing beats, powerful synths, quick rolls of trap-inspired drums, evil and noisy soundscapes, artist's name made of symbols, heck even the track titles are using unicode - ✝⎧RIP⎫✝'s new EP "⬟ ⯰⫘⫘㉓⫘⫘⯰ ⬟" sounds like a 2011/12 revival on all fronts. Published by French DIY label Mekajiki Records, the release may not be boundaries-shattering when it comes to the dark electronic music, but for a person longing to hear some early 10s era witch house, it delivers an all-round experience. Both "ⓢ⊙♫♫☿" and "тнe roвe perѕoɴ wιll eɴd yoυ" sit on the slower side when it comes to BPM, and give me a listen on headphoes-only while walking around town at midnight vibe. "Unihouse" ramps up the tempo and feels like it was made for fun-focused dancefloors covered in cobwebs and soaking in blood. Ultimately "⬟ ⯰⫘⫘㉓⫘⫘⯰ ⬟" is a release that wouldn't exist without White Ring, Ritualz or even MSV coming before it, but being able to draw this connection, and the fact that the likes of ✝⎧RIP⎫✝ continue to carry this torch makes me somehow feel good about the future.
Download the EP here, and stream it down below.
Candle Ea†er is an alias of one Dylan K., producer and designer from the Canadian London in Ontario. After 10-year hibernation of his witch-house persona, he made a comeback earlier this year with the reissue of two 2010-era tracks in the form of Love▼Less [Demo]. Earlier this week he dropped a compilation titled "Rareities", which serves as an appetizer to his new album "||Nekrosophik||". The five-track collection features two unreleased recordings (ominous witch composition "Violent Moon", dating back to 2011 and a mix of thumping bass and vampyric organ in the shape of "Last Light" from 2013) as well as slowly revealing itself "Night Walks", which was originally featured on the "Castledrum Companions" compilation in 2012. Additionally we get two bonus tracks from the Phantasma Disques album "||Nocturne||". Overall it's a solid introduction package to the sonic universe of Candle Ea†er, and a great taste of the Canadian witch-house scene, which has always been very much in the shadow of the US one.
You can download "Rareities" for free here, and stream it after the jump.
Full moon droning from Matt Black, two tracks inspired by the super moon event at the end of August 2023. Slowly transforming lunar-ambient soundscapes. Very moody stuff. Grab it here.
CRAVE unleashes his latest sonic assault "Inner War Delirium", released on vinyl in collaboration with the Greek label Heat Crimes. Lo-fi grandeur of black metal, uncompromising rap delivery, gritty noise soundscapes and industrial techniques clash, grind and ultimately merge into a hardcore cocktail that will slit your membranes when left off guard. Jon has always been an excellent sensory storyteller, both as an untamed music producer and bold visual artist, with a library of music knowledge at his disposal and a hand full of sandpaper ready to scrape boundaries of any genre. "Inner War Delirium" fells like his magnum opus, a culmination of decades-worth exploration of the obscure and the macabre, molded into a record that represents CRAVE's versatility, creativity and DIY spirit. The album is a win on all fronts, a classic that will only get better as time passes.
Buy the LP here, and stream in full below.
Call it avant-pop, cyber-pop, alt-pop, Sofia Reta is back with "Wichcraft" - 4 new tracks of his masterful shenanigans. First two tracks (titular "Witchcraft" and "Valhalla") bring to mind the spooky electro-pop of Fever Ray, while the second half of the EP slows down a notch and morphs into clamer, deconstructed trip-hop and voco-ambient territories. Brilliant stuff.
Grab "Witchcraft" here, and stream all the tracks below.
Forest Swords is readying up to release his new, third full lenght album "Bolted". It will come out on 20 October on Ninja Tune, and can be preordered here. Turns out "Butterfly Effect" was the first single off the LP, and now we get a video for "The Low" - directed by Sam Wiehl and edited by Jack Whiteley.
Loafer is actually a new alias for Montoya, more focused on hip-hop sound. His signature production is still there though, but if you liked the rapped tracks from his previous project, this the way to go. Follow him here.
Surprise 3-track horrorcore/witch EP from Montoya (fka VeXe †). Dude's definitely one of my fav discoveries from last year, brought to my attention thanks to those amazing All Blurred Out compilations. Undertaker beats for the mortuary aficionados. So far stream only, keeping my cold fingers crossed not for long. Peep it here.
Update (Sept 7): the EP landed on Bandcamp just now! Buy it here.
"April Mourning" comes from that fantastic Pale Palace mixtape that dropped a couple of weeks back. The video is a 100% homemade treat - rapping over the Pale Palace beat, Zouls gives us a close look at his life through Swedish lens. Make sure to check out the full album here.
"Gub 9" is a new single lifted from the upcoming, self-titled album from the Chicago-based duo Gub. Hiding behind the name are Beau Wanzer and Champagne Mirrors, both practicioners of experimental, industrial-leaning soundscapes. "Gub 9" is an eerie, minimal beat that gives off alien-ish vibes, whetting my appetite for the full LP. The album will be out on vinyl (yellow limited to 100 and black limited to 200 copies) on October 27th via Sophomore Lounge. Pre-order it here.
Following up his first compilation LP "Year One", that came out in January, Nights Templar premiered a few days ago the second volume called "Year Two". Collecting all his singles from 2022 onwards, "October Gray" EP plus two new songs, the record is must for all his fans that missed out on some of his previous tapes. Like the previous vinyl, this one is also limited to 100 copies. "Year Two" is also available on tapes.
Buy the merch here, and stream the whole thing below.
Official video to "Crazy Bi†ch" from Succubus Waifu's debut "Nightmare Baby: The Devil's Mixtape". Produced by ɅLUCɅRDɅ, the track is quite tongue in cheek and totally owns it. Comparison with Gvcci Hvcci is quite natural, but SW feels less annoying and more fun. Succubus runs quite successful YT channel, if you need your daily witchcraft fix, head over here.
"Larceny / Sanitizer" is the latest double feature from Collin Kirk aka Pharmacist, following up his quite incredible split EP with Three Wishes back in April. Squishy, noisy and DIY at its core witchhouse, radical and unique as always, this may be my fav single from him so far!
Support Pharmacist here, and stream the single below.
Post-apocalyptic, AI-fueled and forever mutating video to the latest single from Istanbul-based Russian producer Ilya Arkhipov (also known as Vagina Vangi and BOGUE). Featuring vocals from Crossparty's Varvara Shueva, as well as backing from musicians Konstantin Ter-Grigoryan (bass) and Shamil Gadzhiev (drums), "Beware" sits at the intersection of witch house and doom/post-metal. Shouty vocals from Varvara are paired with heavy guitar shredding, amazing drumwork and classic sounding witchy synths. The single launches new label Holy Church! Recordings that will also be a home to Haárps upcoming album "Songs for the Abyss". Get the track here.
Prolific producer Attic Black is back with a new EP "Rainbow Chaser". Four fleeting, hazy ambient soundscapes carved with emotion and suspense, are paired with remains of beats that seem to hover on the horizon.
Get the EP here, and stream below.