If you head over to Matador Records’ website, you’ll find the new Cold Cave album streaming in its entirety. It’s been on high rotation here at Flavorwire, and we’re particularly loving the strong influence it draws from the darker/harsher end of the 1980s synthpop spectrum – darkwave, coldwave, and other genres with names that sound like they were made up by Hipster Runoff but really, truly, actually do exist. These sounds have been creeping back into music over the last couple of years, coinciding with a resurgence in interest in the original genres. Synthpop got a bad name during the late 1980s, but when it began, it was a hugely exciting genre, taking the DIY philosophy of punk and applying it to newly affordable electronic equipment to create dark, raw electronic sounds. Here’s a C60 of some fine examples of this sound, with the old on Side A and the new on Side B. Read More »
Next week, Pendu Disco celebrates its one-year anniversary. As dark music is a mainstay at Pendu Disco, and the music of the bands who have performed at the series have been grouped under the term “Witch House,” we think this is a good time to give you a primer for being a Witch House poser. The creator of the concert series, Todd Pendu, has had beef with the term since the music it claims to represent draws on a variety of styles and sounds, including but not limited to hip-hop, industrial and goth. But Pendu can’t deny that the term has staying power (as evidenced by the publication of this New York Times article). If you plan on going to any future Witch House events, in New York, Los Angeles, or perhaps, someday, Beijing, study this primer to get yourself up to speed and fit right in with the Witchy crowd.
As Donovan once said, it must be the season of the witch… house. Having trouble figuring out what all the buzz is about? Don’t worry: The truth is, the parameters of the burgeoning musical genre known as witch house are still blurry. Even the name “witch house” itself is cause for debate — the origins are unclear, but the label sounds like an attempt to pigeonhole the murky music into a dancefloor-friendly category. The music itself has a few shared characteristics — a dark, dreamy sound incorporating swooning synths at a drowsy tempo, pitched-down vocals and, generally, the feel of being trapped inside a haunted house — that make it both exhilarating and terrifying. In that way, it’s kind of like catching a glimpse of a ghost.
Despite the foreboding name and frightening sounds, witch house is actually more inclusive than it might appear at first listen. With roots in ambient, EBM (electronic body music), Chicago juke, dark-tinged synth-pop, trance, drone metal and screw, witch house has tendrils that caress the musical pleasure centers of fans of Throbbing Gristle, My Bloody Valentine, Swans, Brian Eno, and Gucci Mane alike.
The August drought of album releases is coming to a close. This week’s Viva la Mix is about the death of summer and the rebirth of new albums come September. So give your fingers a little warm-up stretch and get ready to “Right Click, Save Link As,” because after the jump we present 14 essential downloads from our latest Viva Radio show that we consider required listening at Flavorpill HQ. Enjoy! Read More »
