Goth’s Mutant Offspring: Witch House/Ghost Drone/Zombie Rave/Drag

September 3, 2010 by Clint Catalyst 

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Deep bass
&
digital runes

:: A Spell Has Been Cast ::

&

It’s one of chaos: there’s prattle over terminology in the insular world of ‘outsider music,’ &
I can’t help but be amused.  Y’see, the English language has these things called “labels,”
& the reaction people have to them reinforces the power of nomenclature.  Give it a try sometime:
arrange a few consonants & vowels, toss ‘em around, see what kind of response you get.
Fetch, baby…It’s Fetch.

But what if the words aren’t words but rather occult symbols/symbology?  I’ve often wanted to speak in
hieroglyphics—with cartoon captions, for added effect—but I just can’t seem to get
band names  like   †‡† &  \\\^◊^/// to dance their way off my tongue.

They’re part of a scene that—as with any ‘scene’—seems to have as many detractors as
devotees, which I think is a good thing.  On one manicured claw, there’s the trappings of
being pigeon-holed; on the other, opportunities that might present themselves through
being Guilty By Association.  Rather than tl;dr the obvious, how about I introduce
the genres?  Sub-genres?  (Again: an argument I opt to file under None Of My Business)
of

Witch House † Ghost Drone † Zombie Rave † Drag

With origins as questionable as to what extent they’ll have an effect, they’re like
strands of the same virus—or a dark & murky exploration
into a game of  Choose Your Own Adventure.

Whatever the case, I’m backin’ the brilliant post “Enthralled By Thee Witch” by My Pal The Crook
(creative director,co-owner & founder of the streetwear line Мишка NYC),
who describes this mysterious burgeoning mileu as

“Goth music for a new generation & a new millennium, fully embracing all the things
that drew kids into the genre through the 70s and 80s—the secrecy, the occultism, the suspense,
the danger, & the moodiness—but minus all the things that turned people off from it in the 90s:
the neon dreads,the vinyl pants, the fangs, & the platform industrial boots.”

Fucking dead-on, that! Brings to mind a relevant aside from Hex Files: Resurrection to which
I’m hereby formally applying an asterisk… I’ve got a choke-hold on A.D.H.D. at the moment,
& want to turn you on to the prolific nightmare collective that MPTC’s blogature
high—or, rather: LOW—lights, & whose death drones & surreal liquid dreamscapes
have been dominating my laptop as of late.

:: MATER SUSPIRIA VISION ::

The Drone Cabinet of Doctor Trance (2010) from Mater Suspiria Vision
:: complete with cornea-melting accompaniment by Cosmotropia de Xam ::

†

Zombie Rave Mix-Tape: Special Edition

ℑ⊇≥◊≤⊆ℜ —another challenge in the dept of pronunciation—of MSV creates maddeningly
ultra-limited-edition sets (the first of which was capped at a hundred downloads; the next, at 200;
the third, bumped to 300…a supply nowhere near ample, nonetheless).
The Special Edition that’s linked above, however, has an

✶ OPEN-ENDED DOWNLOAD POLICY ✶
( Translation: You want it? Then G E T . S O M E ! )

from the coverage on Mishka’s bloglin:

“among all the runes and mysticism, these mixes are starting to present a clearer definition and a broader scope to Witch House. Zombie Raves reanimate the dead and bloated corpses of decades of pop, rock and dance hits until they’re wholly their own catchy & evil creations that get your body moving while freaking you the fuck out.”

+ Over an hour of slow gnawing at your soul and corpus callosum + AWAITS + THEE +

experience.it

†

Although now & next: Here’s a particularly fine find I feel it imperative to share —
as it’s an excellent intro to the By Whatever/Witchever-Name-Of-It-All,
as well as a killer set:

Thee  † † Haunted House MIX † † by a young gent creating under the moniker  Story of Isaac
*[ update: Story of Isaac has evolved into a project entitled ' CRIM3S ' ;
however, I've kept this most legendary mix available for download . ]

—or—

Want ‘just a taste’ without having to commit to thee entire trip?

D I G . T H I S

The track “IcX99″ by White Ring is astronomical—

ditto, same
the weather conducted by

†

a creator-of-inky-hued-masterpieces known as

º BLΛCK RΛ!NB0VV ° BLΛCK RΛ!NB0VV ̥ BLΛCK RΛ!NB0VV ⁰ BLΛCK RΛ!NB0VV ₀ BLΛCK RΛ!NB0VV ̊

LIVE @ BAMBI KILL

:: free your inhibitions “Somewhere [Under] The [ BLΛCK RΛ!NB0VV ]…” ::
& platinum-hued dreams you never fathomed

at the very least,
feel as if they come true

†

[If it was good enough for Judy Garland, bby ♥; then it's good enough for you!]

†

✶ “CLICK THROUGH” TXT [ "LIVE @ BAMBI KILL" ] TO DOWNLOAD ✶

†

& then / & then / & then

go ahead & swish the bile around; have a taste of  ΔAIMON

A SCREW (HOLY MONEY)

†

O
O Oh…

Whether it’s from the arts or the arts—that’s “arts” with a for the letter a, mind you—
this ketamine-paced audio esotericism has me entranced

Though merely a slip & skitter across the surface of black ice
spreading like a contagion, a list of clicky-links
hereby follows
—for—

:: musical divination ::

GHXST

Balam Acab

oOoOO

Salem

AIDS-3D

V‡S kULt

:: labels ::

Disaro

Tri Angle Records

Clan Destine Records

&

:: further exploration ::

The Witch House Community on Vimeo

as well as
:: journalistic goulash ::

Joey Hansom of ExPatriarch

Bryan White of Cinema Suicide

Rohan at The New Gay

jawillisetc’s first post at malleus&incus

&

jawillisetc’s second post

Stop Making Séance : brilliant blogature & downloadable mix by
Meatbreak of Not For Resale

†

N O W

In closing, here’s the quotation by Mick Mercer I mentioned earlier:
“Despite recent years of rampant recidivism & revisionism, Goth somehow still retains its intrinsic sense of beauty & dignity, as well as prevarication, bitchiness & mania.  That’s as it should be.  It’s a contrary child.  During our time period we are going to see the merging of more technology & classical elements with the mating of guitars with thought & direct noise, of different nationalities producing their own distinct strains that will then go on to influence others.  Nobody must ever adhere to what they, personally, have experienced as ‘the past.’ You can never live in a Golden Era. That is up to later generations to decide.  If there is anyone reading this who still hankers after the days of The Mission, Sisters or The Nephilim, your determination to keep something dead alive is mad.  Would you deliberately save food until three years after its sell-by date for an almighty feast? Do you…yearn for medical operations without anesthetic? No, of course not[;] so why hold on? If you have no wish to actively support Goth society, stay indoors.  You are barred.  Here, we saved you a Meatloaf compilation; you’ll enjoy that.  Everyone else is looking for what is new, to enjoy it.  To participate in it.  I think it’s called being alive.”

(excerpt taken from the 664 pg. long beast of a book, Hex Files: Resurrection which—as with further exploration of Witch House—I highly recommend.)

☽  ☾

C’est le Mort!