Dressing in black and worshipping the devil was something I was never into growing up. It seems like there's a point in every kid's life where they would do the exact opposite of what their parents tell them and do some ridiculous shit like make magic potions and make voodoo dolls of that one kid in class they really hate. This is something I would classify as things white kids do who don't get enough love from their parents. The closest thing I ever got to this phase was to listening to 'ghetto rap music', a genre so far removed from my peaceful surroundings that it was more like a journey into a distant land for me. And the 'ghetto rap' thing sort of stayed. That's why you still have grown-up goths that walk around in black leather jackets that reach to the floor on a 35 degree day. So, after graduating from high-school beating on these kinds of kids and then going on to get a university degree why the sudden fascination with the devil's music?
It started in 2009, when I suddenly got this strange fascination for the 'witch-house' genre. Here I was, basically a grown-man feeling crazy rebellious listening to these magnificent cries emanating from the underworld. I had the feeling as if I was doing something wrong, close to illegal and that gave me some weird kind of rush. The boy was leaving Team Jesus and was going to join the 666. Let me remind you that I never got to play satanic ritual as a child. So maybe I was just making up for lost time. But I definitely wasn't the only one. Witch-house took the web by storm. Known for having producers with undecipherable and unpronounceable names it tried to stay well beneath the radars of the mainstream. It added to the whole thrill of finding something on the internet that cannot just simply be googled. I was one of the few that was able to download limited releases and CD-R's well before the thing got any mainstream appeal. Hell, we even made a witch house compilation when this thing was starting to blow-up. Around that time Tri Angle Records was gaining some traction, but I was not imagining it to be where it is now. Never taking the genre seriously, I never thought it would leave the dark corners of the internet and make it out into the bright world. Yet the whole fascination with the devil seemed to remain steady, well into 2012 today, where Tri Angle Records is now a major player in the independent music scene.
Tri Angle was the first to sign the underground movement's biggest artist's Balam Acab, oOoOO and Holy Other. Additionally, with the recent signings of Evian Christ and Clams Casino it is more evident to see that this sub-genre has fascinated producers coming out of different genres who have brought out their own brand of music with an acknowledgement of the dark and occult beats of the early witch-house days.
My biggest concerns at the time was, while this is good to listen to at home, this would never have any marketable appeal in the clubs. How does one even dance to this thing without having to sacrifice the person next to you? I had no idea. But earlier this year, Tri Angle records went on a UK tour to introduce its roster of artists to the public with live shows from Holy Other, The Haxan Cloak, Vessel and Evian Christ. We were lucky enough to catch the show, which in itself was a fascinating thing to watch for the social scientist among you. Unlike any other genre, this music had usually remained within peoples homes. It's not very likely that you would advertise the fact that you would listen to modern dance music that is heavily inspired by 70's/80's horror B movie soundtracks. Listening to this music live, was nothing less than challenging at times with the heavy bass literally shaking your insides and the constant drone in the background giving you a near-painful pinch in the inside of your ears. While this ain't the prettiest picture of what you want a live show to be like, it is exactly how you want to feel when you are listening to something as dark as this. If this was food, one would say that you'd need an acquired taste to enjoy. But boy, once you get it, you'll be hooked. Not to name and shame people, one of the guys I was actually with on that night lost his sense of balance and direction during the Holy Other show and fell flat on his face. Now that, is proof of a higher being my friends.
Holy Other will be releasing his latest album "Held" on Tri Angle Records next week, on 27th August 2012. Let the devil in, and listen to his album before you purchase:
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