Mystery To One: WTCHCRFT's Vocaldriven Techno Will Put You Under A Spell
Have you ever been afraid that the techno scene wouldn't accept you because you were doing more trap and swing music?
I do not care. I just thought: I'm doing what I want to do and I think it's okay. So I will.
Of course you are! What is your horoscope?
I am Libra.
Do you believe in astrology?
I don't think it's funny. I think it's a fun way to express yourself and that's what I love about it. So you don't like having fun when people say "No, that's stupid"? Don't like to have fun? do I think maybe? For example, if you asked me if I believe in ghosts, I would answer the same.
So you don't look beat up in your apartment?
Not really.
Do you like hunting serial killers?
I like true crime. For the best or for the worst. I found it very interesting. A lot of people think the pathology of serial killers is interesting, but to me it's not about the stories and the history of the victims. I think the story is worth telling. I don't think it's interesting why a serial killer decided [to do what he did]. I enjoy watching documentaries on Who's Married to What and playing true crime YouTube videos as fake mystery videos.
You really are like a suburban mom.
Yes, my mom loves diagnostic discovery and I admit it's a bit silly, but it's also a lot of fun. A lot of people say, "That's so stupid, we have to worry about what's going on now", but real crime has been around since the 1930s. It was bad before there were even magazines, with horror images, without any filter. I think a lot of those magazines no longer exist. But they were there.
So your name is WTCHCRFT and most of our conversations have been about serial killers and the paranormal. Are you still drawn to stressful waste?
Yes always. I have always been fascinated by horror. It actually started with fear and I don't know when that changed. But WTCHCRFT, I literally brought it because in college, what was big back then was trap EDM. And many of these artists have names without vowels. I asked, "What word sounds good without the vowels, but you still understand what you're saying?" It took two seconds. The first thing that comes to mind is magic. I wrote it down and said, "Yeah, that's it." It's just stuck. My [next musical] is called 'The Wych Elm' and it comes from an unsolved murder case in the 1940s, in Hagley Wood in the UK where these people were in the woods. All the niggers did in the forties was look for nests for birds or something. I don't know what they did. But they stumbled upon Wych Elm and found a complete human skeleton. It was good news and to this day they don't know who the girl is. But after removing it and examining it, they found an inscription in the town that read "Lobella at the foot of the Sorcerer's Elm - Hagley Wood". So I named it and the first track was "Who Put Bella in Which Elm?"
Much of your work, especially on this EP, strikes me as stream of consciousness mixed with vulgarity that captures your interest. Yes, is all your music really personal?
Yes. It's always personal. I'm going back to my old songs that don't have dance music. I have one particular song called "Wait". I was dating my ex-girlfriend and she moved back to Sweden while I was doing this song. It's a beautiful song. I love it, I wish I had more recognition. But I love it and I still listen to it. And I don't do it very often.
How do you deal with criticism of your music when it's something so close to you?
Well, as you know, everyone has their own taste. But it's funny because I'm a very welcoming person. Definitely a first class guy to please me. It's been a problem all my life. But for some reason I can't hear the music. I really don't feel like I have to please anyone but myself.
What do you want people to take away from this EP?
I listen! I want to hear directly.
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Is that why you usually produce music? To play live?
It's up to me. That's what I really want to hear in the club, but I don't hear it in the club. So I'm like, "Damn, I have to do this next." I have to do it if no one else wants it. If I can't find someone else who has fixed something the way I like it, I will. That's how I fell into techno. At the end of the day, I experiment.
Do you consider yourself a test product?
No. I don't even know what that means. I don't know what kind of experience, but I'm trying.
Tell us about your mix of influences.
I woke up at 10 a.m. to prepare this mixture. It's loud, fast and melodic, but above all, it's great. Packed with many of your most recently played tracks and unreleased tracks!
The Wych Elm will be released on March 10 via Noise Manifesto .
Arielle Lana is a freelance writer for Jarde , follow her on Twitter .
