Witch house, drag, or grave wave: call it what you will, but one of the hottest developments in music last year was also one of the coldest. By it’s nature, this music is not readily accessible (often literally – most band names feature unsearchable characters). But when a band like Balam Acab appears in a Beyonce makeup commercial, some sort of crossover is imminent.
Enter CREEP. The duo, comprised of Lauren Flax and Lauren Dillard, owes more to witch house’s aesthetic than to chopped-and-screwed industrial. Still, the group’s music is sufficiently dark, if more straight-forward than their peers. Flax gained notoriety as the tour DJ for electroclash act Fischerspooner and brings a danceable quality to the music.
Lead single “Days” has received plenty of press, due in part to guest vocals by It Girl / XX frontwoman Romy Madley Croft. The backdrop for Romy’s distinct vocals is a battle between razorblade accents, lush bass synth, a chopped up soca beat and staccato snares. The song has received remixes aplenty, including a UK funky take by Deadboy, a dark tech house version by Azari & III, and an (as of yet) unreleased remix by Drop the Lime.
The video, directed by Fischerspooner’s Warren Fischer, is on point: Gothic imagery, fog-soaked lights, black shrouds, and a foreboding sexuality permeate the clip. Media bloggers at the Creators Project sat down with Fischer and CREEP to go over the creative process behind the video.
While “Days” is their only original composition, CREEP has also lent their remixing talents to contemporaries Von Haze, Baghdaddy and Memory Tapes. Their remix of the latter’s “Green Knight” is a more solemn, breathy take on the original, with the same type of jittery drums found on “Days.”
Memory Tapes – Green Knight (Creep Remix)
CREEP is set to release an album on Young Turks this year, and a single entitled “You” featuring Nina Sky is set to follow “Days.” The duo also put out a mix for FACT Magazine that branches out into funky, R&B-influenced electronic music. For a limited time, he mix is available to download.
Postcultural 