Mixtape Monday: Drag the lake

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." Inscription at the Gates of Hell, or another post about drag and witch house? You decide! Today's Mixtape Monday takes us to the darkest reaches of the Internet, with new mixes from Salem and the sick folks behind (the NSFW) Put.A.Spell.

Download Salem - I Buried My Heart Inna Wounded Knee

Salem's I Buried My Heart Inna Wounded Knee is a nearly-unlistenable mix of Goth crunk - and I mean that as a compliment. There's no tracklist, but would one really make a difference? Salem drags and screws tracks until they are barely recognizable ghosts of the originals; mixing in the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" is brilliant. Salem continues to make the i-dose version of purple drank. Their debut full-length King Night is set for a September 28th release, and this mix should stave off the tremors until then.

Put.a.spell (what I'll be calling the force responsible for these mixes, since they're only labeled with the quintessential witch house symbol ‡) recently released two equally disturbing mixes, Summus Exussum Ervum and Beasts in Drag.

Download ‡ - Summus Exussum Ervum

Summus Exussum Ervum, which roughly translates to "burn the high weeds," touches on everything cold and industrial. From Throbbing Gristle to Fever Ray, the mix is the perfect soundtrack for your next invocation or ritualistic sacrifice. Compared to Salem's mix, it is practically Top 40.

Download ‡ - Beasts in Drag

Beasts in Drag is more crunk than Goth, relying on drag versions of Gucci Mane and Playboy Tre (from the Adult Swim x Beaterator ATL RMX album), among others. As the mix closes, it fades from GR†LLGR†LL's gloomy "Lollipop" cover "Slowlickin" to "If You Are But a Dream," by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the bluesman best known for "I Put a Spell On You." That inclusion alone shows that the musicians behind drag and witch house have a sense of humor, even if it is sick and twisted.

The Drop: Dragged and Screwed (or, witch house cover songs)

The latest development in electronic music is the sonic darkness known either as drag or witch house. Equal parts chopped-and-screwed hip hop and gothic industrial, the mysterious scene is all over the internet yet difficult to pin down, due in large part to glyph-filled band names that are both unpronounceable and unsearchable.

With new releases from Disaro or Tri Angle dropping seemingly daily, it's getting difficult to keep our triangles and crosses straight. So apart from SALEM, where should you start with drag? How about some macabre makeovers of pop and hip-hop songs?

San Francisco's oOoOO has released an EP that features several gloomy cover versions of formerly-upbeat dance tracks. The title track, "No Summr4U" is a a reworking of Nocera's 1986 hit "Summertime, Summertime" which replaces the freestyle melody with a stark beat and hypnotic synths. "PCKRFCRMX" is short on vowels but big on dissonant keys and cut-and-paste Lady Gaga vocals.



Witch house heads must see something they like from the Haus of Gaga, because oOoOO is not alone in reworking the pop star of the moment. Mater Suspiria Vision has turned her songs into delay-heavy drone-fests. Not only have they given a mindfuck remix to "Alejandro," but their take on both the song and video for "Paparazzi" is truly twisted, and not for the faint of heart.

SALEM proved that drag and hip-hop are a natural fit with their Gucci Mane edits. ✝ NO VIRGIN ✝ takes a shot at some trap music with a version of Gucci's "I'm the Shit." NO VIRGIN's appropriately titled Downer EP is full of similarly pulsing scarefests and is available for free. If you're into that sort of thing.

Whether you call it drag, witch house, or goth crunk, this music is not for everyone. Sludgy drum machine beats, grim synth lines, and samples of everything from gunshots to child-like pleading (!) may not be everyone's cup of tea. But sometimes it pays to not be afraid of the dark.