Salem

†‡† (Ritualz): Anonymous Witch-House Musician Draws from Pop’s Dark Side

This story first appeared in Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music. Order your copy today.

Ritualz: CDR†‡†: CDR (Disaro, 9/10/10)

†‡†: “gOth bb”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Ritualz_Goth_BB.mp3|titles=†‡† (Ritualz): “Goth BB”]

Behind the dark electronica of †‡† (vocalized and alternately written as Ritualz) stands an anonymous, soft-spoken man. The latter is confirmed in fragmented bits over the phone, before technological limitations force the conversation to Google Chat. Once online, he explains that he’d prefer to keep his regular location to himself, though he divulges that he’s staying with family in Mexico City and has a date to perform in Monterrey, Mexico the following week. (San Marino, the location listed on his MySpace profile, is a red herring.)

An instant-message interview is very fitting; nearly everything about Ritualz’ short music career has happened on the Internet. Two days after making a MySpace profile showcasing a handful of gloomy trip-hop tracks under his nom de guerre, he signed to Houston-based micro-label Disaro. Run by Robert Disaro, the Disaro label is a standard bearer for a nascent electronic sub-genre that most are calling “witch house,” and Ritualz’ compelling mix of drone, synth hop, and industrial is a perfect fit.

Morrow vs. Hajduch

Morrow vs. Hajduch: †‡†’s untitled CD-R

Scott Morrow is ALARM’s music editor. Patrick Hajduch is a very important lawyer. Each week they debate the merits of a different album.

†‡† CD-R†‡†: untitled CD-R (Disaro, 9/9/10)

†‡†: “Goth BB”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Ritualz_Goth_BB.mp3|titles=†‡† (Ritualz): “Goth BB”]

Morrow: Verbalized and alternately written as Ritualz, †‡† is an unnamed man from an unknown location, making a relatively dark and/or Gothic version of electronic dance music.  He has been lumped with the “witch house” scene, which also has been dubbed “drag,” “haunted house,” and a few other things.

His sound is comparable to contemporaries like Salem, oOoOO, Mater Suspiria Vision, etc., and he’s far from the only one with the very-difficult-to-Google name.  There’s also I††, ▲▲▲, and other random combinations of symbols.