We love witchy things! And 2017 has been a particularly witchy year. There’ve been séances, spells, lots of witchy floaty clothing…and, mysteriously, chalk pentagrams keep popping up on the streets of Stoke Newington (Stoke Newington is possibly London’s witchiest neighbourhood – more hemp and herbal remedies than you can shake an incense stick at!)
This is officially our Halloween issue, and we’ve got lots of witchy stuff in it, including a feature on actual witches on London’s gay scene. Yes that’s right, there are actual witches! This is what happens when people get bored of Grindr. CAULDRONS AT THE READY.
We thought we’d also do a piece on POP witches. Yes, #WitchPop is now a thing. Whether it’s Lana Del Rey putting a hex on Donald Trump, or Florence Welch casting ketamine-infused calamities from Camberwell, the world of music has taken a decidedly celestial turn. So here they are, our fave POP WITCHES!
St. Vincent
Confusingly, St. Vincent isn’t a saint, or called Vincent – she’s a lady called Anne. She’s been around for a while, making dreamy experimental electropop. Her 2014 self-titled album garnered her a Grammy, and now she’s back with another critically-acclaimed ouvre, Masseduction. It’s daring, it’s dark and it’s defiant – three very witchy qualities. She has cited Kate Bush as a major inspiration (witchy!) says she burns sage whilst writing (witchy!) and dated Cara Delevingne (witchy!) We absolutely love her music it’s *Cheryl Cole voice* reet up ower street!
Lana Del Rey
The grand high witch herself! Lana is witchcraft at its most glamorous and apathetic. She is an LA witch, and we feel like LA witches are different from London witches. Whilst London witches do things like smoke weed under the bridge at Camden Lock and do magic mushrooms at Ally Pally, LA witches probably do things like…make ethically-sourced smoothies from expensive Whole Foods produce. Lana’s quite hardcore though actually, so hardcore that she allegedly performed a “magical binding ritual” against Donald Trump. Unlike many witches though, she is not a feminist. “For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” she told The Fader. “I’m more interested in, you know, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities.” Oh Lana.
Mykki Blanco
Mykki’s been one of our faves for years, and he’s always been a bit of a witch. Whether he’s eating mandrake root on a bare mattress in Berlin, or flicking through a spellbook at a San Fran chillout, Mykki’s whole vibe is like, totes occult. Specialising in amazingly bizarre alternative queer hip-hop, he’s always at the forefront of edginess. Dazed can’t get enough of him! Mykki said he wants to be Yoko Ono, which is quite a witchy concept. He also has a mixtape called Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Princess. Doesn’t get much more witchy than that!
Lola Blanc
Scarlet-lipped German-born recording artist Lola Blanc is not just a witch, she’s a vintage witch! We can imagine her grinning over the top of a steaming golden goblet in an underground Parisian speakeasy – sipping absinthe and smoking cigarettes whilst seducing unsuspecting libertines with love spells in her velvet-strewn boudoir. Lola specializes in jazz/burlesque type music, most notabley her 2016 hit, “The Magic” (witchy). Before her music career, she performed as a ventroliquist and auctioneer (witchy). And she was born in the shadow of an ancient castle in Bavaria, Germany (VERY witchy). She also wrote “Ooh La La” the Britney Spears song that was on The Smurfs Movie (not so witchy, but you can’t have it all).
Florence Welch
Hey Florence! We’ve always felt Florence is one of us. Like, we can imagine lying on a sofa with her in a Peckham bedsit, watching Come Dine With Me on a comedown and drinking herbal tea. We feel like we don’t really need to list Flo’s witchy credentials, because she’s so obviously a witch. Just look at her! But here’s some trivia anyway; she has described her style as “scary gothic bat lady” and she once broke her foot when she launched herself off stage at Coachella. Maybe she was trying to fly! You need a broomstick, hun!
Ionnalee
Formerly known as the artist “iamamiwhoami”, Swedish purveyor of mad beguiling pop Jonna Emily Lee rebranded this year and became EVEN MORE witchy. She returned to the music industry as Ionnalee, an Aryan-eyebrowed, Chloe Sevigny-esque moon goddess. Her March release “Samaritan” is the most extra song we’ve heard possibly EVER. It’s full of haunting hubrises, stomping synths, and mad enunciation (most notably, the way she says cross – “CUHROSSSUH!”) Ionnalee is one of those artists who doesn’t simply have singles and albums – she has “projects” and “audiovisual experiences”. We don’t really have the time or energy for most of it, but we like her all the same. She’s a deep witch! She’d transplant your pancreas into a newt without batting an eye (or eyeing a bat.)
Grace Mitchell
Grace Mitchell is the latest in a crop of tousle-haired young female artists coming out of the Pacific Northwest, with original and husky alt-pop. Her music is attention-grabbing and demanding and her latest release ‘Cali God’ is an unprecedentedly impressive ode to the Golden State. An up-and-coming witch. A witch to watch!
Tove Lo
I’m sweatin’ from head to toe
I’m wet through all my clothes
I’m fully charged, nipples are hard
Ready to go
I’m sweatin’ from head to toe
I’m wet through all my clothes
I’m fully charged, nipples are hard
Ready to go
