Witch house (sometimes referred to as drag) is a term used to describe a subgenre of industrial music, which features a prominent hip-hop influence, specifically the 1990s Houston chopped and screwed sound pioneered by DJ Screw.[1][2] By applying techniques rooted in Swishahouse hip-hop – drastically slowed tempos with skipping, stop-timed beats[3] – with signifiers of noise, drone, or shoegaze, Witch House recontextualizes its signifiers into an unprecedented yet aesthetically referential sinister atmosphere.[4] Witch House is also influenced by hazy 1980s goth bands, including Cocteau Twins,The Cure, Christian Death and Dead Can Dance,[5] as well as being heavily influenced by certain early industrial bands.[6][7] The use of hip-hop drum machines, noise atmospherics, creepy samples,[8] dark synthpop-influenced lead melodies, dense reverb, and heavily altered or distorted vocals are the primary attributes that characterize the genre's sound. Many artists in the genre have released slowed-down remixes of pop and rap songs,[9] or long mixes of different songs that have been slowed down significantly.[10][11] Common typographical elements in artist and track names include triangles, crosses, and other geometric shapes,[12][13] which is seen by some as being part of a larger unified aesthetic within the scene as well as a method of keeping it underground and harder to search for on the internet.[14][15]
Travis Egedy, commonly known by the stage name Pictureplane, is credited with having coined the term Witch House.
