Demdike Stare
Demdike Stare is the Manchester, UK based duo of DJ Sean Canty (the dedicated digger behind the Haxan event series and a member of the hugely respected Finders Keepers crew) and dub producer Miles Whittaker (also known as Modern Love's MLZ or as 0.5 of Pendle Coven). They say their project "tracks the sonic ley lines of cult soundtracks, Arabesque dubs and psychometric ephemera with a proper Lancastrian twist." The name Demdike is taken from the alias of Elizabeth Southern who was the ringleader of the Pendle Witches. Accused of three murders, she died in prison in 1622 before coming to trial.
The duo almost instantly achieved acclaim worldwide with their stunning 2009 debut album Symbiosis on Modern Love. It's combination of bass music, dub, world music influences and minimal techno felt right at the cutting edge of sound in the moment but was merely the start of what has rapidly evolved into a sonic world and visual sensibility all their own.
Over the course of 2010, visuals started to appear connected to the project, often taken from rare obscure British horror films, then the duo delivered three extended EPs - Forest of Evil, Liberation Through Hearing (2010) and Voices of Dust (2010). These records expanded their sound palette including more elements of sound design, drones, Arabic and African influences and a concerted effort to create the sonic equivalent of magick rituals. The mysterious elements of these releases were enhanced by artwork from Andy Votel. Around this time in June 2010, the duo also made their first appearance in New York at The Bunker. At the start of 2011 all three were compiled together with bonus tracks to form the three CD sophomore album Triptych.
Demdike Stare ended 2011 and started 2012 which four EPs - Chrysanthe, Violetta, Rose and Iris. These have just been compiled into the February double CD release that is their third album Elemental that has seen the duo further refine their sound palette. It could easily be argued that they are now at the peak of their powers as producers with a unique approach to music that crosses boundaries and genres. There's is the sound of something unusual emerging from the darkness, neither totally abstract, nor totally dance floor their music remains free of constraints and truly experimental in the best sense of the word. People have compared them to Coil, called them Pagan digi-dub and said that the ambience their live show evoked was a dank cave under a Lancashire moor. But despite this inherent darkness their sound also contains elements that are very beautiful. Free of clichés we can only expect their live show at Unsound Festival New York to excite.
