NEW ALBUM: The Electric Witch – Wave of Sympathy

released May 5, 2018

Four years and four days since their last album of original material, The Electric Witch is back with their fourth album Wave of Sympathy. The album spans a period of significant change, featuring robotized vocals from both retired member Marcus Matthews and the current embodiment of the TEW spirit Mary Bue. Years spent translating the previous albums into live performances has affected the trajectory of the new songs, taking them from dark internal monologues to grand theatrical experiences.

“…you think I’m asking…”

While the Witch has always strived to strip the humanity from their work, Sympathy is rife with emotion, both raw and bold. Fleshy hands are always at the controls. The fractured hiss and crackle of analogue technology is celebrated as a sign of life in the wires.

“…i’ve been so bad…”

Included in the track list are three a capella tracks. While still effected by the vocoder, they capture the essence of each performance and bring it to the fore. Again, the humanity once abandoned is here resurrected and its twisted wreckage celebrated.

“…fuck it, fade.”

Lyrics/Vocals:
1 and 5 (sort of) by Mary Bue
2 and 4 by Marcus Matthews

Everything else: Zac Bentz

Video for “Hallowed” youtu.be/isjvs4Fm46o
(Special thanks to the “Murder Hike” crew!)

Tracks 2, 3 and 4 have been remastered, previously available (with alternate mixes) here:

Hallowed: zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/hallowed
Barb (Don’t Be A Stranger): zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/barb-dont-be-a-stranger
Fuck It – Fade: zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-it-fade

2017 Releases

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/30000-days
released January 3, 2017

One song.
Twenty-four hours.
Forty-eight segments, each thirty minutes long.
Originally released exclusively to subscribers once a week across eleven months. Each original release has unique artwork.

(30,000 days is roughly eighty-two years, or one lifetime.)

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/ghostship
released January 12, 2017

Recorded as part of the Ghost Ship Benefit in Duluth, Minnesota on January 6th, 2017. facebook.com/events/1205462559544684/

IW/M/DK is:
Mike Trepanier (Ire Wolves) – Guitar
Dustin Fennessey (Ire Wolves) – Bass
Dean Berlinerblau (Modify) – Digital Manipulation
Zac Bentz (Dirty Knobs) – Synthesis

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/hallowed
released February 12, 2017

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-it-fade
released February 12, 2017

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-drone-not-drones-2017
released February 26, 2017

Recorded live at Drone Not Drones 2017. Recorded direct from equipment on-stage, not the board mix.

Please visit dronenotdrones.com and donate if you are able.

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/do-not-let-your-kindness-be-weaponized-against-you
released March 17, 2017

Known around the world for delivering up massive (and massively long) slabs of dark atmospheres like Field Recordings from the Edge of Hell (8 hours), The Hermit Seeks the Stillness (12 hours), and 30,000 Days (24 hours), Dirty Knobs returns from the other end of the spectrum with Do Not Let Your Kindness Be Weaponized Against You, 5 songs clocking a relatively demure 30 minutes. From the robotic whispered warning of the title track set over a family’s shared laughter, to the reverential echoes of “We Sing the Sun,” and the almost-not-even-there of “Endure,” these songs take a much more delicate, almost hesitant approach than the smothering walls of sound that Dirty Knobs is known for. But the analog pulses and wails in “Closed Horizons” and “Welcome to Ghostbridge” do remind listeners of the dread just around the corner.

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/kinderchomper-the-soundtrack
released April 19, 2017

Soundtrack to the film Kinderchomper, directed by Mike Scholtz.

A new documentary about a mild-mannered artist from Minnesota who leads a double life as a baby-eating professional wrestler in Japan.

Coming soon to a film festival near you.

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/breakdown-dawnbreak
released August 23, 2017

Improvised live and recorded from the stage at Northern Isolation III in Duluth, Minnesota around 9:30pm on Sunday, August 20th, 2017.

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/from-a-vantablack-heart
released October 1, 2017

I sometimes have a difficult time remembering how I’ve made music. When I listen back to final mixes, it’s a mystery. I could never recreate what I’ve done. Not exactly. That doesn’t mean it was created in some sort of fugue-state. Quite the opposite. But a major component is experimentation and a sense of discovery. If you know exactly what you want to discover, then that’s not discovery. The journey is sometimes indistinct and difficult to recall.

I often have a quote from Warren Ellis’ Morning Computer in mind while working, a mental image of “places that were only ever designed to be passed through.” Maybe that’s what this music is. Music for places that were only ever designed to be passed through. Infinite anechoic chambers absorbing all vibration. Massive underground neutrino detectors catching a glimpse of the universe as it passes through their clear waters. Galaxies of dark matter and voids. Mental spaces where time stutters and anxiety flexes.

Music to be lost and forgotten. Music from a vantablack heart.

https://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/solstice
released December 21, 2017

Stay warm.

-zb

NEW ALBUM: The Electric Witch – Live at Homegrown 2016

Live at Homegrown 2016
by The Electric Witch

Selected tracks recorded live at Pizza Luce Duluth, Minnesota, on May 7th, 2016, as a part of the Homegrown Music Festival.

Original photo by Kip Praslowicz.

The Electric Witch is:
Eric Anderson: Keyboards
Steph Bentz: Keyboards
Zac Bentz: Programming, Keyboards
Mary Bue: Vocals

4 and 5 featuring Marcus Matthews on vocal.

Thank You x10

I have nothing but massive thanks and humble appreciation for the first ten subscribers to my various musical efforts. I hope you’re enjoying all the extra stuff. And don’t worry, non-subscriber fans. Lots of regular releases are in the works (NEScapism 2??? Finally??? Maybe???) and will be rolling out throughout the year.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to swim in a lake of very black coffee…Good morning.

MORE INFO ON SUBSCRIPTIONS HERE

Dirty Knobs and The Electric Witch at Homegrown 2015

The 2015 Homegrown Music Festival schedule is out! Both Dirty Knobs and The Electric Witch will be playing on seperate nights, and TEW singer Mary Bue will also be playing her own music. Check the info below and we hope to see you out there:

Monday, April 27
Red Herring Lounge
5pm Opening reception for Homegrown Photo Show
5:30pm Tim Kaiser
>>6:30pm Dirty Knobs<<
8:15pm Superfly McFlash
9:15pm Lorenzo’s Tractor
10:15pm I Am the Slow Dancing Umbrella

Friday, May 1
Pizza Lucé
10:30pm Retribution Gospel Choir
>>11:30pm Mary Bue<<
12:30am WOLF BLOOD

Saturday, May 2
Duluth Flame Nightclub
10:15pm Danecdote
11:15pm The Horror
>>12:15am The Electric Witch<<

Xero Music Subcriptions

You can now subscribe to Xero Music. What? Why?

This is music that’s not for everyone. This is why I value your support so dearly.
I make a lot of music and this is the best way to get everything in one place. Everything from Dirty Knobs, The Electric Witch and more. Exclusive access to secrets that might not be ready for the wider world. All will be gathered in one place so you will never miss a release and can avoid having to chase things down on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Soundcloud etc. All without any added noise.

And you will also get the ENTIRE back-catalog…that’s over 30 albums!

Of course, if you’re supporting one artist, you are likely to be supporting several artists. With that in mind, I wanted to make your choice as easy as possible by offering a simple year-long subscription for what I hope is a reasonable price. Of course you CAN pay more if you feel so compelled. How much music did you buy last year? At what price? What is this all worth? Adjust accordingly. (Note: I released 9 albums last year, as well as several odds and ends.)

Another thing to consider is that you can stream the entire catalog anywhere, anytime. I do NOT get paid AT ALL for these tens-of-thousands of free streams a year. How often do you listen to Bandcamp songs right from an album page or the app? What might that be worth?

So, what’s in it for you? What’s in store for the next year?

I’m currently planning four (4!) new Electric Witch albums/EPs, a lot of new Dirty Knobs stuff (hoping to play a lot of live shows this year and make as much of that available) as well as an entirely INSANE new project that’s been swimming around for a couple years now. Subscribers will get early access to all new releases as well as exclusive in-progress demos, photos and anything else I can think of. I hope to capture as many live performances as possible on video, which will be subscriber exclusives as well.

Your support will go towards more live gigs, more time spent recording, merch (at a huge discount for subscribers), physical releases (who wants vinyl?) and general musical-life-sustaining needs.
As always, thank you for your continued support. You are all I have.

MORE INFO ON SUBSCRIPTIONS HERE