SPELLLING
Spellling induces both pleasant ethereal dreams and endless crunchy nightmares, and that's why you need to listen to her immediately.
I happened upon Spellling at a vinyl swap meet at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland earlier this year. While most folks were socializing out on the patio, sharing a drink, a smoke, and geeking out about music (me included), I was drawn to the synthy, haunted beats and soulful vocalizations of coming from the stage inside. Countless genres were melding so perfectly together that my body auto-piloted its way to see what was going on.
Fully decked out in an outfit seemingly dipped in radiant sequins whose colors transformed with every motion, and an equally extravagant headpiece to match; there she was. A stunning creature tantalizing to the eyes and ears.
From the album Mazy Fly. A Film By Catalina Xavlena
The Oakland-based experimental artist is currently touring for her second LP, Mazy Fly, released by Sacred Bones. If you were to take a peek inside the album, you’d bear witness to a haunted house full of 18th century, antiquated marionettes, and dusty knick-knacks dancing in unison in a dimly lit ambiance. It’s the kind of music you listen to alone in your room: swaying to the soul, the synth pop, the trip hop, and the poetry.
The synths on the track, Haunted Water, are straight out of a B-horror movie you can't stop watching over and over again. Mixed with soulful deep vocals, she emits a certain hopelessness-- A protagonist escaping the monster. Or a killer in disguise. A past lover. A haunted past. All the while, it’s playful, but the kind of playful where you're teetering on the edge of fun and disaster. Sensual, yet cherubic and simultaneously demonic. Her music creates a portal into a mystical dimension where everything is twisted in the most beautiful way.
Spellling is my new favorite thing to have come out of the Bay Area and you have to listen to her right now. Catch her in San Francisco at Great American Music Hall on September 30th, and in Portland at the Doug Fir Lounge on October 2nd.
Listen to Spellling's latest LP Mazy Fly here!
