Simon Hayes Interview

Transcription of interview with Simon Hayes on 11-7-11
Questions are asked by Gus Wenner and Jason Steinbach
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Q: What attracts to witch house as a genre?
A: Well I really love that sort of Swishahouse style of rap to begin with, and I have always loved DJ Screw, and then I met the guys from Salem, and became good friends with them, and became totally infatuated with their album and thought it was amazing.
Q: So it was their first album that got you into the actual "witch house" scene.
A: Yeah. And after I really started getting into Salem, I got into other witch house bands.
Q: So how did you find the other bands? Was it just by going online, or through meeting other people through Salem?
A: Well, I got into Salem through meeting Jack, who is the singer in Salem. I bought their album after meeting him, and after I liked their album so much I started listening to other bands in the genre. Specifically, the guy whose name is "little O big O" with five O's.
Q: I think it’s just pronounced “Oh.” So it was the Internet? That was how you found out about the other bands?
A: Yeah, just reading about it, and then I asked Salem who they liked the most out of all the other people, and they recommended "little O big O"
Q: So as far as the witch house scene, do you see any elements of the audience that stand out?
A: It seems like it's a very internet-centric fan base. Because it's so new, I feel like so much of their audience is like, you read about it on the Internet, it's blogs – a much younger generation.
Q: Do you see the music or the attitudes of the bands as a response to Internet culture or the blogosphere?
A: Yes and no. Just based on personal interactions with Salem, they’re all about the internet, YouTube, Twitter, appropriating things on the internet, that's how they make a lot of their music videos, these found clips on Youtube, and theyre whole aesthetic is based around the internet...trolling the internet, weird video clips of fights and burnouts and gangs and strip clubs and video games like Call of Duty, that's very much their aesthetic.
Q: The whole thing with naming your band after symbols and unpronounceable names seems to be tied in with the whole, kind of ironic response to the Internet.
A: Yes, I would say so. I would say there's a huge connection between the Internet and the aesthetic of these bands, it's not so much a response, it's an aesthetic. Like, bands in the 60s, Jimi Hendrix, their aesthetic was counterculture, Woodstock, free love, Monterrey Pop Festival, headbands, peace signs. Witch house is the Internet. Not exclusively, but that's a huge part of it.
Q: So we already talked about DJ Screw a bit... what do you think are the main influences in terms of other genres/styles?
A: I think it's definitely the chopped and screwed thing...the stuttering of those slow beats, slowed down versions of pop songs and rap songs, remixing songs. It's almost like a (?) approach to rap and electronic music. Like extracting a beat or a little sample of a vocal track, an abstract clip of a sound or beat, and cutting it up and making it into a larger beat.
Q: Witch house is really influenced by chopped and screwed, and chopped and screwed has obvious strong references to drugs in almost all of its songs, so I am wondering how much you think that drug culture carried over into witch house?
A: It’s not the same. There is no drug equivalent of Codeine in witch house. There’s definitely no identifiable drug in witch house. But I think it is case by case. Kids will be kids – everybody takes drugs.
Q: But do you think that witch house is influenced by drugs more so than other genres? I hear in the music such a lagged, stoned aesthetic, whether its codeine, heroin or what have you.
A: That’s a good point. That type of music is conducive to drugs, like shoegaze. It’s a very drugged out style. The people that listen to it and make it are more likely on drugs than the people that listen to top 40 radio.
Q: We’re interested in hearing about what you think the significance of the symbols, the upside down crosses and triangles are.
A: It’s a unified aesthetic with everyone in witch house. I’m not sure if it has to do with the Internet or text messaging…I don’t really know where it comes from, but it is definitely a common denominator with all of those bands. When I am texting Jack from Salem the symbols are in his text messages.
Q: What do you think Salem has that made them such an icon of witch house?
A: I think they have an incredible album. They made the best witch house album. All the pieces fit perfectly. With every genre there’s always a pinnacle that happens, and I think stylistically, the way they dress, their back-story, the record that they made, they are that. They did the best job to articulate witch house, both in terms of their personality and style and their record.
Q: Jason and I were talking about the role of irony in witch house. For example, John [from Salem] has a money sign tattooed on his face. Also, since it is such an internet-centric genre, and the Internet is very critical, analytical and ironic…how do you see irony playing out in witch house?
A: That’s a very good question. I think that there is an element of irony to it but the music is very serious. Jack from Salem is a very ironic individual.
Q: What is the aesthetic attitude of the audience?
A: There is a little slice of everybody in the audience. It’s definitely an aesthetically conscious crowd, a hip crowd. You definitely feel like your walking into a cool place when you go to a witch house concert. The audience draws heavily from gay/ghetto/Goth, as well as hipster. The thing about witch house is that it is hard to identify; it is a little slippery. There is an element of mystery to all of these guys. They are all hard to get in touch with, elusive, mysterious. John from Salem has a cell phone from 1998 – I don’t know if that’s ironic or not…