Season of the Witch

This playlist gathers spirits, spells and black magic… or even white magic. I am not particularly into esotericism, but music has the power to open doors into an invisible and intangible world, and yet somehow very real. Each song is a spell: which will carry you away, or (pleasurably) put you six feet under, or even make you fall in love.

This is a broad-spectrum playlist, ranging from Berlioz's “Songe d’une Nuit de Sabbat” (“Dreams of a Witches' Sabbath”, 1830) to the recent pop ravings of Scandinavian princesses (Anna Von Hausswolff, Susan Sundfør, Nicole Sabouné ...), via some Witch House gems – a brief yet intense subgenre that thrilled the late 2000s (Salem, oOoOO...). Also, let’s not forget the TV witches of our teenage years: a whole generation previously unaware of the existence of The Smiths began to sing “How Soon Is Now?”... thanks to the sisters of Charmed. Lastly, we listen to the high priestesses of a pop trend that, even though had nothing to do with Gothic music, conveyed enough spirituality to make us want to worship them: Liz Fraser, Kate Bush, Björk.

Witches can be symbols of female power, often repressed but never defeated. Open your ears, open your chakras.