Through a unique and extensive discography that features a diverse range of sounds, inspirations, and collaborators, Wicca Phase has become an influential pioneer in a vital new direction of underground music. Now with his latest EP, Corinthiax, McIlwee continues to advance his innate gift with words and melody, while also creating the perfect gateway for the uninitiated.
McIlwee’s instinct for innovation dates back to his time in Tigers Jaw, the trailblazing band he spearheaded before walking away in 2013 to embark on another ambitious new chapter. He began to hone Wicca Phase’s singular sound through a prolific series of releases that blended the incisive wit of songwriters like Nick Cave with heart-on-sleeve earnestness and modern hip hop percussion. This unexpected mix of dark electronics, trap rhythms, and alternative music initially caught some off-guard, but as his creativity continued to grow, so did his audience.
Finding himself inadvertently at the forefront of a burgeoning musical movement, McIlwee co-founded GothBoiClique: a 10-person collective that assembled some of the best artists of this new style under one banner, and helped shape its fervent community. All the while, the enigmatic Wicca Phase continued throwing musical curveballs — including 2017’s acoustic Raw and Declawed EP — proving that despite the growing popularity of the sound he helped forge, McIlwee is in a creative sphere all his own.
Corinthiax is the logical next step in McIlwee’s ever-evolving songwriting. Produced by Foxwedding, mixed by Dylan Kim, and mastered by Will Yip, the EP deftly utilizes elements from across Wicca Phase’s catalog and expands them into impressive new territory. McIlwee’s expressive voice is the crux: simultaneously assured and vulnerable, delivering darkly sensitive tales of longing with an occult flourish and undeniable hooks. Corinthiax encapsulates Wicca Phase Springs Eternal’s intriguing fusion of mystery and honesty, welcoming new listeners without slowing McIlwee’s uncontainable drive for evolution.