Demdike Stare doesn’t just have the coolest band name ever—they back it up with music that’s shadowy, experimental, and impossible to ignore. With Testpressing#005, released in 2014, the duo of Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty delivered one of their most visceral entries in the Testpressing series. It’s a two-track plunge into fractured rhythms, bass-heavy dread, and eerie textures that feel as physical as they are haunting.
The A-side, “Procrastination,” is a jagged, bass-driven track that lurches forward with fragmented rhythms and distorted textures. It feels like dub torn apart and reassembled in a fever dream. On the B-side, “Past Majesty” emerges as a monotonous monster—a relentless march of beats, analog pulses, and industrial noise, looping with hypnotic, crushing intensity. It’s suffocating in the best way, an exercise in rhythm as pure force.
Demdike Stare’s music draws from a wide spectrum of influences: the heavy dub of King Tubby, the abrasive textures of Coil, the frenetic energy of early jungle, and the eerie soundscapes of obscure horror soundtracks. Yet their sound is distinctly their own, pulling these elements into a dark, cohesive whole.
Two lesser-known details make Testpressing#005 even more fascinating. First, the duo’s experimental production techniques often involve live manipulation of analog equipment, lending the tracks their raw, unpredictable energy. Second, much of their aesthetic stems from Lancashire’s witch trial history—the band’s name itself references the infamous witch Demdike, and that sense of menace pervades their work.
Testpressing#005 doesn’t aim to comfort—it aims to overwhelm. It’s raw, hypnotic, and utterly unrelenting, a perfect representation of Demdike Stare’s ability to create music that feels timeless yet intensely immediate.
Sterling Mosh 
Leave a comment