Biography
The Wytches, a United Kingdom outfit, specialize in murky and abrasive takes on psychedelic sounds, channeling their distorted, heavy rock approach into a devoted cult audience. Emerging from Brighton during the middle portion of the 2010s, the group issued two albums through Heavenly, beginning with the 2014 Bill Ryder-Jones-produced effort Annabel Dream Reader and continuing with All Your Happy Life in 2016. Following changes in both their roster and label affiliation, the band issued Three Mile Ditch on their own in 2020 before joining Alcopop! for the 2023 release of Our Guest Can't Be Named.
Kristian Bell and Gianni Honey launched the Wytches in 2011 after previously playing together in the Crooked Cranes. Originally based in Peterborough, the pair moved to Brighton to pursue further education once the Crooked Cranes disbanded. Seeking a bassist, they placed notices around their campus and recruited the sole respondent, Daniel Rumsey, whose earlier credits included Voyage Andromeda and Dan Rumsey & the Bitter End. Initially operating under the name the Witches, they quickly adjusted the spelling to the Wytches to set themselves apart from similar acts and improve online visibility.
The Wytches completed their debut single, "Beehive Queen," for Hate Hate Hate Records by June 2013, with the follow-up "Robe for Juda" arriving six months afterward. Fat Possum Records handled their first United States single, "Crying Clown," toward the end of that year. Early 2014 brought contracts with Heavenly Records in the U.K. and Partisan Records in the U.S. Bell and Bill Ryder-Jones co-produced the August arrival of Annabel Dream Reader, which later peaked at number 50 on the U.K. albums chart. Thunder Lizard's Reprieve, a four-song EP, surfaced in August 2015, and All Your Happy Life appeared the next year, introducing guitarist and keyboardist Mark Breed. Dropped by both labels in 2018, the Wytches navigated internal upheaval that included the exit of original drummer Honey. After scrapping a 2019 tour alongside Drenge, they performed limited dates with Demelza Mather on drums.
Entering the new decade without a label, the Wytches put out Three Mile Ditch on their Cable Code Records imprint in 2020. Luke Oldfield handled recording and mixing in London, while the three core members divided drumming responsibilities. At the start of 2023 the band aligned with U.K. indie Alcopop!, which put out Our Guest Can't Be Named later that year. Once again working with Oldfield, the group self-produced the album and subsequently elevated touring drummer Mather to official status.
Kristian Bell and Gianni Honey launched the Wytches in 2011 after previously playing together in the Crooked Cranes. Originally based in Peterborough, the pair moved to Brighton to pursue further education once the Crooked Cranes disbanded. Seeking a bassist, they placed notices around their campus and recruited the sole respondent, Daniel Rumsey, whose earlier credits included Voyage Andromeda and Dan Rumsey & the Bitter End. Initially operating under the name the Witches, they quickly adjusted the spelling to the Wytches to set themselves apart from similar acts and improve online visibility.
The Wytches completed their debut single, "Beehive Queen," for Hate Hate Hate Records by June 2013, with the follow-up "Robe for Juda" arriving six months afterward. Fat Possum Records handled their first United States single, "Crying Clown," toward the end of that year. Early 2014 brought contracts with Heavenly Records in the U.K. and Partisan Records in the U.S. Bell and Bill Ryder-Jones co-produced the August arrival of Annabel Dream Reader, which later peaked at number 50 on the U.K. albums chart. Thunder Lizard's Reprieve, a four-song EP, surfaced in August 2015, and All Your Happy Life appeared the next year, introducing guitarist and keyboardist Mark Breed. Dropped by both labels in 2018, the Wytches navigated internal upheaval that included the exit of original drummer Honey. After scrapping a 2019 tour alongside Drenge, they performed limited dates with Demelza Mather on drums.
Entering the new decade without a label, the Wytches put out Three Mile Ditch on their Cable Code Records imprint in 2020. Luke Oldfield handled recording and mixing in London, while the three core members divided drumming responsibilities. At the start of 2023 the band aligned with U.K. indie Alcopop!, which put out Our Guest Can't Be Named later that year. Once again working with Oldfield, the group self-produced the album and subsequently elevated touring drummer Mather to official status.
Albums
Singles
