Wicca Phase Springs Eternal

Scranton, PA singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Adam McIlwee has just dropped his Run For Cover Records debut, ‘Suffer On’.

Since leaving indie-rock upstarts Tigers Jaw back in 2013, Adam Mcilwee has spent most of his time on the internet. From trawling Tumblr for hours, to meticulously formatting tweets; its central purpose focused on developing a musical project - Wicca Phase Springs Eternal.

Emotionally charged and raw, as he found this project coming to life, he also saw something else being born - a movement. Alongside fellow like-minded creatives Cold Heart and Horsehead, he co-founded gothboiclique. Steadily growing in size - even counting Lil Peep amongst its ranks at one point - it’s now a collective of artists who draw from similar emotional angles, and find their roots deep in rap, trap, electronic, emo, alternative and anything else they fancy.

Taking Wicca Phase to the next level, Adam’s previous releases, predominantly mixtapes, are what he considers “just collections of songs”, making ‘Suffer On’ is his first fully-fledged album. After signing to Run For Cover Records, the record and, his future, is all in the balance.

“When I see Horsehead and Cold Heart releasing really good albums, and Døves doesn’t [even] have that many songs that are released, but his songwriting is so good! And I’m like, I have to do that… I’ve written songs that are better than those.” He pauses, chuckling. Adam’s competitive nature is a catalyst for creativity.

“That’s what’s in my mind. The bar has been set, and now I want to raise it a little bit more. It’s a healthy competition - I want to record music that I think is at their level, and I also want to record music that my friends or my peers will aspire to make… I’ve always felt like that. When I started writing songs, I just wanted to write songs that were better than my friends… not out of jealousy, or anything like that, although I do get jealous when my friends write really good songs, so there’s that element of it. It’s not as negative as it might sound!”

As for why Adam and co’s new strain of musical influence has taken off to such great levels? He pauses.

“I think there’s a cool factor to having rap beats. That element of it can appeal to people who aren’t necessarily into underground music. The guitar aspect of it is like an emo-worship thing that some people think is cool. I don’t think it’s that cool, [but] that’s pretty trendy now.”

In reality, it’s the emotional aspect of the genre that’s genuinely the anchor point for this moment. The Soundcloud artists are all rooting around the same idea - of being true to the life you’re living, even if it’s a swirling darkness most would swiftly avert. The roots for ‘Suffer Now’ came at a time in his life when things were full on, to say the least; the title itself should give some indication as to Adam’s headspace through the creation. “I was stressed out all the time when I started writing the album. I’d left my job to pursue music full time which turned up the stress to eleven in my day to day life, being like, ‘shit, this has to work!’” With an air of relief, he confesses. “There was [also] some personal stuff at home with different relationships that seemed to be at their worst when I was writing this album.”

Does he feel that belonging to a world that’s renowned for creeping amongst the realism and darkness of life? “When you’re doing that every day for hours on end, I think that darkness and that negative emotional theme gets turned up, it gets magnified,” he pauses, before ending: “In this case, it worked. That’s how I’ve always written songs.”

It’s this resounding openness to himself and his followers that sets Adam, and Wicca, above the rest. There may be a constant revolving carousel of quick-thinking hopefuls who’ve purchased some beats and a microphone, but to delve deep into the ‘emo’ of life, well, no one does it quite like Wicca Phase. P Wicca Phase Springs Eternal’s new album ‘Suffer On’ is out now.