Goth Babe released a new electronic indie EP called ‘Iceland‘, one that has quite a backstory. Griffin Washburn, the independent artist behind Goth Babe, lives much of his life outdoors, whether he is surfing, climbing, or snowboarding. He started Goth Babe while living in a camper with his dog Sadie, and recording music on his iMac when he felt inspired. Griffin eventually moved into a tiny house with Sadie while continuing to track music.
Most of his nine EPs are named after the location he was living while he tracked his songs. Over time, he has drawn over 2,000,000 monthly listeners, quite a feat when you’re releasing music without the help of a record label. But it’s his consistency of releasing great song after great song, and always keeping it fresh with singles between EPs. ‘Iceland’ is his second EP in 2022, having released ‘Santa Catalina‘ EP earlier this year.
Losing his home… and years of unreleased songs
The day before releasing ‘Santa Catalina‘, Griffin got a call from the fire department:
“I got a call from the fire department around noon today with the words “your house as been burnt down, we need you here to write a report up”. Sadie and I are both okay and by the grace of God stayed in Portland last night. I’ve lost everything, but the biggest bummer is my iMac with years worth of unreleased music that I’ll never get back.”
Griffin Washburn on February 24, 2022 (Instagram)
During this time, Griffin had been asked to make a new film with the outdoor clothing company Arcteryx, and create the soundtrack for the film. He shared on Instagram that he thought since he lost everything to the fire, including his Passport, he had also lost the opportunity. He couldn’t make the planned trip to Iceland without a passport, a trip that had been set to take place a week after the house fire. The day after the fire, ‘Santa Catalina’ EP came out.
While in Iceland, the team called me and offered to fly my out to Iceland a month later with just the filmers once I had a passport. What an amazing experience it was, and how incredibly cool of this company to go out of their way to have me be a part of it.
Griffin Washburn on November 2, 2022 (YouTube)
While in Iceland, he shared, “Drank from a stream and got sick, got better, surfed fun waves, and snowmobiled to a remote house on a cliff to write tunes.”
A look at Iceland EP
With resilience, Griffin finished the film and ‘Iceland‘ EP. The EP opens with ‘Surfing in Iceland‘, building on reverbing layers of classic guitar, with a kick drum pumping throughout the track. Synth chords fill the space as the song builds, as Griffin reflects on his recent experiences, “Don’t try being in control, it will never turn out.”
‘Holy Tonight‘ has rich synth pads that repeat, and layers of synth that come in and out on the left and right. An overall compression triggered by the kick adds an intensity to the song. “I don’t want to find what I’m looking for,” he sings.
The EP continues with ‘I’m In Luv‘, the most adventurous song on the EP. This track has dynamics and ear candy that makes it addictive. Synth is filtered through tape and a slow moving phase. This song doesn’t pump like the previous two, also adding to a dynamic in the EP.
Goth Babe ends the EP with ‘New Born Worlds’. This instrumental is quite the moody and haunting exit, with drawn out notes and vocals. It’s perfect for a soundtrack with overlapping images of Iceland’s beautiful scenery. Fuzzy electric guitar comes in, sounding as if he recorded it in an icy cavern.
All four songs have been released as Visualizers, rotating 25 second video clips. We created a playlist of these visualizers on YouTube. The film Creation Theory will be released soon!
If you’re inclined to support artists, as we encourage you to do, you can send him cash on Venmo at @griffinwashburn. This will help him recover from this year’s tragedy, one that takes a long time to rebuild from. Griffin is an artist who has raised funds through his music for environmental groups like Protect Our Winters, Project Zero, or Conservations Lands Foundation. Consider sending him help, or purchase his new merchandise.