“Killwave, occultwave, [and] shadowave are all outlets that I use to expose and celebrate fragments of who I am, may it be my vulnerability or, at times, my ego,” says Rafael Reyes (Latin Lovers), a self-described “cholo goth” musician whose numerous projects revolve around his autobiographical troika of invented genres.
Beginning with the gloomy, esoteric dance pop of performance-art band Baptism of Thieves, Reyes further defined his macabre, confessional aesthetic into occultwave pop-goth trio Vampire, with guitarist Ian Dosland. After bassist Daniel Leigh Ross, aka Vikti, announced his intention to quit the band, they announced plans to split, and yet turned up again playing gigs in late 2013.
Reyes says he wanted to concentrate on his other band projects like Sons of the Moon with Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession), his solo project Nite Ritual (which includes local rapper Amer the Gamer), Prayers (with electronic artist Dave Parley of Latin Lovers), and Ermavip with Vampire guitarist Ian Dosland.