Who We Are: Salem, From Traverse City to Witch House
We're Salem, sometimes written S4LEM: an electronic band from Traverse City, Michigan, and one of the bands that started what people came to call witch house. This store is where our merch lives. Here is the short version of who we are.
Where did Salem start?
Salem was founded by Heather Marlatt, Jack Donoghue and John Holland. Jack and John had met while living in Chicago, and the band began making music in John's home studio in Traverse City. Our first releases came out in 2008: the EPs Yes I Smoke Crack and Water.
Who is in the band now?
Today Salem is Jack Donoghue (drum machine, vocals and the occasional guitar) and John Holland (keyboards, guitar and vocals).
What does Salem sound like?
Slow, heavy and nocturnal. Writers filed us under witch house, and that name stuck to a whole scene. AllMusic describes it as ethereal electronica over slow Southern hip hop rhythms, which is as good a summary as any: drum machines, haze, keys that drift, and voices pitched somewhere between a rap and a hymn.
Which records should you start with?
- King Night (2010): our debut album, released on IAMSOUND Records. It reached number 22 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
- I'm Still in the Night (2011): the EP that followed a year later.
- Fires in Heaven (2020): our second album, out on Mad Decent, ten years after the first.
- Red Dragon (2026): a compilation of B-sides, unreleased material and four new tracks.
Where do the designs come in?
Every design in this store comes out of that world: the names, the night, the records. They come on tees, long sleeves, crewnecks and hoodies, with kids' and youth sizes too.