CREEP crystallized from the plaintive calm, tainted emotions, and moonlit gloom of predawn New York. The moments just before night turns to morning, when the walk home throws the hours before it in stark, paralyzing relief and the air is charged with every thought imaginable. CREEP is more concretely a pair of Laurens, Dillard and Flax, who began playing together in 2009, merging their distinct musical backgrounds into a haunting, singular sound. Lauren Dillard spent the early 00s making experimental visual art and equally experimental accompanying scores in New York and London’s clubworld, while Lauren Flax was living down the street from Detroit’s notorious Motor Lounge and cutting her teeth on production through the city’s legendary house scene. “Flax comes from more of a classic house background,” says Dillard, “and I am into a bit more experimental stuff. She smooths down the harshness of what I do and I fuck up her slick production.” The Laurens’ musical worlds overlap in a shared love of early Industrial, especially the dark atmospherics of Throbbing Gristle and Ministry, which provides a running current of melancholy and menace through their creative back-and-forth. Their secret weapon, however, is a curatorial ear for vocal collaborators, for whose singing CREEP’S music isn’t just a backdrop, but a willing and eager sonic partner. Amid growing buzz off the strength of their early live performances, CREEP released a salvo of singles in the last half of 2012: “DAYS,” with guest vocals by The xx’s Romy Madley-Croft and a stunning music video by Fischerspooner’s Warren Fisher; “YOU” anchored by the intertwining vocals of New York’s Nina Sky twins and a widely praised video directed by Thalia Mavros of VICE; “ANIMALS,” featuring the gorgeous, atmospheric voice of Holly Miranda; and “CALL HER” made with Tricky (yes, that Tricky) and School of Seven Bells’ ethereal singer Alejandra de la Deheza. On 11/12/13, CREEP INTL will release CREEP’s debut full-length, ECHOES. “It’s amazing how it came together,” says Flax, “It really was an organic process, which is truly important to us. The majority of the people on our record are friends, it really all came together perfectly.” “It took a while to finish since we had so many guest vocalists,” adds Dillard, “but we’re honored to have worked with so many talented artists.” Produced entirely by Dillard and Flax and featuring 14 hand-selected singers, ECHOES is the result of an 18-month exercise in determined patience and perfectionism. “We wrote it and produced it,” says Flax, “so the final mixes had to be everything it could be. We wanted Chris Coady to mix our record—he had just finished Beach House, Zola Jesus, and Santigold and we loved the sound of those records. We had to wait for him and it was worth it.” Spreading the gospel in person on a world tour starting in Europe this fall, CREEP’s engaging live performance and stunning videos will seal CREEP’s place as the most essential New York two-piece since Suicide. WE ARE CREEP.