In the realm of music, a certain form of spell casting is necessary to engage the audience. But what if the song is a spell itself? For LA-based rocker Stevi Daft, the release of her new music video and single “Vertigo” is a manifestation of the banishment of her vertigo.
In the music video, Daft is actually doing a banishment spell. This Queer, witchy songwriter swings between rocking out to the other extreme – sitting cross-legged, performing a ritual to free herself from her affliction. These moments, coupled with upside-down shots and prismatic captures, echo the disorientation that people who suffer from vertigo experience.
“Vertigo can be so debilitating, and I had a particularly bad episode on the day I wrote this,” says Daft. “I had tried so many things to keep it at bay and get rid of it, but I hadn’t tried a spell, which seems so obvious now!”
Stevi Daft’s songs have earned syncs in TV shows on AMC and MTV, feature films and trailers. But Daft’s divination isn’t bound by walls or screens. She moonlights as a tarot-reader around Los Angeles, especially active in the queer nightlife space, where she connects with an overlapping audience. “Queers are very into magick. There’s something about the ‘other-ness’ and self-reflection of trying to understand who we are in the face of a society that has made us consistently question and defend our identities that seems to call to many of us.”
One of the biggest live show thrills so far has been her June 2023 rooftop performance at West Hollywood Pride’s Girls, Gays & Theys. “This project (and this song) were born of necessity,” says Daft. “I hope that once the song is out, the spell will be complete and my vertigo will be released.”
What do you think of “Vertigo”?
