“CASTLES II” was released on this day nine years ago. Created in the winter of 2016-17, it was Gus and Tracy’s five-track sequel to their 2016 Castles EP. It boasts some of their biggest collaborations, including “witchblades” and “your favorite dress,” and came together over the course of about a month between Gus’s apartment in Echo Park, Los Angeles, and a nearby studio. After meeting in May 2016, Gus and Tracy collaborated frequently, making an EP, several singles, and a number of songs that appeared on Gus’s Crybaby and Hellboy mixtapes. They created and released music in person right up until Gus headed home for Christmas 2016, during which time he got an opportunity to work with producer Harry Fraud. While Gus was in New York, he received “your favorite dress” from Tracy via email, and later added his own vocals after returning to LA in mid-January. Over the coming weeks, Gus and Tracy got to work on their next EP, utilizing the many beats Gus had received over the prior few months from countless producers. Charlie Shuffler sent Gus several beats across January 18, 23, and 25, two of which became “dying out west” and “past the castle walls” during an intense studio stretch. That creative run concluded with the creation of “never eat, never sleep” and “witchblades,” both produced by Big Head, with Yung Cortex on the latter. On February 5, the night before “CASTLES II” dropped, Gus and Tracy mixed “your favorite dress” one final time. The following day, the night of release, they filmed a music video for “witchblades” in Echo Park. According to videographer Metro Blu, Gus and Tracy had originally wanted to make a video for “your favorite dress” that night, but didn’t yet have a dress to burn for the footage. Weeks later, at the end of February, they linked up with Wiggy to shoot the video they had planned, filming once again at Gus’s apartment. It’s clear that “your favorite dress” was special to Gus and Tracy: they mixed it multiple times before release and made sure the video fully realized their creative vision. “CASTLES II” features some of Gus and Tracy’s most commercially successful songs. At the shows they played together throughout 2017, these tracks were performed to loud, animated crowds, and they remain just as important to fans nine years on as the day they were released. - @lilpeep