The Story Behind Narcissistic Basilisk
From the Shadow of an Old Cement Factory
During week three of the RhPf Touring Board, the board arrived in Biel/Bienne at the rehearsal space of Monti and Dan from Crawling Crows. The idea behind the Touring Board has always been simple. We send a pedalboard out into the wild and let musicians live with it for a week so they can explore the pedals in their own environment and share their music through our platform in a way that feels natural to them.
With Crawling Crows, that week quickly turned into something quite interesting.
Monti and Dan began experimenting with the pedals during their week. They explored different combinations and pushed sounds into directions they had not explored before. During one of those sessions, a riff emerged that felt strong enough to develop further. The core of that sound came from the Basilisk, while the other pedals on the board helped shape the atmosphere around it.
Over the following days, the idea kept evolving. The experiments they started with the Touring Board gradually turned into the foundation of a new track.
Two Crows. Not Too Gentle, Not Too Rough.
For those who have not come across them yet, Crawling Crows are a two-piece band from Biel/Bienne built around the chemistry of Monti on guitar and vocals and Dan on drums. Their music carries the raw directness of rock ’n’ roll without unnecessary polish. On stage there are only two musicians, yet the sound feels far larger than the lineup suggests.
Monti’s guitar moves between rhythm, texture and melody while Dan drives everything forward with grooves that give the duo weight and momentum. That balance between grit and space gives Crawling Crows their character and makes their music feel alive in a room.
A One-of-a-Kind Basilisk
When Monti and Dan told us that the track growing out of those sessions would be called Narcissistic Basilisk, Simone immediately felt that the moment deserved something special. The story had started with the Touring Board and a riff built around the Basilisk, so it felt natural that the pedal itself should become part of that story.
She designed a unique version of the Basilisk inspired by the track and by the visual world of Crawling Crows. We built the pedal from that design and sent it to Monti and Dan before the single was released.
This pedal is not a limited edition and not part of a special run. We made a single piece, and it now belongs to them.
For us, that gesture felt like the most natural way to acknowledge the path from a week of experimentation to a song that carries the name of one of our pedals.
From Riff to Release
Not long after that, the track was released.
Narcissistic Basilisk is now available on streaming platforms and has become one of the newest additions to the Crawling Crows catalogue. Hearing how that original riff evolved into a finished track meant a lot to us. The Touring Board exists to place the pedals into real musical situations, and moments like this show exactly why that idea matters.
A Small Note About Streaming
When Monti and Dan talked about releasing Narcissistic Basilisk, they also mentioned something that more and more musicians are discussing openly. Not all streaming platforms reward artists in the same way.
Most listeners never see it, but the difference between platforms can be significant.
| Platform | Approximate payout per stream |
|---|---|
| TIDAL | ~$0.012 |
| Apple Music | ~$0.008 |
| Deezer | ~$0.006 |
| Amazon Music | ~$0.004 |
| Spotify | ~$0.004 |
| YouTube Music | ~$0.003 |
Because RhPf works closely with musicians and cares deeply about the music community around us, we decided to make a small change on our side as well. Where possible, we will begin linking TIDAL versions of songs on our website instead of Spotify, and we have already started transferring our playlists there.
This change costs us less and sends a little more back to the artists who create the music.
Streaming will never replace the value of buying music, going to concerts, or supporting artists directly. Still, if a small change in where we listen can help musicians a bit more, it feels like an easy decision.
Pick you favorite platform and give it a listen: