Esben and the Witch
BIOGRAPHY
Esben and the Witch are a curiously creepy indie rock three piece from Brighton, numbering Rachael Davies on vocals and percussion (who spells her name the cool way), Daniel Copeman on electronics and guitars, and Thomas Fisher on guitars and keyboards. He used to be a hospital porter, y’know – just like me! Anyway, they’re the first ‘new’ band we’re throwing our weight (which after a big christmas binge is now quite considerable) behind in 2010. So they’d better be good.
They are. Taking their name from a gruesome Danish fairytale, they draw inspiration from “glaciers, caverns and waning moons” as much as they do Scott Walker, Kate Bush and Portishead. So far, apart from a track on a Dance To The Radio split, there’s just one release of much substance out there – a self released four-oh-go-on-five-if-you’re-being-generous track EP called 33 – but we’d expect something more meaty relatively soon.
After playing their first gig in their hometown’s Freebut venue just last year, in their short lifetime they’ve played shows with the lives of The XX, Deerhunter and Fiery Furnaces, and one could say that a blend of those three sounds would get relatively close to what Esben and the Witch are after without being too far off the mark.
Mostly, above meticulous detailing of their history as a band, they seem to enjoy mystery – rather than a biography, they post on their MySpace the text from the aforementioned eponymous fairytale in full. A combination of it and the music probably tell you most of what you need to know for now if we’re honest. Those two things alone are enough to get very excited by – not to mention a little frightened.
UPCOMING GIGS:
5/1/10 – White Heat @ Madame JoJos, London
4/2/10 – Hobby Horse, London
7/2/10 – The Prince Albert, Brighton
9/2/10 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
10/2/10 – The Harley, Sheffield
11/2/10 – The Deaf Institute, Manchester
12/2/10 – Library, Lancaster
13/2/10 – The Jericho, Oxford
LINKS
Bandcamp – download the band’s 33 EP for free!
FEATURES
Have a look at Dan Monsell’s heart-warmingly enthusiastic original ‘Sounds on the Ground’ piece on the Esbens.
VIDEOS: