Esben the Witch make claustrophobic music for those nightmares that haunt you long into the following day. Dark, gothic, broody and icily serene, this is a sound that goes well with macabre tales, eerie happenings and things that go bump-bump-bump in the night. The original Esben the Witch was a Danish fairy tale about a small boy battling a nasty witch, so this sound, with its crackling electronica and slow, sweeping guitars, is a perfect fit for the name.
The musical Esben the Witch are a trio of youngsters from the dark side of Brighton. While you might imagine that they all live together in some gloomy, ramshackle mansion with creaking doors and cobwebbed windows, who knows, Daniel Copeman, Rachel Davies and Thomas Fisher may well live in well-appointed flats with sea-views, washing machines and Ikea furniture.
There have already been a couple of entries in the ETW catalogue. Last year, the 33 EP – songs about “literature, nature and sorrow” to quote the band – caught many ears. They’ve just released a single for the Too Pure Single Club, featuring two more examples of their ethereal ennui-fi, and have found plenty of takers for their sound on tour with
The xx, Deerhunter and Icelandic knitting fans Amiina.
As to what inspires them, ETW already do a fine line in enigmatic quotes, citing “places on ancient maps, lost cities and the people who lived in them, desolate plains, glaciers, mountain tarns”.
We shouldn’t expect to hear the “we make our music for ourselves and if anyone else likes it, it’s a bonus” chestnut from this band any time soon.
- www.myspace.com/esbenandthewitch
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