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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Esben And The Witch
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 7 October 2009
Named after a dark Danish fairytale, Brighton residents Esben And The Witch describe their sound as ‘nightmare pop’, and claim inspiration from “literature, nature and sorrow”. They self-released their debut EP, ’33’, earlier this year, and return with a new single on Dance To The Radio this month. On 14 Oct they will support the also very buzzy Mothlite at The Lexington in London. We spoke to guitarist and keyboard player Thomas Fisher to ask our Same Six Questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
We started making music when Thomas met Daniel. At that time Daniel was happily producing obstinate music alone in his bedroom, the two combined and decided to enlist Rachel, an old acquaintance of Thomas’. We never had any particular ambitions other than enjoying ourselves and trying to craft some interesting music. Over time it has all developed into something more exciting and enveloping…
Q2 What inspired your latest single?
Our self-released five track EP, ’33’, was inspired by many things: literature, nature and sorrow to name but three. We have tried to combine personal experience and emotion with intriguing stories, concepts and imagery to create something unique.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
It varies to be honest, it’s usually a patient process as we try to allow the tracks to develop as much as possible. Invariably, it seems that the best ideas reveal themselves gradually over time. Sometimes one of us will bring an idea, whether it be lyrics, a guitar line, a drumbeat or even simply an idea or interesting concept and we will then all work on it together. Whilst we all share a closely aligned vision we all bring slightly different elements to the table.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Collectively we’d say that the following have all been influential: Scott Walker, The Cure, Deerhunter, Bjork, British Sea Power, Our Brother the Native, PJ Harvey, Wild Beasts, Health, Sian Alice Group, Errors and Joy Division.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
It’s difficult for us to give any particular advice to someone listening for the first time, the fact that they’re listening in the first place is good enough for us! We certainly wouldn’t want to say too much, it’s important that the music can be heard clearly after all…
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single, and for the future?
We do, of course, harbour ambitions to record an album in the future. Apart from this we are looking to continue playing more and travelling further afield in order to do so. We have a host of wonderful shows approaching in London, Brighton, Sheffield, Oxford and Manchester. We also have a new track that is due to be released as part of the Dance To The Radio 4×12 series and are very much looking forward to hearing the finished product.
MORE>> www.myspace.com/esbenandthewitch
