Esben and the Witch Biography
Esben and the Witch Biography Daniel Copeman – guitar, electronics Rachel Davies – vocals, bass Thomas Fisher – guitar, keys Since forming in Brighton in 2008, Esben and the Witch have forged a sound that springs forth from minds soaked in influences far and beyond any standard set of musical touchstones. Nature and literature, art and science, history and the unknown – the trio eschews the everyday for inspiration drawn from sources weird and wonderful, as well as the occasional Scott Walker and PJ Harvey record. Announcing their arrival with the demo-cum-EP, 33, which they sold at gigs and distributed online, led to an avalanche of coverage from British broadsheets to US blogs. They followed this unexpected success with a split release on the Dance to the Radio label, contributing the track ‘Skeleton Swoon’ to a 12” in the autumn of 2009, and their first official single, Lucia, at the Precipice, saw light of day as a 7” through the Too Pure Singles Club in February 2010. Whilst their music was finding its way out there so were they. Sharing stages, both home and abroad, with a wealth of critically acclaimed artists including The xx, Wild Beasts, Efterklang, The Big Pink, Deerhunter and Sian Alice Group helped them find their feet as a live proposition. It was with the release of their debut 7” that they ventured out on their first headline UK tour and in the summer of 2010, they took their ever-evolving live set to numerous European festivals including Latitude, Field Day, Dockville (Hamburg) and London Calling (Amsterdam). The second half of 2010 also saw Esben and the Witch find a permanent home with a worldwide deal with legendary indie, Matador Records, to become the label’s only UK signing and placing them alongside Sonic Youth and Cat Power on their impressive roster.
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