Your music has just a haunting, almost eerie feel. I only have that feeling when I listen to some Dark Ambient stuff or watch some old “Haunted House” movies. Was that something you choose to do, to create such an atmosphere or did it just happen?

There was no design at the beginning, we were just drawn towards certain people, places and stories. We aim to evoke certain atmospheres within songs that we feel suit these subjects.

I’m sure you answered that question many times…but we need to know. Your band name comes from a Danish fairy tale, what was the intention to name your band after that particularly story? What’s the connection between your music and this tale?

We came across the story at around the same time as we were looking to name our musical endeavours. We felt that the ideas and imagery it contained were a good fit for the music we were making and now the two seem to have become entangled.

I heard that some people called your music “Nightmare Pop” or they even put you under the “Witch House” label, would you agree with them? Would you say it is necessary to label music to attract the right people?

Nightmare pop was a term someone once used to describe our music. At the time we quite liked it, but that was two years ago and now it seems a little outdated. As for Witch House I must say I see very little similarity between that and what we are doing.

In your songs you deal with rather dark and sombre stuff like diseases (Argyrie, Chorea) or the Greek goddess of revenge (Erinyen). In my opinion that sort of connects you with the Goth Scene. Would you agree?

These are things that we find interesting, inspiring and that move us to write. It must be said that we don't feel connected to any particular goth scene, or any other scene for that matter.

I actually see your music as a continuation of what the old Goth or Dark Wave bands of the 80’s did. More in terms of what feeling you create than musically. You really fit into this world much more than most bands who are actually divine themselves as Goth these days. What do you think about that?

The comparisons to various bands from the 80's is flattering. We are not especially familiar with many of them and have listened to them as a result of being compared to them.

Some of your song titles imply a concept of violence, the revenge goddess I have mentioned before, or titles such as “Warpath” or “Marching Song”. Do you have fascination with violence? Would you say that music is the most violent art of all?

We don't have a particular preoccupation with exploring violence, although seeing these references written down it does suggest that we have at least a passing interest in it. Violence is worthy of looking into because it is fascinating to translate into music and because it evokes such strong feelings and emotions in people.

I’m pretty sure that literature is a major influence. Could you name some of your favourite writers and books?

The Crystal World, The Master and Margarita and Steppenwolf were all influential around the time of writing the album.

Who’s the one that takes care of the visual concept of the band? And what is your intention with it? I mean everything seems to fit together very well, how important is the visual concept for you?

All three of us take care of the visual aesthetic, it is very important to us. We all feel that by surrounding the music with interesting artwork, videos and curios it is possible to create a more enveloping experience, a world that people can immerse themselves in, thats the goal I suppose.

I really dig your videos to Warpath and Marching Song. Can you tell us something behind the concept of these clips?  Who got the ideas for it? Are there some stories behind?

The video concepts were both ideas that we felt fitted either song, I'd prefer not to go into too much detail though in the interest of not giving too much about the songs away. We worked together with David Proctor and Peter King on both of them and are very happy with the results.

I hope you understand me right, but the thing that impresses me most in your music is everything that doesn’t happen. I mean there is a lot of space in your songs; they almost seem to breathe in a special way. There are not many bands around these days who know how to do that, or to arrange songs this way. How do you achieve such a sound? Most musicians tend to play too much. Is it difficult to keep that space in your music?

It was something we were keen to explore on the record. There are also moments that are dense and claustrophobic, we are interested in shifting dynamics very quickly. From visceral thrashes and walls of noise to sparse, delicate parts, one extreme accentuating the other.

Why you choose to cover Kylie Minogue’s “Confide in me”? That seems like an odd choice in the first place, but actually does work really well.

That was something we did a few years ago. At the time we didn't have enough material for a particular set so the afternoon prior decided to play that. We obviously like the original but as our version was filmed and put up on the internet it has received a surprising amount of attention.

What’s your favourite “Esben” song so far, and why?

Its impossible to pick one song out. I am most proud of the way that the album stands as a whole, the way the tracks are sequenced and work together.

Mine is the B-Side “Done Because We Are Too Menny”, could you tell me a little bit about that extended track?

It was inspired by a character in Jude the Obscure called Father Time. It was one of the first songs that we ever wrote.

How do you work on songs? Do you write them as a team, or is there one person in the band who’s doing the main writing? Is there a “plan” when you start a song, or you just play around some idea and see what happens?

It is a very collaborative process. It tends to start with one of us having an idea, that can be anything from a guitar part, lyric, drumbeat, anything like that, and then the other two getting involved and sharing their thoughts and making their mark. From there the tracks can develop to a point where the original idea has disappeared.

What can we expect from you live? And what’s with the stuffed owl you have with you on stage. I saw that on youtube and it really made me curious.

We aim to make the live show as intense as we can. The owl was stolen from stage recently. We have taken this as a sign to take the stage adornment in a different direction.

Have you seen the Jack Black video in which they played him one of your songs?
What are you going to say when you receive your Oscar? ;-)

I have indeed seen that video. I'm not entirely sure what a musical oscar is but when we win one I shall be sure to dedicate it to him.

I just found out there will be a ltd. Edition of Violet Cries, what’s on the bonus disc? I couldn’t find a track list anywhere.

The bonus disc has Skeleton Swoon, Lucia, They Use Smiles To Bury You and a 65 Days of Static remix. I think it is only available in the UK I'm afraid.

Last one…What are you planes for the rest of the year? More releases? More Touring?
Any plans of coming to Vienna?

We have a few ideas but our thoughts are mainly on touring at the moment. We will be playing in Vienna on the 27th of May and are very much looking forward to it.