New music to listen to this week: Holy Esque

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Holy Esque (Ronan Park 2015)

Shivery, haunting vocals and big riffs: Holy Esque hail from Glasgow and they're gearing up for the release of their debut album, as well as an appearance at Great Escape.

Frontman Pat Hynes has a remarkable voice; there's a raspy, urgent gasp to it that really hits the spot.

There's a fair bit of hype building around these guys as well as a touch of scepticism around a supposedly 'mysterious' image (they're basically not that into social media) but they handle it well. Watch the exclusive video premiere for their single "Hexx" below.

Listen if you like: PAWS, The 1975, Wild Smiles

Q&A with Pat Hynes from Holy Esque

The video for ‘Hexx’ is incredibly intense – how did you go about putting it together and what inspired you to make it?

Usually when the time comes to create an accompanying video for a new song we would have a DIY approach and would try to explore something different on each occasion. This time we have done it very differently with the help of film maker William Kennedy.

The result is a breathtaking and extremely intense insight into young love. 'Hexx' touches on love, the fear of losing real and heartfelt things close to you and finally the repeated negative habits of a character, eventually leading to demise, destruction and the paralysing inability to find an escape.

These elements are all perfectly captured here - the video is visually striking and emotionally colossal. It's a very fitting piece to a song which is charged, driven and ultimately in sync with the final chaos of the closing scenes.

Which contemporary artists have you been listening to recently?

Benjamin Clementine, 'Junun' by Shye Ben Tzur, Kurt Vile.

What was the first gig you ever played, and what’s been the best so far?

The first gig we ever played was in a club in Glasgow called The Flying Duck. The sound was rough, we could barely play but there was something there. There was an energy and you could tell the sound had potential. I couldn't sing but tried and we came off thinking, “Wow. That was fun.”

It's difficult to name a gig that beyond all was the best moment for us. Every time we play Glasgow the intensity increases and you can see people starting to emotionally invest in it. It's always great there but another gig stands out.

We were playing an EU tour opening up for The Raveonettes a few years ago. The sound failed in the opening track, I snapped a string on my guitar - without a backup and there was just general disarray.

Luckily, The Raveonettes guitar tech re-strung my guitar in 60 seconds flat, we fixed the sound and went onto play one of the best shows we ever have to this day. There was a real sense of underdog accomplishment so it will always remain in memory as one of the finer moments.

The album At Hope’s Ravine is out on 26 February via Beyond The Frequency. Pre-order here

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