EUROPEAN SENSORIA BAND (E+S=B for short) are a well known local band from Ringsend who were formed between 2002 and 2003 after a few improvising sessions between Fergus Cullen (clarinet and lead guitar), Anthony Carroll (Bass) and David Carroll (drums).
Before forming E+B=S they were members of successful punk bands Wormhole and Memory Cells, who had great success in Ireland, the UK and Asia making them some of the most successful original recording bands from the Dublin 4 area in the past 20 years.
Fergus Cullen who was a long-time Wormhole fan asked the twin brothers Anthony and David if they would like to play with him at the legendary Dublin improv club Lazybird and if they would be interested in doing something new, ditching the guitars in favour of Casio keyboards and adding some electro-drumpad which, at the time, were played by Adrienne Flynn of Memory Cells.
E+S=B was born. With releases on their own Last of Our Kind label as well as Deserted Village and Ninepoint Records they have played and recorded with the likes of Japanese artists Damo Suzuki and Itaru Oki among others. Since then, taking more and more inspiration from the American free jazz scene of the 60s, E+S=B have now scaled down to a three piece line-up with an interesting yet hard to describe sort of avant-garde art sound or “weird rock”.
Their first gig as E+S=B was in Mother Red Caps and it was around the time of the SARS epidemic when the band happened to be wearing dust masks just for the craic but the audience had the impression the band were ultra health conscious. Their first recording together ended up on a compilation CD which received a great response so they decided to keep going with this new sound.
Since 2008 they have mostly stepped out of the pub scene after a narrow escape from a punk pub in Newcastle where the crowd got a bit hostile towards them after they found out they were from Ireland. Originally, the audience thought that they were from Scotland but when they announced they were from Dublin, the crowd got a bit cold and rowdy so nowadays they spend most of their time playing art galleries; a much better experience with a more receptive audience. Most of the venues change every couple of months as they move around from places like the Joinery and the Shed and sometimes in derelict buildings which have been set up as temporary art exhibitions. Dave said the great thing about playing art and photo exhibitions is that you can put up your own artistic video on walls and interesting back drops. They even on occasion get permission from film directors to use there work. If you are interested in bands like the German band CAN or maybe The Residents you will love these guys. There are also some great live HD videos online and if you are a curator or artist who would like to get in touch you can do so on their website below.
I was lucky enough to hear the latest recordings during this interview and I thought it was great; a sort of early free jazz sound similar to say Coltrane or Miles Davis but not as stuffy as regular jazz. Thumbs up from NewsFour lads. Keep up the good work.
www.myspace.com/electronicsensoriaband
