Witches are a six-piece rock band from Oxford. They combine trumpet, glockenspiel, accordian, harpsichord, analogue synth and anything else they can lay their hands on to create a rich and diverse sound.
People often find Witches hard to describe, however they have been known to sound like a cross between Sparklehorse, The Flaming Lips, Low, and Yo La Tengo.
The debut album Heart of Stone continues to be warmly received by journalists and radio stations the world over. The second album is well underway, with several songs ready and more being written.
As well as winning Jack.fm's Next Big Thing competition in April 2009, Witches have been played on Tom Robinson's 6Music Introducing show, with regular live sessions and interviews recorded for BBC Oxford Introducing, Jack.fm, 107.9 and many other stations across the UK and beyond.
Witches played the main stage at Wychwood Festival 2009, played at Cornbury Festival 2009, headlined Charlbury Riverside Festival 2008, played at Truck Festival 2007 and have supported acts like Bleech, Little Fish, Kid606 and The Sugababes.
Lineup
- David Balch (drums)
- Benek Chylinski (trumpet/percussion)
- Jo Edge (bass/vocals)
- David Griffiths (vocals/guitars)
- Martin Newton (guitars/vocals)
- Richard Thomas (keyboards)
Notable notes
- 2005
- David Griffiths enlists Dave Balch, Tim, and Richard Thomas to form Witches
- Benek Chylinski joins
- First gig, with Oxes and Glaxosmithkline
- Dan Burt joins
- 2006
- In the Chaos of a Friday Night EP released
- Taking Myself Home Again - Dead As A Ghost single released
- 2007
- On the cover of Oxford music institution Nightshift
- Heart of Stone album released
- Audioscope07 in support of Shelter
- 2008
- Tim leaves
- Dan leaves
- Martin joins
- Jo joins
- Headline slot at Charlbury Riverside Festival
- Witches promo EP
- Witches cover Nobody Does it Better for BBC Radio Oxford Introducing's Children in Need A Quantum of Covers compilation album
- Audioscope08 in support of Shelter
- 2009
- Witches win Jack.fm's Next Big Thing competition
- Main stage at Wychwood festival 2009
- Riverside stage at Cornbury festival 2009
