For Tony Konstone, Jessy Rose and E-Knock, home has always been Dublin. They were raised in Ireland, they met in Ireland, and their friendship grew into a band with a sound that in many ways could only have developed in Ireland.
‘Friends around us were getting involved in chaos and problems,’ says E. ‘But we tried to be strong enough to keep out of that and focus on positive things, like our passion for music.’
Both were keen skateboarders, and E was already producing his own music by then, with Tony soon following suit. Then in 2013 they met Jessy at a skate park. ‘Skating was a very alternative thing,’ Jessy explains. ‘You just didn’t get many black skaters.’
Accomplished musicians, Hare Squead not only write and produce their songs, they also play everything themselves. E started playing percussion at the age of two, then taught himself keyboards because he wanted to play in church. Bass and guitar soon followed. ‘It just came naturally,’ he says modestly. ‘It’s the only thing I’ve been really good at.’
Jessy says he’s always been able to sing, but he taught himself guitar, and wrote his first song at the age of 12, to attract the attention of a girl at school. (It worked.) Tony, meanwhile, was writing out the lyrics to his favourite raps, analysing how they worked and flowed, before getting into bedroom production with friends.
But to really understand what they’re about, they insist, you have to come see their explosive live shows, where riotous moshing and stage-diving is encouraged, and the band turn into men possessed. The video to their infectious first single, If I Ask, gives a hint of what to expect.
‘When we’re onstage, we don’t force anything at all,’ says Tony. ‘Whatever we feel at that moment, we let it go: anger or happiness.’
‘What we’re about is bringing people together,’ adds Jessy. ‘We want it to feel like one huge party.’
Their new track, 'If I Ask' is our Play Irish track of the week!
