Live Review: Hare Squead show us 'Pure' unique Irish hip-hop

Irish imaginative rap and RnB trio HARE SQUEAD have released a video for their new soulful track ‘Pure’.

Although Ireland does have a rising a hip-hop rising scene, the phrase "hip-hop trio from Dublin" is still pretty rare to hear. Hare Squead are in fact exactly that, and this fresh track goes way above anything we could have imagined.

Comprised of three 20-year olds from Dublin, Hare Squead are defiantly making their mark on the Irish and European music scenes. Mixing RnB, hip-hop, soul and pop into a wayward identity, Tony Konstone, Jessy Rose and E-Knock have created themselves an extraordinarily fresh and unique sound.

Playful soul epitomises the trio's music, with an energy that is both thoroughly modern and yields a piece of hip-hop's origins, making a declaration to rap's borderless renaissance. This playfulness extends to the name "Hare Squead," which is a rework "Square Head", paying homage to all three of them having had flat top haircuts when they met.

‘Pure’ displays an exploration of a variety of vocal styles and techniques, shapeshifting “esques” around their fusion of influences.  A vocoded, auto-tuned chorus first serenades us, smoothly transitioning into astonishingly articulated soul-infused rap verses. As vocals and words tenderly bounce back and forth, minimalistic and temperate sonic production waltzes with sensitive percussive beats to lead ‘Pure’ to a finale of blues and gospel tones.

In this visual offering for ‘Pure’, the three artists find themselves on a mental journey on what appears to be a lengthy day of seeking out an escape. Play pooling pool and carousing through the city in a G-Class Benz, singing  “I just want to leave sometimes/ You should let me breathe sometimes”.

Hare Squead share:

"This song represents more of a serious side, we recorded it in a haunted studio in a village in Ireland where Michael Jackson used to record. We were very inspired by old antiques and eerie fields and that had a play on the whole vibe of the track. The meaning of the track is something personal, each of us has a different interpretation. Overall, we could say the meaning of the song is about how fresh love and pure intentions get twisted and messed up as we struggle and fail to understand one another. It's not a summer song. Play it on that one day it rains in the summer.”

After debuting their first Supernormal EP last year, Hare Squead's 'Herside Story' appeared as a rework on Goldlink's recent At What Cost album, leading to trio playing a supporting set for him recently in London.

With headline gigs coming up in the UK and more new music in the works, we can expect Hare Squead to stake territory on some bigger radars in the not-too-distant future.

Words by FREYA DINESEN

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