Cusk

Cusk is the alt-rock group fronted by duo Esmé Creed-Miles and Evie Hilyer-Ziegler. The pair met at an improvisation night at the Moth Club in 2023 and soon became close friends and collaborators, drawn together by a shared instinct for making music that is raw, exploratory, and emotionally direct.

Their process is intuitive. Songs begin as fragments: voice notes, poems and melodies caught in passing, with full songs taking shape through a process of playing together. Evie and Esmé's musical chemistry is characterized by their juxtaposing playing styles. In the space between Hilyer-Ziegler's precise, melodic string work, her sirenesque vocals and Creed-Miles’ slackened rhythm guitar and androgynous lyrics, there exists a spectrum of character and femininity. Their songwriting dances along this spectrum, playfully contrasting impulse and control, quiet intimacy and sudden intensity.

Creed-Miles approached and enlisted Jorge Elbrecht (Sky Ferreira) to co-produce the first batch of demos. These sessions would come to form the bulk of their inaugural EP. Whilst further working with artist / producer / mix engineer, Thad Kopec, another session bore the anarchic, Brian Jonestown Massacre inspired track, Dooms Banjo.

Since their first show in April 2024 at The Windmill, Brixton, Cusk have quickly become a presence on the London music scene, having also supported DIIV, Geordie Greep, and Tiberius B. They also completed a nationwide support tour with The Murder Capital.