The Black Ghosts – Feature

Somewhere deep in the crossover of ideas between electro, pop and indie, which is currently the musical tipple for a teenage generation with their feet firmly rooted to the dance floor, there are a number of gems.

These catchy, well sung and written songs harness the credibility of the good pop record without selling out the genre. Now it seems one act have made an album full of them.

The Black Ghosts are Theo Keating and Simon Lord. Theo is otherwise known as DJ Touche, producer, remixer and former Wiseguy.  Simon is ex-member of Simian (now Simian Mobile Disco) and the man responsible for uber-hit ‘We Are Your Friends’.

Formed in 2006 through a meeting on the Internet, their self-titled debut album is an assured slice of electronic beats and intensity complimented by Simon’s heartfelt and emotionally tinged lyrics. The record is melodic, emphatically produced and never strays into the increasingly common realm of electro-cheese.

The definite roles of Simon and Theo are what sets The Black Ghosts apart from many of their contemporaries and gives their sound its distinctive feel, as Theo explains:

“We never worked in the same studio and it wasn’t until we had nine or ten songs we decided to turn it into an album and give ourselves a name.

“Not being in the same studio was good because our roles were completely linear. The enemy of any creative process is boredom. You can have one person doing something and the other is just getting bored. By doing it this way we never infringed on each others work methods.”

It’s this focus on experimentation with no distinct goal other than producing records that gave both men chance to harness and keep focus on their specific roles in the outfit.

By structuring the recording process this way, a trust was forged between the two and it was in the essence of this relationship The Black Ghosts were formed.

“I’d do a bunch of ideas and send them to Simon and he would only pick the ones he really liked the look of. Those were the ones that got made because those are the ones he selected. So I had no input on what he wrote lyrically and he had very little input on my side. We just trusted each other and knew each other was really good at what we did. We knew the other person could do a good job and get on with it.”

Blessed with a strong, ranging and almost soul-like voice, Simon gives Theo’s productions their emotional resonance.

Tracks like ‘I Want Nothing’ and ‘Anyway You Choose To Give It’ became ‘in the know’ slices of electronic pop perfection long before the album was released, the themes of their songs hitting all kinds of intense notes from breakups, to the deeply sexual.

The pair have been waiting for a long time for a full UK release of their debut album. With some of the tracks finished for nearly a year it has been an agonising wait as Simon explains.

“We actually finished the tracks first before even deciding we’d release an album.  It’s been finished for ages. But record companies thought it would be better to take a little time before releasing it which has been frustrating.”

It’s this wait that has allowed the pair to maximise the album’s full potential by touching up tracks where needed and making sure the entire product was up to the desired standard.

Simon said: “We wanted to make a record that worked as a whole, rather than a collection of singles. We are hoping people don’t listen to the singles and think OK this is good, but leave it there. The album was designed to be listened to as a whole thing, listening to one record on its own wouldn’t make much sense.

“The singles we have put out are quite accessible. The album is dare I say a harder listen.”

This wait has given the couple chance to hone their live performance, something they had chance to perfect on a recent tour of the US.  Theo explained the American audiences are receptive to Simon’s singing as it replicates the live element in hip-hop, with relationship between the DJ and the MC, but the British audiences are much more in tune with the spirit of the dance floor.

Simon said: “There is a DJ thing which tailors it to the dance floor but there is a huge element of live performance which people will always respond to. English audiences are more accustomed to what a night-club is. British crowds have much more of a liberal attitude to movement, which means it works a bit better.”

It’s this diversity in performance which makes The Black Ghosts equally at home in the minds of indie kids and clubbers alike. Using vinyl, CDJ’s and laptops to create live loops and an inherently adaptable set, The Black Ghosts keep the spirit of live performance firmly intact.

Couple this with an image which borrows the neon chic of the electronic generation with a gothic, skeletal, hooded, signature dress you have the complete package. Identifiable by the vocally distinctive and danceable production, but defined by something a lot rawer and sinister in lyrical and visual content, The Black Ghosts are electro with a big dark twist.

“We try to make ourselves quite visual", said Theo, “so when we did our first photoshoot we didn’t just want to do a shoot of some blokes in parkas slouched against a wall. We didn’t want to create an image we couldn’t maintain. What we went for is quite a simple and effective look.”

The image has led to people branding them as goths, something the duo are particularly keen to avoid.

Theo said: “It’s not like we said, ‘oh we want to look like undertakers’ or anything like that. We just wanted to look like believable humans.”

Whilst the imagery emblazoned on their artwork contains skulls and bats, it’s done with an air of cheekiness that removes them from anything too deeply gothic or sinister.

Their use of the visual is compounded by the fact each of the 11 tracks on the album is accompanied by a music video. The dark themes are enforced by a good use of black and white imagery that give the album tracks a whole new life on the screen. The duo’s use of cartoon on ‘I Want Nothing’ is a psychedelic 2D, Tim Burton style piece. This is the standout video along with ‘Repetition Kills You’, (which features Damon Albarn on vocals) a similarly dark and odd affair set in a laundrette. This weird imagery provides the duo with a real kudos in a genre saturated by sub-standard videos. Along with the quality of the record it helps to set The Black Ghosts apart from many other electronic artists.

With a number of US dates coming up, followed by a four huge gigs in Britain at The End (Aug 8), Creamfields (Aug 23), Fabric (Aug 29) and Bestival (Sept 6), the summer is a busy one for Simon and Theo.

With a set tailored to both smaller and larger venues The Black Ghosts are a breath of fresh, yet slightly darker air across the dance floor.     

The Black Ghosts debut album is out now on Southern Fried Records.

Words: Thomas Frost

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