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Returned to us from early 1990s Japan are the holy holy sounds of Ghost. Their
collective, clearly inspired by various forms of transcendental music throughout
history, created a new syncretic psychedelia with these albums, mixing the texture
and vibe of multinational forms of traditional music, with strummed antique stringed
instruments and the haunting wail of a recorder on top of their heavy beats and
guitars.
The considerable depth of this approach was explored through 2014 over another
five Ghost LPs, as well as the further explorations to the present day of leader
Masaki Batoh, as a solo artist and with The Silence, Damon & Naomi, Helena Espvall
and most recently, nehan.
These first three Ghost titles were originally released by P.S.F. on CD in 1990, 1992
and 1994 respectively, radiating enigma and energy in palpable waves with their
original sound. After the acclaim that greeted Drag City’s 1996 US release of ‘Lama
Rabi Rabi’, the label quickly reissued all three on vinyl - and they quickly went out of
print. Now, it’s been 25 years since they were last offered on vinyl.
In the twenty-year sweep of Ghost history, these first three releases qualify as
primitive early Ghost - sort of like a German Os Mutantes (or perhaps a Brazilian
Amon Düül). The subterranean presence of a diversity of progressive / avant classic
rock influences (Pink Floyd, Incredible String Band, Captain Beefheart, Scott Walker,
Led Zeppelin, Popol Vuh, Third Ear Band, to name but a few) provokes further
synthesis, making for an entirely new meditation on the traditional order of
psychedelic music.
The first two studio albums, each one an iteration of Ghost’s unique lysergic folk
music, were followed by the monolithic ‘live in various places’ happening of Temple
Stone, which raised the trippiness levels considerably. But this was only the end of
the beginning.
Tracklist
Sun is Tangging
Guru in the Echo
Moungod Te Deum
I’ve Been Flying
Ballad of Summer Rounder
Moungod Asleep
Moungod Radiant Youth
Rakshu