The Ghostly Edition
A snapshot playlist of the Ghostly International record label roster
Ghostly: Latest Releases playlist: (Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp)
We’ve got a real run of great tunes (with visuals) on right now at the label I started many moons ago so wanted to use this space to share a few. When writing about the music we release it’s easy for me to reach for my adjective stun gun, but going to restrain myself and stick to artist quotes and reviews.
Check out plenty more Ghostly-made playlists (genres, zones, etc.) here too and 24 years of releases on our site.
Hope you find a gem in here that you like. Herb Sundays Season 6 coming soon. - Sam
Dua Saleh - “Daylight Falls” (Listen)
“It’s about healing and finding solace in people willing to listen to you in times of darkness. To encourage anyone to express troublesome feelings with someone, especially when you’re feeling at your lowest. I hope my art can be used as a tool to calm people in times of duress. My home country of Sudan has broken out into a Civil War and a number of people are dealing with the effects both physically and mentally. I’d like to highlight a non-profit organization, Darfur Women Action Group, that is working to assist marginalized communities in Sudan and in Darfur at this time.” - Dua Saleh
Kate Bollinger - “You At Home” (listen / tour)
“Dave [Longstreth] and I wrote this song together during one of my first visits to LA. I've loved his band Dirty Projectors for a long time, so it was kind of a dream to play music with him. We wrote and recorded it simultaneously the day we got together and added some extra things almost exactly a year later: more guitars, house-keys percussion, my clogs walking down the steps.” - Kate Bollinger
Mary Lattimore - “And Then He Wrapped His Wings Around Me (ft. Meg Baird & Walt McClements)” - (listen / tour)
“When I think of these songs, I think about fading flowers in vases, melted candles, getting older, being on tour and having things change while you’re away, not realizing how ephemeral experiences are until they don’t happen anymore, fear for a planet we’re losing because of greed, an ode to art and music that’s really shaped your life that can transport you back in time, longing to maintain sensitivity and to not sink into hollow despondency.” - Mary Lattimore, on her new album
Lusine - “Zero to Sixty (ft. Sarah Jaffe)” - (listen / tour)
Across the collection, McIlwain identifies the core sonic element, a vocal cut or a simple beat sequence, from which to build everything else off…It’s the bass hook on the single “Zero to Sixty,” curving around the voice of Sarah Jaffe, whose pliable range and cool delivery provide the source for Lusine’s unmistakable mapping. -Dave Sutton for us (Ghostly)
Julie Byrne - “Summer Glass” - (listen / tour)
Amid the prismatic, sycamore-key swirl of Summer Glass, Byrne makes a declaration: “I want to be whole enough to risk again.” I wonder if she is there yet? “It’s a moment to moment thing but I would say overall, I am because I’m doing this,” she says. “I’m releasing this record, about to tour – all of that is willingness to risk. But it happened gradually, and it’s still in process.” -
for The Guardian
Emeralds - “Genetic” (listen / tour)
Now remastered and packaged with seven bonus tracks, an excellent new edition of Does It Look Like I’m Here? renews a monumental modern synth record. The remaster from renowned engineer Heba Kadry (Björk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tim Hecker) brings some added depth and fullness to the frequencies… As a career inflection point and catalyst for contemporary synth music, it stands as canon. As a pure listening experience, it begs to be unrecognizable. - Patric Fallon for Pitchfork, Best New Reissue
Galcher Lustwerk - “Outside The Club (Vocal Version)” - (Listen / Tour)
Lustwerk’s defiantly unchanging beats feel charged with the knowledge that every party ends; every high fades. Eventually, the plug gets pulled, and you find yourself on a cracked vinyl seat in the back of a yellow cab, reconstructing disconnected moments already dissolving into memory. -
for Pitchfork, Best New Reissue
Helios - “Espera” (Listen)
New Helios
interview excerpt:Flow State: Have you noticed more people being interested in ambient music in the past few years? If so, why do you think that's the case?
Helios: Yes, but these things ebb and flow. I've seen little bumps here and there throughout the years as interest grows and wanes. Right now I think the trend in ambient music is more related to themes like "healing," "sleep," "wellness," etc., which I think has its place, but I think the best ambient music creates a world just like any other genre.
quickly, quickly - “Falling Apart Without You” (Listen)
“This song started out as sort of a joke, a tongue-in-cheek breakup song leaning heavy on the camp,” Jonson said. “I wanted to make something that sounded like a weird 70’s song from a different planet with the sensibilities of a blossom dearie track or something similar. I made the whole track in a night and forgot about it for a while.” - quickly, quickly via Stereogum