ghost town
Joana Aderi: vocals, electronics, keys
Urs Vögeli: guitar, lap steel, arrangement
Claude Meier: basses, synthesizers
Lukas Mantel: drums, percussion
Authenticity is important, but so is ambivalence. It’s sort of a game to me. It’s important to have respect towards the original material, to know its roots, and not to just have a picture of it which was crafted by todays’ music industry. At the core of it all is my own approach to things. It’s about being subversive, authentic and ambivalent at the same time. This gives the listener the possibility to find their own interpretation of our music. – Urs Voegeli
After seven years spent humanising and resuscitating Techno and contemporary Pop hits, the group decided to veer off into old-time American classics. With their third full-length offering entitled “No Depression in Heaven”, they dug out a slew of regional, American hits – most of which were penned in the late 1800s and early 1900s – and gave them a full makeover. In the process they also upgraded from an instrumental trio formation to a vocally driven quartet, by adding the extremely unique and versatile vocalist Joana Aderi to their line up.
All the members of Ghost Town are seasoned Jazz musicians who, for different reasons, decided to apply their skills to anything but, what would be considered traditional Jazz. Their feeling for groove and extremely high musical aptitude shows in their improvisational fluency, the immediacy of the sound and a natural sense for pulsating polyrhythms. At times, the material found here hinges on something of an afro-beat-esque swing, while simultaneously redefining the parameters of a traditional, “roots” American twang. If that wasn’t enough, the whole thing is layered with a patina of textured, percussive, liquid electronics. To call this anything but an original Ghost Town sound might prove to be quite a challenging feat.
The songs that became“No Depression in Heaven” come from a rich, thoroughly researched and cherry picked selection and could have easily filled up another stack of full length vinyl discs. The material was compiled by band leader and guitarist Urs Voegeli. Urs modified and rearranged the originals, in some cases only keeping the lyrics and giving the music a full work-over.
further releases as Ghost Town Trio:
