You won’t have to stay up until two in the morning to hear Ghostkeeper play when they return to the Slice, July 29 when they join Raleigh and their old friend and collaborator Ian Jarvis’s band Chairs.
Shane Ghostkeeper and Sarah Houle have been hard at work in their home studio simultaneously recording and writing a long awaited new album with engineer Brad Hawkins.
“I think we may be playing this one as a trio with Sarah on percussion and Ryan Bourne, who is all over the new album, but maybe Ian Jarvis will jump on stage with us. He was the multi-instrumentalist on our last full length album,” Ghostkeeper said.
He is excited to play two shows with Chairs — Thursday in Calgary and Friday in Lethbridge.
“ And Raleigh jumped on the bill too. Actually I think we jumped on their bill. But we got asked to play with two great bands,” he continued.
“ And we‘re playing early. We’ll probably be opening, so you won’t have to stay up until two in the morning to see us,” he said.
“ We’ll be playing a really short set. Maybe five or six of the new songs and a couple of the songs from the EP and the last full length. I’ll be playing the musical saw which is always a crowd pleaser and maybe Ian will jump up on stage with us. I hope so,” he said.
He is excited about the new album, which they have been working on for three-and-a-half years.
“We just got the final masters back. We were simultaneously recording and writing. This is the first time we recorded the songs and then learned them.
It’s evenly split between my songs and Sarah’s songs. They’re back to back, so it’s like John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘ Double Fantasy,’ not that it sounds like that,” he said.
Musically, the new music is more influenced by experimental electronica and hip hop music.
“It’s apocalyptic doo wop pop,” he described.
“They are activists in a fictional dystopian near future who protest against oil companies on traditional Metis lands, which is where we’re from, up north near Fort McMurray,” he said.
“They’re activists, but it is also a love story,” he said, adding it also brings together stories of residential schools and environmental degradation.
“ But we also keep it fun and magical,” he continued.
Ghostkeeper are shooting for an October release of the new CD.
Ghostkeeper is excited to play with Montreal based band Chairs.
“It’s a pretty fantastic band. Ian has been studying music for most of his life. They play more of a post-apocalyptic pop sound. They have a great guitar sound that’s solid,” he enthused.
“ Anybody who appreciates music will appreciate them. Ian is a musical beast,” he said.
Ghostkeeper, Chairs and Raleigh play the Slice, Friday July 29 at 9 p.m.
