Ghostkeeper are back after a brief break to raise children and write a new album.
The Calgary based experimental rock band also have new band members and a more electronica based sound.
They play The Slice, Oct. 30 with Sleepkit in support of a new seven inch single of “Oceans” and “Medicine,” which is a teaser of a new full length album to be released in early 2016.
It has been a while since the duo of drummer Sarah Houle and frontman/ guitarist Shane Ghostkeeper played Lethbridge.
“ It has been about three years,” said Houle as her three-year-old son chatters in the background., who steps out from behind to take centre stage with her partner Shane Ghostkeeper as Eric Hamelin has since joined the band with multi-instrumentalist Ryan Bourne.
“Ryan plays with the Devonian Gardens and Chad Van Gaalen as well as Sleepkit. He’s a pretty expressive musician so he has helped a lot with the writing process,” she said, noting because Eric Cameron is now the band's drummer as well as plays a keyboard sampler pad it has freed up Houle to play electronic drums and sings half of the new songs.
“We’ve become really interested in percussion and we have more of an electronic music sound now,” she said.
“We’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop and different DJs,” she added.
The full length album will be a concept album, for which Houle and Ghostkeeper tell the story from two different characters’ perspectives.
“It is about two Metis, Sheer Blouse and Buffalo Knocks living up north who are battling a pipeline,” she said, adding Sheer Blouse is a medicine woman while Buffalo Knocks is a benevolent warrior.
“There are a lot of elements in it. We’ve been able to tell a story while making some really fun art,” she said.
She noted it has been change being centre stage.
“ It’s been a challenge,” she said.
“There are a lot of textures,” she continued.
They took some time off to build a studio in their basement and record the new album around their son’s bedtime.
“We planned it so after Patel's bedtime, we could go downstairs and record without disturbing him,” Houle said.
“We recorded a ton, now we’re excited to play some shows again,” she said, adding the new CD will include brand new songs and older songs like the two singles, which they have had for years.
They are excited to begin the tour in Lethbridge.
“We always have a good time in Lethbridge and they have a nice stage,” she said, adding the set will include the singles and possibly a few more new songs.
“ Shane's mom lives in Lethbridge now, so we’ll be bringing our son, so it will be a family thing,” she said.
“Things are definitely different with the three-year-old-then the last time we were there,”she said.
There is a $10 cover for the show, which also features Sleepkit at 9 p.m.