Cover Art: Cosima von Bonin, "Thrown Out Of Drama School", 2008 Tweed, Towelling, Cotton, Silk, Metal, Leather, Plastic. Courtesy Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne / Berlin.
Dear Friends,
You have been very kind this year so far.
We are going to release a 12inch on Dial Records with the formerly unreleased track "The Shadow", featuring remixes by Pantha Du Prince and Carsten Jost. You can listen to our version above. The same methods as on "Thrown Out Of Drama School" were applied,
therefore all signals were derived from a prepared piano and the human voice.
Thank You.
All Manner Of Thing Shall Be Well.
A bientot,
Phantom/Ghost
Esther Buss on "Thrown Out Of Drama School":
On Thrown Out Of Drama School, the duo travels light through a cheerfully upbeat world full of amicable malcontents, dallying dream-dancers and carefree loafers. Yet despite this terrestrial cast and the cutback instrumentation of the songs -- (prepared) piano and vocals -- Thrown Out Of Drama School is an exceedingly festive affair, real red-letter day music. Their common passion for the made-up, the thrown-together and the weird and wonderful has paved the way for Phantom/Ghost for the last ten years, and now they have arrived at a point where a dalliance with artificiality, mannerisms, exalted quotations and theatrical poses can be observed in its purest form: on the stage, in drama school, behind and in front of the velvet curtain. Even though Thrown Out Of Drama School is no "real" high-school musical, it loosely follows the concept of a musical -- a small and fantastical concert with nine compositions, albeit with a few rough edges. Even before the curtain rises, a timid waltz resounds. The introduction to "The Charge Of A Light Brigade" is a squint copy of an English march, with all the military rigour removed. "Thrown Out Of Drama School" is uptempo and bawdy -- a frolicsome ode to the art of willful dallying. Mynther's piano is caught up in close complicity with the vocals; at times as demonstratively docile and innocent as a "do-re-mi" finger exercise, only to wander off in the next moment, making a complete farce of its function as an accompanying instrument. Alongside these made-for-the-stage musical numbers, there are also songs that work on a visual level and conjure up film-like narratives. They transport the listener to far-flung regions, to Morocco, Miami, or even further, to surreal dream-worlds. One example is the musical scoring of the literary text "The Process" (after Brion Gysin) that tells of a hallucinatory trip across the Sahara. Sometimes the piano shimmers dully from the background, and then it resembles a laryngitic string ensemble, rasping and vibrating. This duet with the Berlin artist Michaela Meise (who also sings on several other songs) perfects the desert magic. Thrown Out Of Drama School pushes us into a theatre of the absurd, where you aren't sure if you're a member of the audience, or one of the players. Applause, the curtain falls.
DISCOGRAPHY:
Phantom Ghost (CD) (2001) Ladomat
Perfect Lovers Pt.1, 12"-Vinyl Single (2001) Ladomat
Perfect Lovers Pt.2, 12"-Vinyl Single (2001) Ladomat
Phantom Ghost, Album, CD ([2001]) Ladomat
Electronic Alcatraz, 12"-Vinyl Single ([2002]) Ladomat
Nothing is written, 12"-Vinyl Single ([2003]) Ladomat
To Damascus, Album CD/DoLP ([2003]) Ladomat/ Mute
Born with a nervous breakdown, 12"-Vinyl Single ([2003]) Ladomat/Mute
Three, Album, CD/LP ([2006]) Lado/Dial
Relax (It's only a Ghost) (12'') (2006) Dial
Thrown Out Of Drama School (CD/LP) (scheduled April 2009) Dial Rec.
The Shadow-12" with Pantha Du Prince Tba.
Our Videos on You Tube:
Nothing is written. Directed and filmed by Eva Könnemann.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW-XOzbxflY
Perfect Lovers. Directed by Stephanie von Beauvais, filmed by Jutta Pohlmann.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPRRZxnhWwQ&feature=related
Relax it's only a Ghost. Directed by Sandra Trostel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFMFxDTV24E
Plus
Two contributions we found we liked.
To Damascus (Bootleg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NO2Xh3-jB4&NR=1
Good night lovers (cute)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7CVPa6pIYE&feature=related
More Information On Our Friends:
Cosima von Bonin at Buchholz
http://www.galeriebuchholz.de/artists.html
Johann König, Berlin: Michaela Meise
http://www.johannkoenig.de/2/michaela_meise/selected_works.html
Justus Köhncke
http://www.myspace.com/justuskoehncke
Durstewitz Sapre - Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst
http://www.durstewitz-sapre.de
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebba_Durstewitz
Our label:
http://www.dial-rec.de/
Booking:
http://www.powerline-agency.com/
For interviews and other promotional requests:
Stephan Rath, Tel. +49 (0)40-28783057
Email: stephan@soulsville.de
BIOGRAPHY
At first, Thies Mynther and Dirk von Lowtzow played tunes by John Cale and Leonard Cohen just for fun but soon their drinking coffee and playing music together turned into more: in 2001 they released their debut album Phantom Ghost on Ladomat. The voice already known from Tocotronic now sang english lyrics accompanied by electronic pop music and therefore sounded completely new. From the private conversations of cinema enthusiasts von Lowtzow and Mynther, movie references to films by Dario Argento, Brian de Palma or Nicolas Roeg made their way into the lyrics; the press wrote about the eerie back side of pop music, which only starts to shine in the dark.
In the darkness of carefully selected clubs, Phantom/Ghost played several shows which, due to champaigne glasses and grand gestures, emanated a mysterious theatrical feeling until they started covering You're my mate by Right Said Fred.
In 2003, the two busy protagonists found time again for Phantom/Ghost. The second album To Damascus (Ladomat/Mute) convinced even those who were still sceptical after the debut album. On the one hand, there were tracks that you could dance to (Nothing Is Written was co-produced with Justus Köhncke), on the other hand the bundle of references was refined (like the song St. Lawrence being a mixture of Lawrence of Arabia and Yves St. Laurent). The chief editor of the magazine Intro proclaimed their second album to be his personal album of the year and his colleagues found similar words: The whole thing in its laconical indifference and its introverted danceability seems like a man's version of Soft Cell, like an electronic Juliette Greco, which is about romantic dandys from the early 20th century, about psychedelic dreamy hymn poetry and romantical aesthetics of a very old Europe. In short: Pop music in ruby colored velvet pants.
In 2004, Phantom/Ghost wrote the music for the exhibition 2 positions at once by Cosima von Bonin at the Cologne Art Association and performed themselves in a video wearing dog masks. In return, Cosima von Bonin created the cover for Phantom/Ghost's third album.
2006 saw the release of their third album Three. Earlier, Dirk von Lowtzow had talked about the artistic aspect of some of the band's songs. On Three, this aspect becomes more apparent as the beats move into the background and Thies Mynthers piano play becomes more important. The music is entirely dedicated to staging subtle beauty and the texts are reference-laden as ever including hints to Rosemary's Baby and Willow Rosenberg from Buffy.
On Three, Phantom/Ghost insisted on their right to be a little odd. And that is a blessing in a time, in which pop music seems less mysterious than ever. Phantom/Ghost are a luxury but one which is needed in times where we are meant to tighten our belts.
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