Electric Ghost are preparing to release their debut album due for release on April 13th (2018) via Apollo Live.
The Scottish duo began to collaborate as an outlet from their other musical endeavours, creating a side project that has grown into something that is much, much more than just a hobby. Taking inspiration from iconic, anthemic rock bands, Sweet Wave Audio decided to write the record as if they were creating songs for film or television. With James Grant illustrating his talent for arrangements, the multi-instrumentalist produced a a collection of tracks which, in turn, he sent to Mark Sharp who later added the lyrics and melody.
The result is an album exploring themes of love, loss, hope and fear; themes we can all identify with as we traverse the difficult terrain of adulthood.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Electric Ghost about the new project, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
A: James: We decided to write an album together that we imagined would be great for TV and film soundtracks. It gave us a good starting point for musically style and various themes we could explore lyrically. Whether or not the tracks ever found their way onto and TV show was irrelevant. It was just a concept to fuel our writing. We took inspiration from acts such as Stereophonics, Bruce Springsteen and Majical Cloudz and I would send Mark and instrumental track and he would write decide that one track was a love song, one track was a breakup song etc before he had written anything. It was a unique and effective way of writing together.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
A: Mark: I met James just over a year ago when he was producing my solo project and we worked so well together we decided to do this side project. I’ve been performing my solo material for the past year and James has been composing music for TV/adverts for about 7 years.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
A: Mark: For me there’s many different influences when it comes to writing, it can come from listening to one of my favourite bands/artist or a new band/artist that I’ve discovered and even from a past or current situations or conversations that I’ve experienced or witnessed from an outsiders point of view. But sometimes even your imagination can make for a good song.
James: My first instrument is Drums but these days my main job is a composer for TV/adverts so I approach things a little differently than I would if I was still in a band. I write under the name Sweet Wave Audio and get to write music in so many different styles so I take influence from what I hear on TV as well as bands that I love. I just need to be confident that my music is as good as the next guy’s because there’s so much competition. My 6 month old daughter Joni motivates me to write music ever day because there’s tiny clothes to be bought and a small mouth to feed!
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
A: Mark: I think we were just trying to create an album with a varied emotional spectrum and well crafted music. We wanted the songs to sound like they had been written with passion (which they were) and we wanted the listener to feel something.
What was the last song you listened to?
A: Mark: The DMA’s new single ‘In The Air’
James: ‘Oh Me’ from Nirvana Unplugged In New York
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
A: Mark: Vinyl
James: I’ve recently started to collect vinyl but I used to love browsing CD’s when I was younger. MP3 sits in last place because I prefer to have something I can hold in my hand and I love reading the album booklets.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
A: Mark: It would be a toss up between Spotify and Apple Music. I think they’re both great for discovering new music and although it might not be great financial for bands it’s still a great way to get your music out there and the most importing thing is getting people to hear it.
James: I resisted for a while but finally signed up to Apple Music. I still prefer a physical product but I agree with Mark that it’s great for finding new music.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
A: Mark: I think in general there’s just not enough people out there giving unsigned acts the time of day, which is a real shame because in my opinion there’s a lot of unsigned acts out there far better than most of the manufactured music we hear on the radio today.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
A: Mark: We haven’t ever played live as this is a studio project but maybe sometime in the future if people enjoy the tunes. I play my solo shows under the name Mark Sharp and the Bicycle Thieves and James has played drums for us a few times.
James: I’m more Studio based these days but I do play drums with various acts when called upon and also with some theatre shows. I’m actually playing a gig at St Luke’s in Glasgow on 28th April. Myself and some friends are going to recreate the Nirvana Unplugged In New York concert. I’m a huge Nirvana fan so really looking forward to this one.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
A: Mark: We’re working on getting our social pages ready before the release of the album in April this year, so we should be on all the major social media sites very soon. My solo material can be found by searching for Mark Sharp.
James: My own music can be found on my website www.sweetwaveaudio.co.uk.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
A: James: I’d like to do a shout out to my wife Imogen and daughter Joni who are currently rolling about the floor as I do this interview
