latest news
“Live Ghosts” album and special performance with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra announced!
Chordophone collective Lusitanian Ghosts have announced a new live album, "Live Ghosts", coming...
Lusitanian Ghosts: 2025 news!
Chordophone Rock n Roll collective Lusitanian Ghosts greet the new year with some exciting news...
“Lusitanian Ghosts III” released in Germany February 9th 2024!
Lusitanian Ghosts' third album, recorded and mixed on analogue tape at Clouds Hill in Hamburg and...
about us
// biography
Lusitanian Ghosts features ancient Portuguese chordophones and other European string instruments, promoting ancient sounds in the 21st Century.
Re-casting these heritage folk violas into rock n roll songs, the artist collective writes from a socio-political perspective on building a better world, creating songs from and for the heart and the mind.
It is a musical project that mixes indie songwriting with traditional Portuguese instruments like the Beiroa, Campaniça, Braguesa, Terceirense and Amarantina guitars – or violas as they are called in Portugal: each with its own string arrangements and tunings.
Lusitanian Ghosts was founded by Neil Leyton and Micke Ghost, when Leyton took a viola Amarantina from Lisbon to Stockholm; Leyton then decided to make an experimental album mixing the various regional Lusitanian (Portuguese) chordophones with their usual brand of singer-songwriter rock n roll.
The collective gathered at Canoa Studios in Portugal, with producer Ricardo Ferreira, and recorded ten songs, featuring Leyton on bass as well as the viola Beiroa; Micke Ghost on the Amarantina; Vasco Ribeiro Casais aka OMIRI on the Braguesa and Nyckelharpa; O Gajo on the viola Campaniça; and Primitive Reason’s Abel Beja on the viola Terceira. In the absence of Lil’ Ghost, who would join later, Ricardo also played the viola Toeira: making it 6 regional chordophones on this unique record.
Along with the debut album there is a feature documentary film that also interviews several chordophone experts who explain why most of these Portuguese ancient instruments became forgotten – almost extinct – over time.
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These historic instruments… they are the real Lusitanian Ghosts.
discography
// digital . lp . cd
Lusitanian Ghosts
(Lusitanian, 2018)
Lusitanian Ghosts (Deluxe Edition)
(Lusitanian, 2019)
Lusitanian Ghosts (International Edition)
(European Phonographic, 2019)
Lusitanian Ghosts OST
(European Phonographic, 2019)
Exotic Quixotic
(European Phonographic, 2021 / LP Version 2022)
// digital singles
Blossom
(Lusitanian, 2014)
Trailer Park Memories
(Lusitanian, 2018)
Trailer Park Memories (Swedish Mix)
(Lusitanian, 2018)
Past Laurels
(Lusitanian, 2018)
Godspeed to You
(Lusitanian, 2018)
The World
(Lusitanian, 2019)
Let it Soar
(European Phonographic, 2019)
// streaming platforms
Apple Music:
www.applemusic.com/lusitanianghosts
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4hAly1SkX6rGWvbS3O6IVJ
Deezer:
https://www.deezer.com/pt/artist/6877433
Order via mail-order paypal to: music@lusitanian.pt
LP: 20 € plus shipping: 5 € for EU, 8 € for R.O.W.
CD: 15 € plus shipping: 3 € for EU, 5 € for R.O.W.
Please be sure to specify what album you are after and include the address where we should ship to.
concerts
“Live Ghosts” album and special performance with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra announced!
Chordophone collective Lusitanian Ghosts have announced a new live album, "Live Ghosts", coming...
Lusitanian Ghosts on the road in Portugal!
Celebrating the release of the vinyl LP and Digital Deluxe edition of "Exotic Quixotic",...
Lusitanian Ghosts live at Forum Luisa Todi, Setubal, Nov 2nd 2021
Lusitanian Ghosts will perform a live show in anticipation of the release of their "Exotic...
Lusitanian Ghosts @ Sibelius
. Lusitanian Ghosts, via Lusitanian Music Publishing, promoted the first international exhibition of Portuguese Chordophone regional folk instruments November 16-21st 2021 in Turku, Finland.
The violas Amarantina, Beiroa, Braguesa, Campaniça, Terceira and Toeira were on display telling the history – and the quasi-disappearance – of these unique Portuguese instruments.
The selection of instruments exhibited are a small part of the personal collection of Marco Vieira, founder of the Alentejo Traditional Music School, displaying for the Finnish public excellent examples of each regional chordophone instruments, from several regions of Portugal. Also, Marco Vieira took 10 viola Campaniças for a very special playing workshop and was joined by several members of the public as well as local musician Rami Helin – to whom he gifted an instrument establishing more permanent links between Portuguese chordophones and new international musicians playing them.
Working with local curator and journalist Matti Komulainen, the exhibition also featured the Lusitanian Ghosts documentary film and a concert series with live performances from Lusitanian Ghosts, Bicho Carpinteiro, Raia, A Cantadeira, Marco Vieira e O Gajo.
. A Lusitanian Music Publishing promove a primeira exposição internacional de Cordofones regionais populares portugueses, de 16 a 20 de novembro, em Turku, Finlândia.
As violas Amarantina, Beiroa, Braguesa, Campaniça, Terceira e Toeira serão os instrumentos protagonistas numa exposição no Museu Sibelius a relatar a história – e o quase desaparecimento – destes singulares cordofones lusitanos.
A seleção dos instrumentos expostos, que fazem parte da coleção de Marco Vieira, promotor da Escola de Música Tradicional Alentejana, revela ao público Finlandês excelentes exemplares de cada cordofone regional, representando várias zonas geográficas de Portugal. Marco Vieira leva ainda consigo 10 Campaniças para conduzir um workshop de introdução e formação para jovens tocadores Finlandeses que queiram experimentar a viola Campaniça.
A exposição é inspirada no coletivo de artistas Lusitanian Ghosts, que em 2019 editou um álbum que pela primeira vez reunia todos estes cordofones num mesmo disco, num contexto de rock n roll internacional cantado em Inglês. Este colectivo Sueco-Lusitano recebeu o convite através do curador Matti Komulainen, e expandiu depois a sua atuação convidando por sua vez mais 5 artistas ligados à inovação do folk nacional. Assim, para além de um concerto singular de Lusitanian Ghosts no auditório do Museu Sibelius, a mostra irá contar com performances de 18 a 20 de novembro, com Lusitanian Ghosts, Bicho Carpinteiro, Raia, A Cantadeira, Marco Vieira e O Gajo.
This project was supported by DGartes. // Esta apresentação no Museu Sibelius é apoiada pela DGARTES.
contacts
// get in touch
