Lusitanian Ghosts III now out! Album release concert at Teatro Taborda, Lisbon, Oct. 14th

The third album by chordophone collective Lusitanian Ghosts was released in September 2023, heralded by the latest new single, “September”. The album will be performed live at Lisbon’s Teatro Taborda, 19:30 in the evening of October 14th. Tickets available via SeeTickets: https://www.seetickets.com/tour/lusitanian-ghosts

Recorded on 2″ 24-track tape at Clouds Hill by Sebastian Muxfeldt, assisted by Schulie Pieper, the albums were mixed in stereo and glorious mono mixes down to 1/4 inch master tapes which were then cart-wheeled straight into Soundgarden Tonstudio next door to be mastered by none other than Chris von Rautenkranz.

On Lusitanian Ghosts III, our chordophone collective was made up of:

Neil Leyton – vocals
Mikael Lundin aka Micke Ghost – vocals and Viola Amarantina
João Sousa – drums and Adufe
Abel Beja – viola Terceira and backing vocals
António “ToZé” Bexiga – Viola Campaniça
Janne Olsson – bass and Viola Beirão

Produced by Neil Leyton and Mikael Lundin
Recorded at Clouds Hill Studios, Hamburg
Engineered & mixed by Sebastian Muxfeldt
Assisted by Schulie Pieper
Mastered by Chris von Rautenkranz at SoundGarden Hamburg

All songs written by Neil Leyton and Mikael Lundin except “Pure Evil” by Bexiga/Leyton/Lundin.
Published by Lusitanian Music Publishing.

Cover painting ”Hamnen” (The Harbour) by Yngve Forsberg, painted in 1989.
Photography by Katja Ruge.
Design by João Morais aka O Gajo.

Listen here:

IIIStereo – https://ffm.to/okeod1d

III mono – https://ffm.to/qnrneve

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 Quixotic” sophomore album Nov. 19th. The show is the third live concert this year following the collective’s return to the stages, first in Évora, Portugal, in August and then Future Echoes in Norrkoping, Sweden in September.

Lusitanian Ghosts released the “Never Less Than Lonely” EP last October 15th. Tickets for the Nov. 2nd show can be bought via BOL: https://www.bol.pt/Comprar/Bilhetes/101447-lusitanian_ghosts-forum_luisa_todi/

Listen to Never Less Than Lonely here: https://lnk.to/neverless

“Soul Deranium” is Lusitanian Ghosts’ Summer single ahead of new album release November 19th

International collective Lusitanian Ghosts step out of the shadows with new single ‘Soul Deranium’, an instant summer anthem intended as a “protest song for the ages”.

The chiming, finger-clicking single comes ahead of new album Exotic Quixotic (out November 19th) and follows the April release of the LP’s title track; a rallying song for artists marking the anniversary of Portugal’s non-violent uprising against dictatorship in 1974.

Central to ‘Soul Deranium’ are resonating chordophones – ancient Portuguese instruments the Ghosts resurrect as the basis of their melodic, seductive 21st century rock n roll.

Set to breezy rhythms, this apparently blithe clap-along evokes classic Marc Bolan and T.Rex tracks, complete with ambiguous, sometimes unsettling lyrics which offer much to reflect on; gun violence, gender stereotypes and the hangover trauma of the Trump presidency.

“We’re fully aware ‘deranium’ is not a real word,” says Lisbon-born, Canada-raised musician Neil Leyton, who takes lead vocals on the track, written by Swedish multi-instrumentalist Micke Ghost. “Micke’s English is a lot better than he makes it out to be but he has a knack for making up pseudo-English words in a really funny way.”

Ghost says: “I was singing ’21st century boy’ and ‘soul deranium’ or something like that on the demo that I sent Neil but never intended it to be a part of the lyrics. Then I got the finished song back, Neil was singing ‘deranium’. That’s when I asked if it was an actual word.”

“I often write lyrics based on the sounds of Micke’s Swedish humming on our demos,” rejoins Leyton. “’Deranium’ came from there and to me it sounds like it could be a condition, a sort of uranium poisoning leading to deranged, enlightened, ultra-inspired and potentially psychotic behaviour.”

“Not that any of our songs compare, but if Marc Bolan can sing about Telegram Sams and Cosmic Dancers,” says Leyton, “I wanted to open our new album with a song about someone engaging in ludicrous amounts of Clockwork Orange X-rated self-indulgence, all for the toppermost possible good of humanity – all entirely made up, of course. But still, in its own way: a protest song for the ages. You are invited!”

Listen here: https://lnk.to/deranium

Lusitanian Ghosts release new single, “Exotic Quixotic”, celebrating creativity and humanism on the anniversary of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution

Exotic Quixotic Single

Lusitanian Ghosts issue ‘Exotic Quixotic’, a rallying anthem for artists and dreamers to “fight the good fight” in the face of rising populism.

The international collective release the defiant, uplifting track to mark the 47th anniversary of the  Portuguese Carnation Revolution when civilians took to the streets against the fascist regime which had held the country in an iron grip for almost half a century.

Just as the revolution was first signaled by a radio broadcast of the now-iconic Grandola, Vila Morena by the banned folk musician José Afonso, ‘Exotic Quixotic’ celebrates the value of artists, musicians and creativity at a time when concert halls, theatres, nightclubs and bars have been silent for many months.

The track is the lead single from Lusitanian Ghosts’ forthcoming album Exotic Quixotic, which is set for release in September 2021. Recorded at Clouds Hill Studios in Hamburg with Sebastian Muxfeldt, it follows Lusitanian Ghosts’ 2019 self-titled debut LP, a “must-listen”, according to No Depression, for fans of “provocative, intellectually stimulating rock music”.

This autumn’s LP will see the collective, which hinges around Lisbon-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Neil Leyton and his Swedish counterpart Micke Ghost, journey deeper into their recasting of forgotten traditional chordophones as the basis for literate, 21st century indie rock.

For now, Ghost takes lead vocals on ‘Exotic Quixotic’, the springtime anthem also featuring the voices of Sasa Vipotnik from Slovenia’s AKA Neomi, Finnish author-musician Petri Leppanen and Joana Negrão from Portugal’s Seiva.

Lusitanian Ghosts collective members Vasco Casais, Claudia Teles and João Sousa shot the footage for the lyric video in their respective regions of Torres Vedras and Setúbal as they could not travel beyond their municipality due to pandemic restrictions. Watch it HERE.

“I don’t speak Slovenian or Finnish, so I can’t tell you what Sasa and Petri are saying,” says Leyton, who wrote Exotic Quixotic’s lyrics, “but what Joana is saying is that, even though it’s hard to be an artist day-in, day-out, she is fighting the good fight and she’s proud of that.”

He continues: “Exotic Quixotic is an ode to being an artist in a digital century threatened once again by the rise of social-media powered populism. We chose to release it close to the 25th April, the date of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. I was just three years old when the Portuguese army hit the streets, on cue, triggered by a José Afonso song. Not that any of our songs compare, but we hope it will send vibes of strength and courage to every artist currently enduring this pandemic.”

‘Exotic Quixotic’ is out on 23rd April 2021 via European Phonographic.

International Deluxe Edition release date: August 23rd

Lusitanian Ghosts’ debut album will be released in Germany on August 23rd. This International Edition will be available in digital formats as well as gatefold vinyl LP and Deluxe Edition CD, distributed via Broken Silence.

Produced by Ricardo Ferreira and recorded at Canoa Studios in Portugal, the album was mastered by John Golden in California and sees its German release on the European Phonographic record label ahead of the artist collective’s showcase performances at Live at Heart Sweden and Reeperbahn Festival Germany.

Oil on canvas cover art by Alexandre Alonso.

The Lusitanian Ghosts vinyl LP and the painted cover art received support from DGartes. / O disco em formato LP bem como a pintura a óleo para a capa do álbum receberam um apoio à edição da DGartes: