Tag: lusitanian ghosts

Posted on

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

Posted on

Shameless! 2nd single from Lusitanian Ghosts III now out!

Lusitanian Ghosts released the 2nd single off their upcoming third album this month of June. With lead vocals by Micke Ghost, here is the story of the song:

“We were having a photo shoot with Katja Ruge at Clouds Hill in Hamburg and she was telling us over and over again to look fierce. So there I was, lookin’ all fierce when this really cool, post punkish bass line appeared in my head. It just kept going so as soon as we had a little break I took Janne aside and asked him to play it on the Rickenbacker bass. When I heard it I started singing ”Shameless” to myself and quickly gathered Abe and ToZe to play some chords, Johnny to play some rhythm on his knees and Neil to sing some backup. The song kind of wrote itself and pretty soon we were all singing Shameless from the top of our lungs during the photoshoot. It couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes from when I heard the bass line until it was finished. We recorded it really quick pretty much live off the floor right after the photo shoot was over. Sometimes you get lucky. Shamelessly lucky! “

Shameless https://ffm.to/x5mke41

Mixing Shameless with Muxi at Clouds Hill:

Posted on

Lusitanian Ghosts’ new single: “The Long Train” out March 31st 2023

“The Long Train” is the first single from the upcoming “Lusitanian Ghosts III” album.

Recorded and mixed on analogue tape at Clouds Hill Studios, it features the violas Amarantina, Campaniça and Terceira in glorious mono and stereo versions, bringing a new vintage chordophone rock n roll sound from the Ghosts.

Neil Leyton describes, “The Long Train is a song celebrating freedom, celebrating life, celebrating the act of setting yourself free so that you may reach that transcendental level of commitment that only comes with true love.” Confusing? “Oh, and it’s also about storks!”

Recorded at Clouds Hill Studios in Hamburg, tracked on a Studer A820 2″ analogue tape machine, mixed down to 1/4 inch tape on the AEG Magnetophon 15 A including both stereo and mono mixes, one can already picture what lies ahead in the Fall for the release of “Lusitanian Ghosts III”…

“The Long Train” features in its cover artwork a photo by Swedish photographer Stina Wigg. Engineered by Sebastian Muxfeldt, assisted by Schulie Pieper at Clouds Hill; mastered by Chris von Rautenkranz at SoundGarden Hamburg.

Pre-save: https://ffm.to/pomne3o

Lusitanian Ghosts at Clouds Hill, by Katja Ruge – January 2023

The Lusitanian Ghosts collective, 2023 – from L to R:

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

Posted on

Lusitanian Ghosts on the road in Portugal!

Celebrating the release of the vinyl LP and Digital Deluxe edition of “Exotic Quixotic”, Lusitanian Ghosts perform several in-stores at FNAC Sessions as well as two live concerts in Portugal this week:

Lusitanian Ghosts FNAC Session Showcases

#lusitanianghosts #exoticquixotic #DGartes

Posted on

Lusitanian Ghosts’ “Exotic Quixotic” with LP Release Nov. 4th!

After several production delays and two returned test pressings, we are happy to announce that the LP version of “Exotic Quixotic” is almost here!

Pre-sales can be ordered via FNAC Portugal: https://www.fnac.pt/Lusitanian-Ghosts-Exotic-Quixotic-LP-12-Vinil/a9469968#omnsearchpos=3

Folks in Germany should also look out for the LP to be distributed by Broken Silence distribution: https://brokensilence.de/en/artists/detail/?artist=lusitanian_ghosts&i=5225

This month will also see two new digital singles of the title track, “Exotic Quixotic”, sung in Portuguese by Joana Negrão (Seiva, Cantadeira) and in Polish by Misia Furtak!

Stay tuned for live show announcements in Portugal before the end of the year.

Posted on

New album “Exotic Quixotic” out today on all digital platforms!

Chordophone collective Lusitanian Ghosts release their sophomore album “Exotic Quixotic”, recorded at Clouds Hill in Hamburg, Nov. 19th 2021.

Listen here: lnk-to/exoticquixotic

Here’s what people are saying:

“Magnetic appeal… the band’s creative strength lying in its flexibility and ability to cast the net wider sonically. They are creating a broader cultural and sonic arsenal, while maintaining a buoyancy that takes the listener on a fantastic ride from start to finish” ~ The Spill Magazine 

“Lusitanian Ghosts impressively channel tools of the past to create a beautiful sonic vision for us listeners now. Innovative in their use of traditional instruments to make clearly modern pop-rock, this music is upbeat, quirky, feels familiar and is catchy as hell. The fact that this is entirely performed with traditional instruments is mind-boggling” ~ Big Takeover Magazine

“Highly melodic and sonically great with applaudable production, for music performed with classical instruments, this is a pertinent, contemporary collection of songs that is full dignity, the artists’ remaining true to their values and ethics” ~ Amplify Music Magazine

“Warms the heart and nourishes the soul… a crooning catharsis, a rush of adrenalin, that gleams and mediates whilst chasing utopian fantasies through the interval of stripped down acoustics and clapping beats” ~ The Manc Review

ALBUM CREDITS
Neil Leyton: Lead vocals
Mikael Lundin: viola Amarantina, backing vocals, bass, Mellotron, viola Campaniça. Lead vocals on ‘Exotic Quixotic’ and ‘Hometown’
João “Johnny” Sousa: drums and Adufe
Vasco Ribeiro Casais: viola Braguesa
Abel Beja: viola Terceira
Jan-Eric Olsson: bass and viola Campaniça
All songs by Neil Leyton and Mikael Lundin aka Micke Ghost
Published by Lusitanian Music Publishing
Recorded at Clouds Hill Studios, Hamburg
Engineered and Mixed by Sebastian Muxfeldt
Produced by Neil Leyton and Mikael Lundin
Mastered at Soundgarden by Florian Siller
Cover Illustration by Johan Lindberg Brusewitz #exotic quixotic #Lusitanian Ghosts

Posted on

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

Posted on

Lusitanian Ghosts’ sophomore album “Exotic Quixotic” set for a Nov. 19th release date!

Lusitanian Ghosts’ second album, recorded at Clouds Hill in January 2020, is finally set for a digital release Nov. 19th, to be followed by the vinyl LP at a date yet to be announced.

The release will be preceded, this October 15th, by the latest single “Never Less Than Lonely”, which vocalist Neil Leyton recalls “was the first record written for the new album, we actually pondered playing it live back in 2019 before the pandemic hit.”

Lusitanian Ghosts will celebrate the release of “Exotic Quixotic” with a live-streamed concert from Forum Luisa Todi in Setubal “which is like our second home, Vasco (aka OMIRI) and Joana Negrão from Seiva live there, as do my half-brother and sister” explains Leyton. More details regarding the live-streamed concert will be announced soon.

Meanwhile you can pre-save the single and album, pre-following Lusitanian Ghosts on the following links on the platform of your choice:

https://lnk.to/neverless

Cover photo of Maria Narcisa Ribeiro.

https://lnk.to/exoticquixotic

Exotic Quixotic cover by Johan Lindberg Brusewitz.
Posted on

“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

Posted on

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.