An Announcment

On April 14, 2014 we put out our first episode of Talking To Ghosts called "Formal Introductions." At the time, we envisioned it as a way to highlight goth and industrial musicians we were excited about. Over the years we branched out, interviewing creatives from all sorts of disciplines: illustrators, writers, game designers, artists, and, of course, more musicians.

After seven and a half years, episode 200 will be the last episode of the podcast. It's be a fantastic ride, and we've had the opportunity to meet with and give a platform to so many interesting creatives. Now, we've decided we want to create a new platform for the artists and creators we love.

We're starting Berm, a magazine that aims to provide a platform for artists, writers, and creators with broad and diverse views of contemporary art and design.

We want to thank you for coming with us on this podcasting journey over the last several years. We hope that you'll continue to come along with us as we set out on this new adventure. You can sign up for updates to be notified by visiting our website berm.world

Your ghosts,

Michael Kurt & Wesley Mueller

Ten New Releases for Bandcamp Friday (Today!)

Bandcamp Friday is here again! This month we’d like to highlight some previously featured guests with new releases that we are either looking forward to or already jamming!

youryoungbody - eXcess

youryoungbody are a duo from Seattle that we interviewed in Michael’s car before their show back in July of 2019. Their new EP eXcess is out today!

Amulets - Blooming

New album from Portland’s own tape master and recent The Flenser signee Amulets! We interviewed Amulets way back in 2018 for Episode 100.

Lingua Ignota - Angus Dei

Brutal Power Violence but also beautifully operatic and symphonic? Lingua Ignota is the master and these pandemic releases have been gems of interstitial content. Check out our interview with Lingua Ignota (also from 2018!)

Lower Tar // Sigsaly Split - L.A.U.R.A 002: Severe Breakaway

Vancouver-based techno duo and warehouse ravers Sigsaly have been one of our favorite bands of the last few years. They were also a joy to interview at a coffee shop in Portland in 2019!

Lota Leona - Slí Chonamara

We had the opportunity to interview Lota Leona right before she moved to Ireland. “Slí Chonamar” is a beautiful piano and field recording standalone track that really captures a time and place for Lota Leona.

Ganser - Look At The Sun

It’s no secret we love Ganser - we’ve had them on the show many times! This new remix album has been a joy to see slowly unfold.

GLAARE - Your Hellbound Heart

No secret, GLAARE is a powerful live band. Their first release was a killer and this new album, which is out in April, is an interesting and exciting shift in sound. We talked to them at a now demolished music venue here in Portland in 2018.

Youth Code / King Yosef - A Skeleton Key in the Doors of Depression

You know we love Youth Code. New album is coming out in just a few days!

Kanga - You and I Will Never Die

We spoke with Kanga in the basement of the Star Theater here in Portland in 2017 and we thrilled to see a new album announced for 2021!

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - The Helm of Sorrow

This is Michael. I’m not going to say I saved the best for last because I am genuinely excited by all the releases on this list, but fuck is this new ERR & Thou EP good. “Hollywood” is such a great track that I can’t believe it. Check it out. We interviewed Thou in a different Portland coffee shop on an early 2018 morning.

Remix Our Theme!

For the Talking to Ghosts 100th Episode we would like to reach out to friends and fans to remix our theme song!  

There are no restrictions on genre or style, but please keep in mind that it is for a podcast where we talk a lot, so a nice fade out point at the end would be ideal.

Due Date: 01-08-18

Length: 15-20 seconds

Format: .wav

Notes: -3db room for mastering

Contest details:

The first place remix will be the main theme played in the very beginning!

For second place we will use the theme for transitions between segments.

Then, the third place remix will be used for the outro.

Please send a link to your remix (dropbox, Google Drive, etc) to: talkingtoghostscast@gmail.com with the subject line “100 Episode Remix”

We will link to your project in the description of the episodes and on our website!

Download remix kit here

Poltergeists: Special Voidstar Productions Edition! Week of September 7, 2015

Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes share tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks. This week Kathleen Chausse of Voidstar Productions shares tracks she’s excited about for Voidstar’s upcoming festival!

Author & Punisher - “Cauterize”

The first time I saw Author & Punisher live was at Halloween Industrial Festival in 2012. I was working door for the event; I was also making funny faces at the guy who was across from me at the band merch table. I went into the main room to check out the performance of who was on. The guy I was making faces turned out to be Tristan of Author & Punisher. I stood there in awe of how he became a machine. It was a fascinating transformation. I went to see him again years later in Burlington. His show evolved and included visuals beyond himself. It was still brutal. His sound was so massive it made the paintings shake. Fast forward to Cold Waves festival last year. Even in a massive venue, he owned the room and your attention. I'm excited to have him back at a Voidstar Festival and to hear new material from his latest album.

End.User - “Path of Violence (Submerged Remix)”

End.user is one of the acts that really stood out to me at C.O.M.A 4 festival. That festival was the first industrial festival I attended. It really opened my mind to the different genres and sounds in our thing. I remember dancing so hard to Iszoloscope and get punched in the back of the head three times and yet still dancing my hardest. I remember panting for breath after that, then End.user went on. I forced myself to keep going and dance right through. Now, it feels like it's become full circle. From the first festival to booking him for a festival! At this performance, End.User will be joined by Kurt Submerged of Ohm Resistance label as a special treat for the festival!

High-Functioning Flesh - “The Deal”

Voidstar booked a last minute show with High-Functioning Flesh on their first tour to the east coast. It was really great seeing that show come together and getting to experience their energetic stage presence. It confirmed our plans to book them at the festival. When we announced that they were playing festival, Jared, one of DJs, requested hearing this track on our event wall. Here's a small shout out.

Edward Ka-Spel & Mark Spybey - “Self-Loathing by Numbers“

The Bowles Given, Side A, 2011, Dead Voices On Air 2oth Anniversary Series

Mark Spybey was one of artists at the last Voidstar festival. I spent the weekend telling him awful puns. Somehow, he ended up finding it endearing. He was kind enough to gift me one of the 7’ singles. Edward Ka-Spel has such unique delivery in his vocals, and if it's not his vocal delivery that catches you he'll get you with the lyrics. Ka-Spel is always bringing interesting poetry to the table which compliments Mark Spybey's signature ambient soundscapes. I'm looking forward to having this artist, and seeing how long I last before making a bad pun.

Episode 34 - Live! with Paul Barker

We have a very special episode for you today! This episode was recorded in front of a live audience after our showing of Industrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay, which if you've seen the film will provide some context for some of our discussion. We talk about industrial music's history, the upcoming Lead Into Gold, and how Barker ended up making the popular Malekko synths.

You can find Talking To Ghosts on Facebook and Twitter.

Download this episode

Poltergeists: Special Volt 9000 Edition! Week of June 15, 2015

Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes share tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks. This week, they’re joined by Cory from Volt 9000.

Cory Gorski (Volt 9000)

Seeming - “Eyes of Extinction”

Once in a while, a track will take you by surprise. Not just in its rhythm and melody but in its overall beauty. It shakes you. It stirs your emotion when you don't want it to. It inspires and scares you. This is one of those songs. The melody is there, as are the complex-yet-simple formula and construction. However, lyrically it shines: It paints an environment both beautiful and tragic. Painful, but not without hope. It's rare that a song will bring tears to my eyes, not because of the emotion put into the performance (although that certainly is present and well executed) but from the poetic use of words and structure. That is a rare thing, which I both celebrate and bow to.

††† (Crosses) - “Bi†ches Brew”

I adore brooding and atmospheric yet catchy and structured music. Dark pop, if you will. However, it's rare to find a well-blended mixture of both fun and gloom. All too often it falls onto only one side of the spectrum. Chino Moreno's side project, "Crosses," nails the perfect in-between with the track "Bitches Brew." Trippy yet poppy. Mellow yet emotional. Structured hooks with gorgeous sound design and production. Simple harmonies accomplished with unique instrumentation. Slow and dark melody. Hopefully, the masses can look past the multi-genre merging and accept the music for what it is - pop music with a unique edge not often found within the mainstream. It might seem a little pedestrian to some, but after a year I am still constantly playing this song. That alone says it all.

Michael

Candle Nine - “ii. (Experiencing a Delay)”

I first heard Candle Nine on a trip to Chicago. We were in the promoter’s car killing some time, waiting for traffic to die down on the way to his place from the airport. The promoter asked if we wanted to stop somewhere for coffee and I said that I would love some good coffee after a long and boring flight from Portland. He took us to Dunkin’ Donuts…which pretty much sums up the trip in general. But! He was playing Candle Nine’s first full-length album, “The Muse In The Machine,” which I immediately found deeply emotional and complex. I’ve been a fan ever since! Candle Nine’s newest EP, “Transport in B♭ Minor,” follows the same roots into a new ambient direction. “ii. (Experiencing a Delay)” has a great internal rhythm through the ambient soundscapes and washing drone tones. The bandcamp tags are: Alternative, IDM, Indie, Industrial, Noise, Rock, Chicago - but I think that fans of Ambient Black Metal and Neofolk would definitely groove on this EP.

Wes

A$AP Rocky - “L$D (LOVE X $EX X DREAMS)”

It was only a matter of time before I had to write about hip-hop. I have listened to the new Rocky so much over the past two weeks that writing about anything else would be dishonest.

While I enjoy this song, it isn’t my favorite song from the album; I think it demonstrates an interesting thing that is happening in hip-hop right now. There are a lot of younger artists that are moving away from traditional rap in favor of a fusion of traditional rap with a sort of singer-songwriter influence. You can see this influence in the recent music of folks like Tyler, The Creator or Childish Gambino. I think it’d be easy to dismiss it as R&B and leave it at that, but I think that this would be missing the point. For example, in “L$D,” Rocky isn’t just singing; he’s using rap cadences and rhyming patterns with a melodic delivery to do something that is different from the sources you might expect as being inspiration. This trend of mixing influences is an exciting change in a genre that has allowed the commercial side to turn it into an ouroboros.

Poltergeists: Special Animal Bodies Edition! Week of May 3, 2015

Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes share tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks. This week, Vancouver's Animal Bodies took some time to lay out some tracks that they've been bumping.

Them Are Us Too - "Eudaemonia"

Them Are Us Too (TAUT) present the premiere video for "Eudaemonia" off of their debut LP "Remain" on Dais Records, 2015. http://www.daisrecords.com http://www.facebook.com/themareustoo

We played with Them Are Us Too a few weeks ago and I have been listening to this ever since. Everything about this song is absolutely beautiful. Music that you can close your eyes too, feel yourself floating through and be reassured by is such a rare and special thing. During my adolescence, it was terribly easy to fall in love with so many songs and feel a personal and deep connection with them. Those songs put their arms around me, comforted me and pulled me into them in a way that made me feel like I made as much sense as they did. As I left my adolescence behind it became harder to share those same moments with music. Maybe my understanding of music changed; perhaps it became too analytical, too jaded… Or maybe life’s distractions and interruptions managed to get in the way too often. Maybe I just listen to too much shitty dance music now. Whatever the reason, it feels like that kind of song happens less despite my love of music not having faltered since I was a child. This is one of those rare and gorgeous songs that I feel entirely comfortable and understood in. And they’re wonderful people to be around.

Beta Evers - “Don’t Be Afraid”

We listened to Beta Evers often while driving from city to city on our last tour (along with a great deal of other more unmentionable, secret music) and it made for some wonderfully hypnotic night drives. This song in particular has stuck with me. There are a few synth basslines that I wish I had written: Jam On It (Newcleus), Lightning Man (Nitzer Ebb), Closer (NIN) and this one. The leveled tension that is characteristic of her songs is perfectly played out in Don’t Be Afraid and gets me totally tranced out everytime I hear it. And that soft, flute like repeating melody...

Hard Corps - “Desolation Land”

Hard Corps never received the success they deserved when they were active. For all the great bands that have based their sound entirely around the use of synthesizers, few understood how to use them like Hard Corps did. Their ability to program, layer and mix the electronics is something I rarely hear from synth based bands to the degree that they could. The sounds they coaxed out of their instruments swim elegantly between each other and blend into the perfect balance between sequenced rhythms and pure soundscapes. The science and art behind sound design on a synthesizer is often underestimated and overlooked. So too is the possibility to develop your own style of sound with an instrument that has the potential to be so unique but is often just made to sound like a few easily recognizable machines and genres. Hard Corps made their instruments sound like Hard Corps. As it should be.

Technotronic - “Pump up the Jam”

Music video by Technotronic performing Pump Up The Jam. (C) 1990 ARS Entertainment Belgium (A Division Of Universal Music Belgium)

Lately whenever I start drinking (often) I go for this song first. What’s not to like? A full, pounding 909 kit and a fairly unique sounding synth bass. Technotronic was a studio based group that spawned from the Belgian New Beat scene in the late 1980’s. I don’t have much else to say about this song other than to state the obvious; there are clearly some hidden messages buried deep within the complexities of the lyrics. And the video is pretty sick.

Poltergeists: Special ADR Edition! Week of December 29, 2014

Look: we all know that I Will Remember It All Differently was one of the best albums put out last year. As such, we decided to have friend of the show Michael Treveloni from Alter Der Ruine give us a couple tracks this week that he’s been bumpin’ on repeat.

Michael Treveloni

Nite - “I Am Not Afraid”

First time I saw Nite live I knew I had seen something big. A band like this doesn’t exist by accident. Stars aligned or whatever. I know. I saw it in the flesh. Played their album nonstop when I got home and was thrilled to feel the blanket of their live set warming my interpretation of the recorded versions. The album closer “I Am Not Afraid” melts the butter on the bread though.

The power of this song is handled delicately in that on one side the emotional charge is primed to devastate, while the other is rebuilding foundations and looking forward. Its focus and strength through a fragile emotional spectrum of overcoming something, or trying to convince yourself you are removed and ready to rebuild is why it resonates. It’s familiar territory of sorts, but they don’t offer training wheels. Unfolding over gorgeous synth driven music, the song evokes a sense of a vast, lonely expanse, from the comfort of a busy room filled with other voices. Distilled and chilling, but there’s a warmth building and when those glowing hooks come calling they land big. When you hear it under the correct conditions it will haunt you. Glad to have found it for myself.

Prayers - “Gothic Summer”

Prayers is a polarizing outfit to say the least. There’s plenty to mull over. I’m done mulling and onto digging. Simple, honest vocals merge with dark and bubbly synthpop and the combination collides through a space reserved for JCPenney commercials to a neon colored rain cloud drowning a city while a weatherman tells us to bust out our best SPFs cuz there’s a heatwave coming. In other words I don’t really know what it is about this band that really grabs me, but man do they have a grip I can’t shake.

Their songs about growing up on the streets set to dreamy synths paint pictures rarely considered. A perspective on the human front dialed in through some unfamiliar channels. Serrated angles on soft journeys. There is a lot to pick apart. If you’re looking for a jumping off point, “Gothic Summer” is a great place to test the waters.

Regular Michael

Klangstabil - “Pay With Friendship”

I chose this song for Mike T. because he is our best friend from Terminus Festival who we’ve only met once (for 3 days). After the Skinny Puppy show here in Portland, Daniel Myer from Haujobb/Architect/DSTR/everything DJed at The Lovecraft Bar and the first song he played was this crazy noise-hardcore punk-style song by Klangstabil, who I had never heard before. An Ant-Zen veteran, I should have known that I was going to love it. The song I picked is ridiculous in the best way. It is the perfect blend of positive message and joylectro - here is one of the verses for example: “I want to be free, live for today, if you live for interest, someone else is paid. I walk my line, found peace like Johnny Cash, if you are slave to the money, you go down with a crash. But you can call, you can find me anywhere, if you are asking for a friend, just call and I’ll be there, a simple thought, but you won’t understand, it’s the money on your mind and the wallet in your hand.”

Wes

The Acid - “Creeper”

I found this band by complete accident. Someone had liked a remix I put up on my SoundCloud (humblebrag) and I make it a rule to look at the music of every person who likes a track of mine. They had just reposted the album Liminal, and after listening to it, I knew I had to share it.

The song “Creeper” is oppressively minimal; percussion taps away quietly while a sub bass glides uncomfortably below the surface. This minimalism is soon joined by an up front, Elliott Smith-esqe vocal style that fulfills the promise of the song’s title, as well as more forward, snappier percussion elements that frames vocal samples, like aggressive bookends. Much like Gazelle Twin’s “Anti Body,” The Acid manages to create a sense beauty out of its discomfort.

Poltergeists: Special ∆AIMON Edition! Week of December 15, 2014

This week on Poltergeists, we have some special selections from a friend of the show, Brant of ∆AIMON!

Brant

Wrekmeister Harmonies - “Then It All Came Down”

"Then It All Came Down" is from the album "Then It All Came Down" by Wrekmeister Harmonies, out now on Thrill Jockey.

I’m cheating a little with this track selection in that it is also the entire album - an epic 34 minute composition making up Wrekmeister Harmonies’ most recent release on Thrill Jockey Records. Wrekmeister Harmonies is a musical collective lead by JR Robinson and the source of some absolutely harrowing and breathtaking works. Last year saw the release of “You've Always Meant So Much To Me,” an unexpectedly cathartic exploration of isolation and existentialism. Joined by a cast of guest musicians this time - including Sanford Parker (Minsk, Corrections House), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Ryley Walker, Chanel Pease, and more - “Then It All Came Down” acts as the more demoralized and menacing follow-up. Uneasy impressions of defeat and pastoral doom slowly creep into transcendent reflectiveness and withdrawal as distortion crackles, threatens, and eventually annihilates all remnants of light in a crushing avalanche of decay and howls followed through to a disquieting resolution. Basically a bunch of words that mean this thing appeals to every raw emotional nerve-ending in my entire being.

Dolor - “Halfway A Siren”

I actually know very little about Dolor other than through his long-time and frequent collaborations with the musician Lorn, who incidentally acts as mastering and mixing engineer on this particular album - a context not lost in this track’s penchant for gritty and precise production. The vibratory low end is blown out in glorious and lush amounts of saturation, while the blurred synth work faintly bleeds through as an anachronistic telephone rings desperately on and on. There’s an incredible amount of storytelling breathing in these inky spaces, fleshed out even more thoroughly within the breadth of the full album. My sensibilities align pretty dramatically with the smoky, late-hour, loneliness conveyed herein. And while this track doesn’t illustrate some of the quirkier synth work or haunting vocals that sets Dolor apart from his partner Lorn, it still manages to carry across an impressive amount of emotion through such humble means. Beautiful and sad, like I like ‘em.

Michael

The Legacy - “Sand and Time”

Uk melodic hardcore punk (r.i.p)

You thought it was going to be the new Neuroticfish huh? WRONG! I have had a very post hardcore/hardcore/youth crew kind of week after seeing metal shows two weeks in a row. Having just had to reload all of my music into iTunes I was very pleased to find The Legacy’s Beyond Hurt, Beyond Hell from 2008. “Sand and Time” is my ideal hardcore/post-hardcore track - it starts off nice and slow and builds with the feelings of aggression. I would definitely suggest it for fans of Defeater, Have Heart, and Verse. Unfortunately The Legacy is very hard to find in terms of what is going on with them, or if they tour, and I do not believe they are still making music together (last release in 2008 according to iTunes music store.)

Wes

youryoungbody - “Bishop”

Seattle-based youryoungbody manages to bring together some very interesting and seemingly disparate sounds to create the feel of their song “Bishop”, off their EP Hashira. There is an airiness to the percussion and the vocals that reminds me of some of my favorite tracks from The xx, while the bass and vocal sample elements are more reminiscent of bass music acts like Krampfhaft, though admittedly moving at a much slower pace than you would expect from bass music. The downtempo feel almost adds a wonderful dark atmosphere, almost but not quite witchy. There is also this interesting, unexpected touch of what almost sounds like the sort of flute you would hear in a Putumayo meditation jam, that just floats around in the background; even more interesting, the flute sound seems to fit with the dark feel of the rest of the song, avoiding the cheese I would have associated with the instrument.

Episode 6.1 - The Ghosts Go To A Show

For this special bonus episode we headed down to the Tonic Lounge to chat with some show goers, as well as James from Panic Lift and the Surgyn duo! It was a great time, and we got some good feedback from fans about how the show went.

Also in this episode: NO WRESTLING TALK. We had a great time feuding with Alex and Bruce at I Die: You Die, but we don't want to wear the bit into the ground. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go back and listen to our earlier episodes, and the I Die: You Die podcast We Have A Technical!

Talking To Ghosts is on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon!