In the three years that have passed since the release of Ghostly’s Idol Tryouts compilation, Ghostly and its brother label Spectral Sound have branched out beyond their roots in Ann Arbor under the guidance of Sam Valenti IV, who has built a shamelessly diverse roster of artists from around the globe. Idol Tryouts Two is an expansive document of this maturation, offering a plentitude of exclusive material separated into two discs distinguished as Avant-Pop and SMM.
Avant-Pop denotes a distinct brand of off-center pop treasures - it follows no formula, but you know it when you hear it. On this disc, exclusive tracks from Skeletons & the Girl-Faced Boys, Mobius Band, and the rest of the Ghostly roster document the crossroads where the avant-garde and the popular converge. Matthew Dear and Dabrye also appear, foreshadowing their respective sophomore LPs (both due in 2006) and the label's stylistic movement into the future.
SMM is a mysterious acronym (Sensual Machine Music? Stately Modern Melodies?) that encompasses music of a more enigmatic nature, with an emphasis on textural and melodic nuance. This collection follows in the tradition of Ghostly releases by Twine, Aeroc, Lusine, and Kiln, with friends of the label such as Loscil (Kranky), Richard Devine (Warp) and Terre Thaemlitz (Mille Plateaux) contributing exclusive tracks.
Adorned by the iconic BoyCatBird mascots of rogue Detroit designer Michael Segal, Idol Tryouts Two is Ghostly's most fully realized statement yet, a split-brain affair, over two years in the making, that offers a full spectrum of artists who show us the beauty of the machine, inside and out.
01 SOLVENT - AN INTRODUCTION
TO GHOSTS
02 MATTHEW DEAR SEND YOU BACK
03 OUTPUTMESSAGE SOMMEIL
04 SKELETONS + THE GIRL-FACED BOYS FIT
BLACK MAN
05 KILL MEMORY CRASH PRESS + BURN
06 DABRYE MAGIC SAYS
07 MOBIUS BAND ELECTRONIC PIANO
08 DANIEL WANG BERLIN SUNRISE
09 CHARLES MANIER BANG BANG LOVER
(ORIGINAL)
10 BENOIT PIOULARD THE DEPTHS & THE
SEASHORE
11 SOLVENT SPIN CYCLE
12 LAWRENCE WASTING A FALL
13 MOBIUS BAND THE LOVING SOUNDS
OF STATIC (JUNIOR BOYS REMIX)
Solvent is Zimbabwe-born Jason Amm, a robot music composer, analog synthesizer fetishist, and co-founder of the renowned Toronto-based Suction records label.
Detroit’s Matthew Dear, the first Ghostly/Spectral artist has run the gamut from techno to modern pop, creating a distinct voice in both genres.
A prodigious young producer, Virginia’s Bernard Farley creates a familiar but inspired sound with a unique melodic palette and a penchant for shuffling rhythms.
SKELETONS & THE
GIRL-FACED BOYS
The out-pop of midwesterner Matt Mehlan (and his Girl-Faced Boys) continues to evolve, creating some of the most beautiful and catchy leftfield music of our age.
The Chicago duo, best known for their acerbic electro-industrial storms, and have honed their craft into a sleek, punishing sonic mélange, and have become a remix team to reckon with.
Brooklyn trio Mobius Band are masters of electro-pop song craft - having toured extensively and releasing their own EPs before joining Ghostly.
Michigan resident Thomas Meluch is fascinated by decay. After a decade of recording, he continues to foster a delicate sonic density underscored by pop song structures and an exaltation of happenstance. He records for Kranky.
The (still) long-hidden Manier breathes life into the proto-ebm sound of yesterday, all analog sneer and back-alley vagrant charm.
Hamilton, Ontario's finest, Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark, are the torch-bearers of the sincere electronic pop sound. dazzling leitmotifs and plaintive vocals are their calling card.
VINYL EXCLUSIVE
DC-based duo Manhunter delivers their unique brand of heavy dance music, with elements of Italo Disco, Baltimore Club and Detroit Techno. Keeping it distinctive with and army of wild pitch synths and a full-on sweaty live set.
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
A genius amalgamation of guitar rock and bedroom programming, Dykehouse (born Michael Dykehouse) is a one-man army of musical ideas and innovation.
01 LOSCIL UMBRA
02 DERU STRAIGHT SPEAK
03 SYBARITE SANCTUARY
04 CEPIA RAMP
05 CEPIA HOARSE
06 KILN ISTHMUS
07 GREG DAVIS AMARANTHINE
08 LUSINE + DAVID WINGO LOCKS
09 AEROC A LITTLE SOMETHING
10 CHRISTOPHER WILLITS COLORS SHIFTING
11 TERRE'S NEW WUSS FUSION LOVE ON
A REAL TRAIN (RISKY BUSINESS)
12 TWINE GLIDING IN ON
13 TIM HECKER SUNDOWN6093
14 RICHARD DEVINE MURMAN
Loscil (a compound of ‘loop’ and ‘oscillate’) is the alias of Vancouver’s Scott Morgan, whose output is based on the idea of representing abstract, scientific concepts in a musical form.
Deru (aka Benjamin Wynn) is from Chicago and lives in LA. He thinks about sound as he falls asleep, after he falls asleep, and when he wakes up in the morning.
A true sonic visionary, Devine has been one of the foremost voices on the experimental electronics scene for nearly a decade, transmitting sonic ingenuity from his home studio in Atlanta.
A music archivist by day, Minneapolis-based Huntley Miller’s craft lies in the layering of clicks and drones held together swarms of melody and knotted kick drums.
A student of sound design and music history, Seattle’s Jeff McIlwain has developed his own visceral, melodic take on electronic music, collaborating here with film composer David Wingo.
Sybarite is a project of Xian Hawkins (and friends), who fuses electronics with an ability to force instruments into submission with a strong compositional sensibility and distinct voice.
As Aeroc, Barcelona’s Geoff White merges concordant drones with graceful guitar patterns and glitch-inspired rhythms to create a world of lush atmospheres that is entirely his own.
Vermont’s Greg Davis wears his love of sound on his sleeve, using an unending array of sources to craft delicate, captivating sonic structures.
San Francisco-based Christopher Willits has released his unique sound of by intricate guitar harmonies + processing on labels such as New York’s 12K and Japan’s Plop.
The work of the beguiling Terre Thaemlitz (based in Kawasaki, Japan) critically explores identity politics including gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race.
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Deadbeat is Montréal’s Scott Monteith, who continually strives to create music that honors the past by infusing the digital tools of the present with the magic of human imperfection.