Today marks the release of New Ghost‘s powerful new album, A Dagger in Every Tide. We had the chance to sit down with frontman Chris Anderson for an in-depth conversation about the album’s intense concept. Anderson also took us behind the scenes of the band’s creative process, shedding light on how they channel their vision into the music that fans have come to love.

Introduce yourselves and tell us about about New Ghost, and how you came to be a band? 

We are Chris, Ellie, Taran, Joe, and Nic. Collectively we’re New Ghost, an art-rock/shoegaze/prog/alternative band from Sheffield. We’ve been making music together since around 2018, and we’ve released a mini-album and a couple of EPs. 

It’s difficult to know when the band tipped over from being something that was essentially a studio based adventure, into something that actually “existed” as a group of people. I (Chris) had developed a creative relationship with John Sephton (producer) at Old Pig Farm Studios. John is very instinctive creatively, and that was really inspiring during a very difficult time. We were hidden away up in the hills of Sheffield, he and i had started working up some songs that I’d recently written, and he suggested I try and find some people to come and play on those early recordings. The initial stages of the band were very much a musical free for all. I put the call out to a few friends, and that original mini-album was the result of those calls being answered. I absolutely LOVE recording, and being locked away in a recording studio is really my idea of heaven. I’m very lucky to know some incredible musicians who were more than willing to come and play in the sandpit we’d constructed. 

As time’s gone on, the band has settled into a more “conventional” format, with less reliance on guest spots, though we do still love reaching out and getting friends to come and chuck a flavour into the pot. We’ve been able to really hone in and work on what we want to achieve sonically working as a group, which is how we’ve done things ever since that initial mini album. Being able to work on music, and craft it as a group, has really afforded us the opportunity to make more complex, dense music. In terms of what we’re doing and what we want to do – we are all just in love with creating things really. I love being around this group of people…even when we weren’t in bands, we moved in similar circles, so would orbit one another – luckily we’ve been able to channel this into something creative. They are just so incredibly talented, and the goal, insofar as there is one, is just to excite ourselves in what we’re doing. We think we make a pretty unique noise when together, so really we just want to explore that together, and see how far down the rabbit hole we can go. 

Your debut album “A Dagger in every tide” is due to be released on the 6th September- can you tell us a bit more about the concept and the creative process and what listeners can expect from it?

ADIET was conceived following a pretty traumatic, almost-near death experience. I was involved in a head on collision with a car, I was on a bicycle. I was flung onto the roof of the car (which I wrote off), and then catapulted into a nearby garden, injuring my foot, shoulder, head, hand. I only had somewhat “minor” injuries thankfully, though had any one of the variables been slightly different (me or the driver going 5mph faster, being flung into the road instead of a garden) it would have been quite a different story.  

Following the crash, during my recovery, is when I started writing what would become the record. Most, if not all, of the music I write is in some way informed by my little brother (who died a number of years ago) – and this record is no different really. So, there IS a “concept” of sorts, which deals with what if i had died, and what would the journey I’d take afterwards to find him in this other place look like. So…there’s a lot of lyrics that reference this, as well as concepts of dying, of trying to find someone you love who had died. It really isn’t prescriptive though. There is no hard fast narrative that you would have to follow in order to understand what’s happening, it’s very much a loose conceptual skeleton, where a lot of other things are draped across it. There’s a lot in there about the sense of fear and anxiety that’s permeated the world over the past few years. There’s a lot of loneliness in there, mainly inspired during low points in my recovery. Plenty of loss and sadness, with a twist of euphoric catharsis. All the good stuff. I would never really want to make something that ultra-specific anyway, I do love the thought of having a work be interpreted in different ways when it’s released. That is part of the joy of listening to music, is finding your own way into it. 

In terms of the approach and sound…the record took a while because we actually “lost” a number of files we were working on in the early stages. We did think these were lost to the sands of time as the studio (Old Pig Farm as chance would have it) closed down, and so as time went on, we began putting together some new music with Tom Henthorn (a dear friend) at Make Noise Sheffield. I don’t really think we had an album in mind when we started. We originally went in with three songs, but it was pretty clear that there was a definite “feel” to what we were working on. The tracks were more lush, fuzzier, with much more weight. We recorded “Over”, “Cherry Violence”, and “Viscera” in those early sessions – and it was pretty clear even at that stage that they were quite different to what we’d done before. We take a long time to write and record, for a number of reasons really, not least as we fund everything ourselves, but as we were tinkering with those three tracks – I had finished up the rest of the record, and so over the next year or so, we just chipped away at it pushing the boulder up the hill over and over again. 

We really wanted something that expanded on the sound we had originally created in those early recordings. We never really had the chance to scratch the surface of what the band was capable of collectively given how quickly everything was made before, so this time we were a little more methodical. So there are tracks that are noticeably heavier (“Cherry Violence”), tracks that go into some really quite different sonic areas for us (the almost IDM section of “Viscera” for example), and the proggier stuff we had, we really wanted to push it (“Red & Blue”). It was the same with the more “pop” orientated moments too, such as “Wayfarer”. Ellie has this chrytsalline voice which is almost tailor made for singing on glitchy electro pop songs. Production wise, again we wanted to dig down further into the sound design aspect of what we do, and so if you listen to the record on headphones, you’ll hear a whole other layer to the album. We have been lucky to have developed a shorthand as a band over the years, and with Tom in particular, I couldn’t tell you the hours we have spent shoulder to shoulder crafting our little sonic worlds in dank studios on crumbling industrial estates. It’s a joy really. Pure creation. With this album, we wanted to throw it all on there. Total maximalism. There are times where it sounds like the music is trying to climb its way out of the speakers – and that very much is by design. 

It’s tough to know what you’ve made when you’re this close to it – but from experience you can usually feel it in your guts whether you’ve been successful or not in terms of how the music hits you, and I am so incredibly proud of what we’ve done with making the album. It’s our most “complete” sounding work (I think).

Are there any plans to tour the album when it’s released and if so where can people see you play?

We are currently trying to arrange some shows around the country. We have dates in Manchester, Nottingham, and Leeds to come in the next couple of months, and are hoping to get down to London again at some point (we played Portals Festival in May). We’ll be announcing shows in the weeks following the album’s release- so we’d urge people to check in with us as these dates get announced. We want to get out there and play our big new songs for people! 

Who would you say are your biggest influences collectively as a band? 

I mean…we all have quite disparate influences separately, so in terms of things that overlap – I think it’d be things like Mew, Oceansize, Cardiacs. There are a number of venn diagrams within the group too, so for example me and Ellie really love Caroline Polacheck. Me and Taz also love Air (which I only recently found out). Mew were really the magnet that drew a lot of us together initially, and continue to fascinate us. We’re all voracious music listeners and gig goers, so there’s lots that inevitably seeps in. From a songwriting perspective, I obviously try not to get too obsessed with anything when I’m writing, but in terms of influences – there always seems to be a core set of songwriters that have left an impact over the years – namely Sufjan Stevens, Mike Vennart, Jeff Buckley, Trish Keenan. With this record we wanted to create a mood board of sorts of influences, and so put together lots of visual references, namely from The Leftovers, and from knotty emotional films, like Synecdoche New York. 

How is the music scene in Sheffield these days? Are there any bands you’d like to give a shout out?

Sheffield always has a really eclectic music “scene”, with a bunch of really interesting things appearing from everywhere, whether it’s grunge/alternative/dance/culinary inspired noise-rock. We had Sheffield glitch/electro stalwart Adi Carter contribute to our album, and he is a prolific creative, making some absolutely brilliant things. We’re big Dean Honer fans, he’s in I Monster, and is also an essential part of the sonic landscape as he mixes and masters a lot of bands work (including ours) in Sheffield. He’s a top chap too, and remixed “Wayfarer” recently for us.  

There is a really thriving metal scene in Sheffield currently – with bands like Kurokuma and Ba’al making (big shiny metally) waves. There’s Dead Cosmonauts, Bovidae and Neuri making lots of interesting noisy sounds. Haus Horo are making some really interesting things. Hidden Mothers are about to release a record (Ari from HM played guitar for NG during the recording of our mini-album, and was instrumental in helping get the word out for collaborators during these earlier days). Watch out for Tekrar Eden too (Joe and Taran’s instrumental project). So, yes – lots happening.      

Tell us about the best and worst gigs you have ever played? 

We’ve been really fortunate in NG, in that we haven’t really had a “bad” show (yet). We’ve all played in other bands though, and will regale one another every now and then with some of the absolute horrors we’ve endured over the years. My “favourite” bad gig was probably playing a Wetherspoons type pub in Crewe. We were sound checking as people were tucking into their £3 burgers and cold chips. Immediately after sound checking the opening bars of a song, a family told us to stop as they were eating. Brilliant. I left my pedal board at the venue too, so had to go by train back the following day to get it, which took all day. 

We have had some amazing shows though. We curated our own stage at Tramlines for our first show – and had Codes In The Clouds and Waking Aida play. I think my favourite show though that we have played, not just with this band, but any band, was playing Portals this year. It was such an absolutely AMAZING experience through and through. Incredible bands, fantastic atmosphere. We had a big, eager crowd. It was perfect.  

If you could go on tour with any artist alive or dead who would you choose and why?

I’d (Chris) probably go Mew, around their Glass Handed Kites tour (if we’re introducing time travel here too). Just to try and pick their brains about how they put music together. I am endlessly fascinated by how they make music…when you see them it all looks so effortless. (Joe) would go Cardiacs, obviously, because it’d be chaotic bliss.  

You’re stuck on a desert island and only allowed to listen to one album again – what would it be? 

Incredibly tough decision here…do you go for something really long? Something super moreish? My (Chris) gut goes to “Music Has The Right To Children” by Boards Of Canada. I’ve been listening to them a lot recently, and find this album in particular just resets my brain somehow. The way they create the soundscapes they do is really unlike anything else I’ve experienced. I reckon I could just live inside this record forever. Joe said he’d have A Love Supreme. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add? 

I just hope people find the record. I know we’re a small band, but I also think we punch way above our weight, sonically speaking. We put a lot of ourselves, and a lot of heart into our music, and absolutely love connecting with people who are moved by it. That’s pretty much the ultimate goal. All the hours and days and weeks tinkering away. Any kind of connection you can forge with something you’ve created out of thin air is a special thing.