Calgary experimental pop/rock project, Ghostkeeper, have just dropped their latest digital single, “Raven,” with a music video. The track appears on their upcoming new album, Cîpayak Joy, slated for release on Victory Pool Records, August 28th. Catch the new video and more below.
Stream “Raven” here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4MfeY1wall4Q7DmLMmdarl
Pre-order Cîpayak Joy here: https://ghostkeeper.bandcamp.com/album/c-payak-joy
““Raven” is a mantra written to manifest a life together in which we walk, talk and breathe in a good way with nature and all her realms. Living in the realm of the raven and embracing that medicine keeps us in solidarity and committed to each other’s well-being.” guitarist Shane goes on to say, “May the spirit of the raven keep us well as we walk in the realm of rock n roll.”
Since day one, the Ghostkeeper band name has been defined by the core duo of namesake singer, songwriter, and guitarist Shane Ghostkeeper, and singer, songwriter, and percussionist/electronics manipulator Sarah Houle. Over the years, the band has encapsulated numerous other configurations and stages of development, and the most recent one is responsible for their critically-acclaimed album Multidimensional Culture, which was long-listed for the Polaris prize. But the newest chapter in the Ghostkeeper saga is Cîpayak Joy, at once a sub-project in the band’s universe and also the start of a series of new albums. Here, the approach is sheared back to that core duo of Ghostkeeper and Houle, coming full circle and mirroring their seminal days writing and performing as a duo.
Cîpayak – a Cree term that translates as ‘the ghosts are dancing’ and is often used to describe the Northern Lights – has its origins as a project in a few different places. Originally in the running as an alternative to the Ghostkeeper moniker, its initial usage was as the name for Shane and Sarah’s collective visual art practice, widely debuted at Contemporary Calgary in April of 2020 for their interactive piece Four Words Challenge, which included a few pieces of music the two had spontaneously cooked up with tech wizard and longtime audio associate Brad Hawkins. Following this initial jolt of inspiration, the three began descending to the basement for a string of collaborative, off-the-cuff sessions that quickly became defined by new working methods that were the direct inverse to those that have produced the “Ghostkeeper sound” to date, and uncovered some new sonic territory for the band, as evidenced on the album’s second single.
After all the initial tracking for the songs on Cîpayak Joy was completed, the band decided to ask longtime associate Jay Crocker to try his hand at a mix. Crocker is producer, composer, guitarist, and instrument builder known for his avant-electronic project Joyfultalk (with a string of releases on the venerable Constellation Records label) and his production work with Sackville‘s Jon McKiel, but he was also once a key early member of Ghostkeeper and produced their second and third albums.
More from Ghostkeeper:
Shane Ghostkeeper and Sarah Houle pay witness to the Indigenous experience by channelling it through psychedelic art-rock. Ghostkeeper began when Shane met Sarah in their early 20s. Though he had already begun performing country covers in his home eight hours north of Edmonton, his introduction to an established visual artist and musician sent the duo on a new trajectory. As Sarah created images for the band’s record covers, t-shirts, and Indigenous masks, they released their earliest albums on Calgary-based labels Saved By Vinyl and Flemish Eye, home to acclaimed artists such as Chad VanGaalen, Yves Jarvis, and Preoccupations.
Since their 2007 debut album, Children of the Great Northern Muskeg, the couple from the Métis settlement of Paddle Prairie, Alberta (now based in Calgary) have combined high-energy instrumentation with evocative lyrics and soaring vocals. Sarah’s voice is tender and hypnotic, while Shane has the power to glide from gentle narration to an aching falsetto or a bluesy growl. They are accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Ryan Bourne and powerhouse drummer Eric Hamelin, both longtime collaborators who make the band’s songs sparkle with melodic complexity. Ghostkeeper’s fifth album, Multidimensional Culture (2022), was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize. The record was a collaboration with producer Lorrie Matheson, who previously worked with the band on their debut 14 years earlier.
“We wanted to walk into this album with another perspective,” says Shane. “Someone who cared about us and wanted to get it done proper. We were hesitant at first because we didn’t want to walk away with a record that was too shiny. We thought going to a high-end studio meant it would be cheesy, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.”
Ghostkeeper is now preparing to record their 6th record, again with Matheson producing, and have begun the journey with self-produced demos from their home, Muskego Studio. Cîpayak ᒌᐸᕀ (which translates to “the ghosts are dancing,” referring to the northern lights) will draw on the many layers of contemporary Indigenous storytelling, weaving together interactive multidisciplinary concepts. Moving in unison through tangled guitar riffs, tumbling drum fills, and squelching synths, Houle sings of the ancient practices of gathering herbs and lighting sage; anyone can relate to the feelings she expresses of longing for a loved one to return home.
“I’ve come across a lot of non-Indigenous people who are feeling threatened by Truth and Reconciliation,” says Shane. “I write about it like it’s just ridiculous rather than with anger, and I’ve always approached Indigenous issues with humour. Truth and Reconciliation is definitely a big theme on this record, meshed in with family, love, and romance. Describing how we were raised up north is the most honest way to express what we’ve experienced.”
Follow Ghostkeeper:
https://www.instagram.com/ghostkeepermusic/
https://www.facebook.com/ghostkeepermusic
https://ghostkeeper.bandcamp.com/music
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3aNeKUntysMTujH191jiGX
https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/ghostkeeper/281383471
https://m.soundcloud.com/ghostkeeper