A powerful yet melancholic version of Electronic Pop, building an odd contrast to the tragically haunting lyrics “Red Flags” are warning signs, those alarming signals that usually make us stop doing what we do. We stop on a red traffic light, we usually stay clear from danger or we try to find a solution for the problems that plague us. Normally! This does not count for the protagonists of the new Ghost & Writer album. Like characters of some ‘film noir’ they act irrational and keep us on the edge of our seats. On April 5th 2013 the new Ghost & Writer Album will be released. The band is a german- belgium collaboration of Frank Spinath and Jean-Marc Lederman, aka Jimmyjoe Snark III. The earlier is the “Writer”, also knows as the charismatic voice from Seabound and Edge of Dawn. The latter is the “Ghost”, one part of the Belgium electronic duo “The Weathermen”. Together they represent a powerful yet melancholic version of Electronic Pop, building an odd contrast to the tragically haunting lyrics of Spinath. “Just The Same” centre’s around the thoughts of a suicide candidate, whose hope on any good ending has ultimately vanished. The line “The road is wrong, and here you are, speeding further on” send shivers down the careful listener’s spine. Then the listener is confronted with the wrath of a murderer, who feels betrayed of his entire life’s fate. And he can feel the melancholy edged into those little short stories. Each of the eight tracks on “Red Flags” is presented in two versions. The first eight songs are the originals by Ghost & Writer, the next eight are remixes. Like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, alls the songs reveal their second nature, sometimes darker, sometimes brighter, but usually ending similarly … tragic. Spinath has asked befriended musicians for their personal interpretation of the songs, since he respects their music: “I wanted to be sure that the end result of the album is coherent” explains Spinath. For him the album is like a Mad Max movie, “Apocalypse for the soul and a full speed collision course”. In the end everyone loses.” The only one winning might be the listener, who appreciates the contrast between dark content in a catchy music package. The mastering of the record was done by an absolute EBM icon: Daniel Bressanutti of Front 242 mastered the entire record production.
