Sonder - Ghost Hall (2015)

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The origin of my Ghost Hall project almost came about by chance. I was very much into the vibe of Ulver’s ‘Perdition City’ album around the time I was writing Sonder, and wanted to create something which made me feel the same way, that is to say a sense of being alone in the city at night, wandering the streets, before returning to an empty home to open the window and look down at the people below.

I had been playing around with shortwave radio clips as a spooky ambiance, before acquiring a He-Man storybook vinyl from a boot fair which had a few quotes I deemed to be of use. With the working title ‘Zodac’ (named after a He-Man villain) track 1 took shape, and was quickly renamed Sonder - popularly defined as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own”.

With this in mind, a concept formed of a lonely night in front of the television, a potential drug trip on which the listener begins watching cartoons, wanders the streets for a while, before coming home and staring blankly at a murder documentary. Convincing himself that he’s done something abhorrent, panic sets in as an autopsy is described on the television. Focusing on himself our main character brings himself out of the trip, resurfacing and processing the night’s wild ride.

Although just 5 tracks, Sonder set the tone for what I wanted to do with Ghost Hall as a project and helped cement the sample heavy, synth based style which went on to define the sound.