DT Probes… Former Ghosts - an interview with Freddy Ruppert
Former Ghosts are Freddy Ruppert, Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu) and Nika Rosa (Zola Jesus) from various locations around the United States. Their music is an emotionally raw juxtaposition of dense synthpop and reverb straight from the heart of St. Paul’s. Sure you can hear Joy Division in there - but there’s so much more to Former Ghosts than post-punk throwbacks. Their debut, Fleurs, is as much about moments of ecstasy as it is about repetitive, stabbing percussion. It really works - whilst you can hear Freddy’s at the center of Former Ghosts, the individual influences of Jamie and Nika make for something really special. If you’d like to hear what we’re talking about check out Hold On over at Upset the Rhythm.
Former Ghosts have recently been touring the US in the guise of Freddy and Jamie. But Europeans don’t worry - when DT spoke to Freddy he assured us there’d be an EU tour in May.
Check out the below to see what’s in store…
Anyhow…
Here’s DT’s interview with Former Ghosts.
DT: Former Ghosts is made up of yourself as principle songwriter, Jamie Stewart and Nika Roza. How does the writing process work, given that all three of you are such prolifically creative people?
Freddy: We all live in different cities so it mainly takes place online and through the mail. Jamie and Nika are really busy with both Xiu Xiu and Zola Jesus, while Former Ghosts is pretty much my main focus. I usually will write the majority of the song and then send it to Jamie and Nika, who will then record their parts and then mail them back to me. Then I will piece it all together into a collective whole.
DT: You released debut Fleurs in autumn last year. For such an intense and emotionally dense record, there are moments of clarity and utter ecstasy. How difficult was it to capture this kind of pure expression on record?
Freddy: I’m not sure, it isn’t really something I thought about while recording it. The songs weren’t even recorded for a record in the first place, they were written and recorded for a person I was involved in a relationship with during tumultuous times of our relationship and then posted on a blog. It wasn’t until later that it all got pieced together for a record. So I think maybe those moments of desperation, ecstasy, heart ache, whatever, in that relationship got kind of captured as it was happening.
DT: Whilst it’s certainly has dark moments, Fleurs has a definite dance element to it. Has this been informed by any particular artists or labels?
Freddy: Probably things on the dark minimal techno vibe such as Dial Records, of course New Order and early OMD. I think our “dance” element is definitely toned down though, I like distant kick drums.
DT: On your bio, it quotes you as being particularly excited by the amount of reverb on the album. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
Freddy: I love reverb. I think it conveys a lot of the heavyness of the record and the heavyness in the emotions on display. I love the This Mortal Coil albums and all three of those are just drenched in reverb that creates a certain atmosphere. It just weighs down on everything.
DT: I’ve read that you’ve already made good progress on new Former Ghosts songs. How do they sound compared with what we’ve heard on Fleurs? Have Jamie or Nika heard them yet?
Freddy: Jamie and Nika have heard some stuff. We are working on some things together. I think the new stuff contains a lot of that pop element that was found on Fleurs and blends a lot more of the new agey type synth tones with more textural percussion elements. I think pop. Yeah, pop.
DT: When playing live your setup seems to be quite straightforward, allowing the power within the songs to come forward by itself. Does your live setup reflect how you’d work in the studio? If not, how does it differ?
Freddy: I think it maybe kind of reflects how I work in the studio? Since I am mainly an electronic/laptop musician the song basically is getting recorded at the same time that I am writing it. The live presentation isn’t something I think about a lot. It is interesting to me to add different textural elements to the live set up and for the most part work with laptop based tracks. I have no interest in trying to hide that a lot of what is going on live isn’t really “live”. That isn’t what I really care about. I care more about where the song is located emotionally as opposed to what is going on technically.
DT: You live just outside Los Angeles. At the moment LA is the source of such diverse and exciting - you’ve been involved in one of the key venues, The Smell. How has living in the LA area affected your sound and musical outlook?
Freddy: I have recently completely fallen in love with Los Angeles all over again. It feels great to be a part of a music community and to just have so many friends that are doing so many amazing things. I’m not sure if the actual city reflects my sound as I’ve lived here my whole life. But it’s great to be in a city where you can go out just about anywhere and run into people who are making inspiring things.
DT: Which bands are making music that’s exciting you the most right now?
Freddy: Los Angeles based band Tearist is the best band on the face of the planet at the moment. Another Los Angeles based act that consistantly destroys my boundaries of music is Felt Drawings.
DT: Do you have day jobs? Do you have any tips on how to effectively manage music making when faced with having to work for a living?
Freddy: I did have a day job up until December of last year. I lost my day job because of doing too much touring. I think for me, it has been easy to balance a day job and music because I never thought of music as a career more of just something I do/create. I’m looking for a new day job because at the moment music is definitely not coming close to paying any of my bills.
DT: What’s your favourite children’s character and why?
Freddy: Three months ago I would have said Eeyore because I was such a pathetic, depressed mess. Now I would say Tigger. Why would you not want to live your life like Tigger?
