Ahead of his October tour, we caught up with Ghostpoet, to talk new albums, collaborations, and to get to the bottom of why he’s the only artist (to our knowledge) to write lyrics about pork pies.
Hi Ghostpoet. How are you feeling about the tour?
Yeah, it’s coming up in a couple of weeks now, and I’m looking forward to getting out on the road again – should be great fun actually, you know, as long as people come with the attitude that they want to have fun. I’m lucky so far in my career that that’s usually been the case, so yeah looking forward to getting out and playing the UK and Ireland again, and seeing how it goes really.
I’m a big fan of your first album, Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam, but I thought it was interesting that Some Say I So I Say Light is perhaps the more melancholy of the two. It hasn’t got anything as anthemic as Liiines from the first album say, but is still as striking a record. Was it your plan to make an album with a darker edge to it?
Yeah, I suppose the whole anthemic track thing is really a case of whatever happens happens in terms of me creating tracks and music – I didn’t really think about it. But then I didn’t really think about what I wanted to make with this particular one, it’s more that I guess this one is maybe more melancholy and dark in a sense because the emotions I’m trying to put across are more concentrated this time around. I’m more aware and more confident to put across emotions as they are, rather than shying away from them, or not completely understanding them enough to put them down in music. And I think with the first record, it was kind of the latter case.
Ghostpoet – Liiines on MUZU.TV
So was it more liberating making this album than the first, then?
It’s not the case that I’ve been allowed to be more creative this time around or explore things in more depth this time around. I’ve been lucky in the sense that the label I’ve been signed to has just allowed me to be and never tried to hinder or dictate how, or what kind of music I should make. So it’s been very much the case of just having more resources available to myself, and a bit more confidence in my production and writing. With the relative success of the first record, it definitely gave me the confidence boost I needed to go down the road I was trying to go down, and just be myself.
So did you tiptoe round the supposed curse of a difficult second album, or did it come to you naturally?
A mixture of both really. It was kind of a combination of just sketching down ideas, even on a very small level, to touring the first record, and those ideas then, were already there, so it wasn’t like starting from scratch. Then it was just a case of making sure that I didn’t try and repeat myself. You are aware that there’s potentially an audience and plausibly press and radio who may want to play it or not. That plays on your mind at the beginning, but then I just had to do what I did with the first record and try and be as creative as possible.
Something that was on my mind t talk to you about stems from the friend that introduced me to your music. He said “you’ve got to listen to him, he’s got lyrics about pork pies” And ever since, I’ve noticed reoccurring mentions of food throughout your music; there’s dim sum, butternut squash, all sorts. It’s just funny because it’s something that doesn’t really come up in music very often.
[Laughs] I mean I do love food! It’s a necessity of life, it’s part of my life, and the lives of people around me, so it feels natural to write about it. I’m a big foodie, and it’s one of many influences, definitely.
I know you were a big fan of running too?
I was, I was, but I haven’t run for months. I’m trying to get back into it again, because I’m trying to work out a place for the London Marathon, a charity place – that’ll be my next running project because I haven’t run for ages. I was a massive runner, and I love running, but owing to partly a mixture of being really busy – well you can never really be too busy, but I just kind of fell out of love with it a bit, and then I didn’t run for a few weeks, and then tried to get back into it, and it just wasn’t really working out.
Disheartening isn’t it?
Yeah it is, and it’s annoying because realistically, all it is, is that you put on a pair of trainers, and your kit, and you don’t need anything else – I have both those things, so I’m annoyed at myself, but I will be back on the running.
Watch this space then – what about your downtime in the meantime?
I don’t really have any spare time, hence me not really running that much, I’ve just been doing various projects for different stuff really. I’ve got a project with Levis that I’m doing, with a producer called Koreless and a director called Alex Turvey, that’s coming to fruition this week, it’s like an audio visual piece that we’ve created, and I’ve designed a watch and artefact for Casio G Shock recently, and I’m doing other projects – ongoing stuff, along with my own bits and bobs as well so just trying to be creative, trying to stay busy really.
Have you got any other collaborations planned? Lucy Rose’s voice and yours on Dial Tones, go together really beautifully. Is there anyone else you’d like to work with in particular?
Aw, thanks. Not particularly at the moment though – when I first started, I kind of had a wish-list, but at the end of the day when you look at it in reality, people either don’t want to work with you because they don’t really like you, which is understandable, or people are busy because of schedules and it’s just impossible. So realistically, I just try and work with people who are trying to be creative and want to push things forward as much as possible. It’s just chance meetings; you may meet somebody or an act or band that you really like, and there’s just that natural, mutual admiration for each other, and that starts a conversation, and then that leads into a song, or an EP, or an album or whatever. So it’s just kind of a mixture of that really – if it happens it happens.
Actually I noticed when you were at Whelans a while back, you came out to watch Alt-J who were supporting you, before their album took off. Are you still a fan of their work?
Yeah, they’re a great band, It’s amazing how massive they’ve become. I knew from the first time that I saw them that there was talent, and that was before they were even called Alt-J. I was supporting Metronomy, and they were called Films back in those days, but there was definitely something special about them then. I’m partly not surprised, but at the same time it’s a great surprise to see how big they’ve become – good on them!
And is there anyone who you’re listening to at the moment, or that you’ve got your eye on?
Bits and bobs really, usually I listen to Steve Mason’s records. I’ve been listening to Factory Floor’s stuff, Deptford Goth, Hookworms, this relatively old gang called Tortoise, that’s quite interesting.
And how about the future, any plans for dare I say it, the third album?
Just a continuation of creativity, that’s it really, in the form of albums, or collaborations or artefacts and art, whatever really – whatever opportunities I can get that are interesting and creative, I’ll try and pursue them. Hopefully another record at some point, but I don’t feel pressured to spring one out tomorrow, it’s a case of when the time’s right it will start to form itself.
Was it like that when you were first starting out? Did there come a point when you realised it had started coming together for itself?
With the first record, it was a hobby, a serious hobby. I didn’t have any dreams – well, actually in my wildest dreams I though it would be great to get a record out, but I didn’t know how to or if that would ever happen. So it was kind of a stroke of luck that that happened in the first place, and then, I realised from producing that first record that music is my number one love, it’s my strongest passion, and it’s something I want to do for the rest of my career, well the rest of my life, and so its something that’s growing stronger in the sense of a passion, day by day. I want to just keep it alive.
I guess touring the new album does just that. Are you looking forward to being back in Dublin? I know you’ve done a little bit of exploring in the past.
Not as much as I’d like. It’s usually the kind of business, coming in, doing a gig, staying the night and leaving the next day, so in the near future I’d like to really go for it, because I’ve always had a great time in Ireland and it’s always been good – great people, friendly, and always great gigs – I always have a great laugh.
I do remember at a gig you saying you hadn’t tried Guinness – have you rectified that yet?
Ha, I don’t drink beer anymore – it’s part of my trying to be healthier regime – I don’t drink Guinness and beer, though I do like a tipple once in a while. Everyone’s gotta have a vice…
Ghostpoet plays the Button Factory on the 25th of October. Tickets are a handsome €16.30 (available here), pork pies not supplied.
