Ghostly International celebrates two decades of putting out eclectic electronic sounds
By Luca Cimarusti @LucaCimarustiSign up for our newsletters Subscribe
This year Michigan-born, New York-raised record label Ghostly International celebrates two decades of releasing cutting-edge electronic sounds. As part of the festivities it’s throwing a party called Ghostly 20 in its own honor at Metro this week. The label was founded in Ann Arbor in 1999 by Sam Valenti IV, who was inspired by the sound and culture of the Detroit techno movement. Ghostly’s first release was Matthew Dear’s debut single, “Hands Up for Detroit,” and before long the label had expanded beyond dance music into a wide variety of electronic genres; over the years it’s put out releases by chillwave artist Com Truise, trip-hoppy dream pop duo Phantogram, and minimal gloom band HTRK. The lineup of Ghostly 20 draws from this eclectic roster; Black Moth Super Rainbow front man Thomas Fec headlines with his lo-fi, blown-out techno project Tobacco, and the bill also includes performances by jazzy hip-hop producer Shigeto (performing live) and spacey Chicago duo Drama. Opening the show is local synth artist Steve Hauschildt (a former member of minimal ambient trio Emeralds), whose compositions create warm cinematic soundscapes. Stay for the full show for maximum effect, as each act takes you to a distinctly different but equally lush and hazy headspace. v
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