Matthew Goodheart and Broken Ghost Conso — Five Apparitions

Infrequent Seams presents Five Apparitions, the new album by Matthew Goodheart & Broken Ghost Consort. And it certainly isn’t an easily definable or categorised album.

Goodheart and his collaborators Georg Wissel and George Cremaschi are immensely talented artists playing in the big sandbox of experimental music. A combination of horns, percussion, keys, some unusual vocal work, and other oddist sounds. According to the album information, Goodheart & company employed a technique called re-embodied sound, whereby small surface speakers were attached to their instruments, which then turned their instruments into a kind of speaker.

“Apparition #1” sets the mood with thunderous bow strokes, and high-pitched horns, creating a tension between the density of the instruments used. “Apparition #2” is a bit more subdued, with a focus on plodding percussive elements, elongated horn work, and some eclectic vocal work.

“Apparition #3” particularly got my brain conjuring images of mystery and intrigue. Its 2 AM and you're on the run from some unknown stalker. You dip into a dimly lit bar, with a broken sign that flashes "live music". You duck inside to elude your would-be captor and take a seat at the bar to catch your breath. You try to relax, but your senses are greeted by the otherworldly sounds of the house band, which happens to be Goodheart & Company. On this piece, the players focus on sparse piano and drawn-out bow work, that has an eerie air of mystery.

“Apparition #4” feels the most droney and minimalist in delivery, with some long-riding reverberations.

By “Apparition #5” the apparitions really materialize. Ghostly voices as channelled through tin foil reverberations are added to the proceedings, and while the eerie mood of the album remains, it does end on some playful horn and keys.

Overall, Five Apparitions has a tense and eerie vibe, not unlike some surreal film score or the soundtrack to your last fever dream.