Ghost was an experimental rock group formed in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan, in 1984.

History

Core-member Masaki Batoh grew up in

Kyoto, Japan Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

where he attended a private school. During this time, he became interested in American and British

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

ranging from

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

to the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means " ...

and Japanese rock bands such as the

Taj Mahal Travellers The Taj Mahal Travellers (also given variously as Taj Mahal Travelers, Taj-Mahal Travellers, etc.) were a Japanese experimental music ensemble founded in 1969 by former Group Ongaku leader and Fluxus member Takehisa Kosugi. The rest of the group ...

and the

Flower Travellin' Band was a Japanese rock band that was formed in 1967. They were connected to Japan's counterculture movement and noted for their mixture of early heavy metal with psychedelic and progressive rock. They received wide acclaim from critics but faile ...

. Later, Batoh formed Ghost with a large and often varying lineup. According to reports posted on

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, the group lived a nomadic existence, drifting from ruins of ancient temples to disused subway stations around the

area. The band began releasing their work with the albums ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul (spirit), soul or spirit of a dead Human, person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visibl ...

'' and '' Second Time Around'', which were released, respectively, in 1990 and 1992. The American independent label Drag City licensed each of the albums for distribution, and the Los Angeles

The Now Sound ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

label picked up two of Batoh's solo albums, released together as well under the title ''Collected Works''. Two albums, ''

Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet is an album by the band Ghost. It was released by Drag City originally in 1999. It was released as a companion album with ''Snuffbox Immanence''. The album has one cover song of a Pearls Before Swine song. Track lis ...

'' and ''

Snuffbox Immanence ''Snuffbox Immanence'' is an album by the Japanese band Ghost. It was released by Drag City in 1999. The band also released '' Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet'' on the same day. The album features a cover version of "Live With Me", originally by The ...

'', were released simultaneously in 1999. As well as their own work, Ghost have recorded and performed with the ex-

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: ''Today'', '' On Fire'' and '' This Is Our Music''. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon K ...

duo

Damon and Naomi Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/indie folk duo, formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500. History After Galaxie 500 completed a tour of the US supporting Cocteau Twins, guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareh ...

. Five years after releasing both ''

'' and ''

'', Ghost returned with ''

Hypnotic Underworld Hypnotic Underworld is an album by the band Ghost, released on January 27, 2004, on Drag City. The album is the first album to feature cellist/bassist Takuyuki Moriya and percussionist Junzo Tatewia, who replaced Hiromichi Sakamoto and Setsuko Fu ...

'', and there were some changes in the band. Cellist Hiromichi Sakamoto and

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

Setsuko Furuya left and were replaced by a rhythm section of Takuyuki Moriya (electric bass guitar, double bass, and cello) and Junzo Tateiwa (drums, tabla, and percussion). In 2005, the Drag City label released a CD+DVD set titled, "Metamorphosis: Ghost Chronicles 1984-2004". The DVD is a career-spanning collection of footage featuring over two hours of improvisations, one-time-only band lineups, trances, freakouts, live shows and more. The CD features tracks from the previously undocumented 1980s era of studio improvs, live tracks, and outtakes from their debut album. In January 2007, Ghost released a new album titled ''

In Stormy Nights In Stormy Nights is the final studio album by the Japanese band Ghost. It was released by Drag City in 2007. Track listing The CD and LP releases of the album have slightly different track listings.Helena Espvall Helena Espvall is a Swedish-American musician noted for her participation in the post-millennial psychedelic folk and free improv scenes. Her primary instruments are cello, guitar and voice."Helena Espvall interviewed and introduced by Buck Cur ...

, resulting in the album ''Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh''. ''Overloaded Ark'' followed a year later. In 2014, Masaki Batoh announced on Facebook that the group had disbanded after 30 years of activity.

Members

* Masaki Batoh (馬頭將噐):

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Kazuo Ogino (荻野和夫):

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

Michio Kurihara (born 23 November 1961) is a Japanese guitarist who has played with Ai Aso, Cosmic Invention, Hazama, Ensemble Pearl, Overhang Party, Onna, Ghost, Damon & Naomi, Boris Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:' ...

(栗原道夫):

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

* Junzo Tateiwa (立岩潤三):

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Takuyuki Moriya (守屋拓之):

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

* Taishi Takizawa (瀧澤大志, also known as Giant):

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

, flute,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1990) * '' Second Time Around'' (1992) * '' Temple Stone'' (1994) * '' Lama Rabi Rabi'' (1996) * ''

'' (1999) * ''

'' (2004) * ''Metamorphosis: Ghost Chronicles 1984–-2004'' (CD/DVD set 2005) * ''

Singles

* ''Moungod Air Cave b/w Guru in the Echo'' (1995) Both tracks recorded live in 1989 and 1994 respectively. * ''Holy High b/w Filament'' (2003)

Collaborations

* ''Damon and Naomi with Ghost'' (2000)

Compilation Appearances

* ''Tama Yura'' on ''Tokyo Flashback Vol. 1'' (1991) * ''Sun is Tangging'' on ''Tokyo Flashback Vol. 2'' (1992) * ''Suspect Tells of Dog Under the Sun'' on ''Tokyo Flashback Vol. 3'' (1993) * ''Way to Coimbula'' on ''ALMS: A benefit for

Ptolemaic Terrascope ''Ptolemaic Terrascope'' is a magazine covering old and new music, usually of a psychedelic nature. It has been published irregularly since 1989. Originally published by the Woronzow record label, it covers a wide variety of bands and artists from ...

'' (1997)

Masaki Batoh solo

* ''A Ghost from the Darkened Sea'' (1995) Total Album Length: 23min & 39sec * ''Kikaokubeshi'' (1996) Total Album Length: 31min & 42sec * '' Collected Works 95-96'' (2004) Above two albums on one CD. * ''Brain Pulse Music'' (2012)

Helena Espvall / Masaki Batoh collaborations

* ''Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh'' (2008) * ''Overloaded Ark'' (2009)

External links

Official Site
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost Japanese psychedelic rock music groups Drag City (record label) artists Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups disestablished in 2014 P.S.F. Records artists