Artist Biography
by John Bush
A collective of psychedelic-minded Japanese musicians headed by guitarist
Masaki Batoh,
Ghost records commune-minded free-range psychedelia with equal debts to the
Can/
Amon Düül axis of Krautrock, as well as West Coast psych units like
Blue Cheer and
Jefferson Airplane.
Batoh grew up in Kyoto, where he attended a private school well-geared to spark his interest in rock music, from
Dylan and
Pink Floyd to
the Velvet Underground. Later, he formed
Ghost with a large and varying lineup, centered around contributors such as
Michio Kurihara,
Kazuo Ogino, and
Taishi Takizawa.
According to reports, the group lived a nomadic existence, drifting
from ruins of ancient temples to disused subway stations around the
Tokyo area.
The band began releasing their work with the albums
Ghost and
Second Time Around,
each appearing during 1991-1992. The American independent Drag City
licensed each of the albums for distribution, and L.A.'s The Now Sound
picked up two of
Batoh's solo albums, A Ghost from the Darkened Sea and
Kikaokubeshi (released together as well under the title
Collected Works). Two more
Ghost titles,
Tune in, Turn on, Free Tibet and
Snuffbox Immanence, were released simultaneously in 1999. A year later, the group teamed with kindred spirits
Damon and Naomi for Damon and Naomi with Ghost. The ambitious 2004 album
Hypnotic Underworld was followed by the archival 2005 release
Metamorphosis: Ghost Chronicles 1984-2004. A new studio album,
In Stormy Nights, and a live album,
Overture, both landed in 2007.
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