Space Ghost - Back From Reality [Review]

I spend most of my time peering at the musical horizon for newer sounds and fresh fusions these days. Lamenting the passing of golden ages, some of which I never witnessed, trying to revive my youthful abandon through musical means, or listening to pale modern imitations of those eras is not for me. If someone nails a sound, a vibe, a moment, then I sometimes allow myself a little indulgence: a moment of nostalgia, a trip down memory lane to a club, a scene, dancing partners, mad moments, near misses, happy connections and collective joys. It can be a welcome relief from the increasingly uncertain future, and I’ve been around all sorts of worldwide, late-night hotspots over the years - weekly clandestine, sweat-raining hardcore parties in the hull of an old barge in early nineties Amsterdam, London’s Sunday scene — the best night of the week to party, to an illegal gabba rave in an underground car park in Sydney, which to be honest wasn’t one of the better ones. And it doesn’t hurt to reflect on that. I may not have a house or a car, but I’m rich in experience, so it’s my version of checking the bank balance. Hell, I’ll even drop a few moves on occasion, just to see if the old magic is there. I think it is, but I haven’t filmed myself yet. 

Space Ghost is not a pale imitation and he takes me to those places. I first stumbled across him through the excellent Tartelet records, who have introduced me to so many other great artists over the years: Uffe, Max Graef, Glenn Astro, Nu Genea, Henry Wu, Jitwam; they’ve had their finger on the future soul underground pulse for time.

I should probably be able to tell you what musical equipment he uses by now, but I was always more into freaking, rather than geeking, out. Pretty much every sound that bumps, pops or floats through the speakers from his new album Back From Reality has been around a while, most since the late eighties and early nineties when warm analogue machine noises emanating from large chunky boxes and keyboards were a producer’s only option, and don’t they still sound good? Ghost has always been a keeper of the soul flame, constantly giving second winds to the deeper instrumental house sounds of Chicago, synth-led boogie from everywhere, hip hop or street soul; and unusually, most of his music could hold its head high if transported back in time. This album mines new, vintage territory though.

The LP opener ‘Escapism’ is a good indication of what’s to come. Its warm synth pads, dreamy arpeggios and field recordings are just the sort of early nineties ambient sedative the doctor would have ordered for overly tired but still wide-eyed party people. It’s then off to the chill-out tent for some momentary lower-tempo rave relief; not quite the sonic sleeping pill this time, but not far off; its classic beats and samples keep the head nodding. It’s then back to a start of night dance floor with ‘Floating Soul’ that oozes late 80s deep house dreaminess.

A zero-gravity triptych follows, brimming with classic ambient synth pads that float well above the ground, but which are pierced with half-timing drum and bass hi-hats, giving the mind wanderers a tenuous reality tether just in case they need it. The album title track then breaks the spell with its classic chill-out beats, body-temperature bassline and all the right synth sounds and samples. ‘Motion’ then gets the party started again, well, for all of five minutes - the dancers’ last hooray before ‘System Reset’, ‘Visit Water’ and ‘Invisible Pulse’ lead the way home, suggesting that’s enough fun for one night.

If you're feeling Space Ghost's classic sounds, head over to Will Long's Long Trax series of house music releases, I think you'll like them.

This review ran in TSMM's October 18th newsletter. If you'd like album tips direct to your inbox or the Substack app — plus the odd bit of industry insight and existential musing from TSMM HQ — you can subscribe here.

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