Shadow and Ghost Album Breakdown

The album was conceived and released before the Covid-19 pandemic, any similarities between this fictional work and recent events are coincidental and not meant to cause offence or alarm.

First off, Shadow and Ghost is a concept album by me, alternative UK artist Payton Black made entirely in Ableton Live about an unspecified virus and the subsequent downfall of society with the narrative being perceived by a singular character (the listener).  

If you'd like to listen to the album as you read this you can find it here on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Play Music or pretty much wherever you download or stream music.

The most light hearted part of this whole breakdown is the origin of the title of the album. A few years ago on my birthday my wife and I visited a bird sanctuary in Simonburn, Hexham, UK.  I saw this sign for two great grey owls on the aviary and thought, that'd be a cool album title...  Which turned out perfect for this project as the feeling I was going for was dark and foreboding (shadow) and cold and empty (ghost).

The cover photography was by a North East urban explorer and graffiti photographer Craig Bowser.  Who kindly let me pick from his gallery of images to find one just right for the mood of my album, the one I settled on was from an abandoned factory.  I chose that particular image as it was derelict, as most places would be post (Hollywood style) pandemic, it was dark, tonally cold and the ghosts of the last people to abandon that scene were there, in the opened cupboard and pulled drawers.

There was originally an intro track, 'Intro (the eleventh hour)' which I decided to drop from the tracklist which might have helped explain the narrative of the album, but was thought too heavy-handed and depressing, as it featured the sounds of nature morphing into metropolitan life, the sounds of people getting sick, sirens, emergency service radio chatter and the sounds of angry crowds building to a cacophony all playing over the top of a grandfather clock striking to 11 o'clock.  One day it might appear, if enough people are interested to hear it.

Emergency Message

This spoken elements of this track are inspired by Stephen King's The Stand, in a short chapter there is a character who carries on his daily exercise routine despite his family being wiped out by the Captain Tripps virus, he imagines he's being chased by the devil and runs so furiously that his heart stops.  Another source of inspiration is the Emergency Broadcast system, which in the event of a nuclear missile launch would give you a four minute warning, in this instance the message is twisted from what would be expected, to a cold and unfeeling taunt by a robotic voice, explaining that there's nothing you can do to avoid what's happening, so enjoy your afterlife. Why this has been changed and who is responsible, no-one knows.

This track is meant to give the sensation of a chase, like the runner from The Stand, or speeding on a lonely motorway in the dead of night. The chugging bass guitar propelling the track is actually an acoustic 6 string guitar pitched down an octave and distorted to sound lower in pitch. Which made it sound grittier, I thought.

Cirque du Chaos

The circus of chaos (sounds better in French) represents the panic that ensues from the virus and the disturbing emergency messages.  Think the London riots in 2011 and apply it to the whole of the UK, scary right? Well not for some, this is the perfect opportunity to pick up a new TV, Audi or commit some other serious criminal offences without fear of punishment. It's open season for crime, and the worst of our society are loving it!

After watching an interview with Damon Albarn in the late 90s about a soundtrack he did for a film called Ravenous, he said although it was a horror film he approached the soundtrack from the perspective of the antagonists, a chase through the woods would usually be dramatic and suspenseful from the protagonist point of view, though in this case it was exciting as if the antagonists are having a fun time.  This was the angle which I approached Cirque du Chaos, the worst of society thriving in the chaos and treating it like a party with no consequences.

Underground

The listener escapes the madness of the streets and makes their way underground to the transport and utility tunnels beneath the (your) city.  This gives a bit of breathing space and concentrates on the mystery of the unfamiliar and subterranean surroundings you find yourself in.  

Inspiration for the feel of this track comes from the original Silent Hill soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka, specifically the way he samples pad chords and transposes them on the keyboard with a fast attack and lingering release creating a sense of drama and atmosphere.

Watchers

You need to get away from the city and head out towards the outskirts, the tunnels lead out into an abandoned industrial area full of cavernous buildings with mysterious, huge machines that have long fell silent, mezzanine floors and catwalks. It's dark and you've got the sensation you're being watched (the track had the working title scopethesia).

Inspiration includes pretty much every creepy movie soundtrack trope there is; music-box type melody, vibrato violin solo and a bit of incidental knocking, scratching breathing FX for a bit of unease.  I'd been listening to a lot of Nine Inch Nails prior to this and wanted to try and create an industrial rock type sound with guitars and distorted noise; however, no guitars feature in this track, everything is sequenced from software samplers (guitarists will be able to tell straight away). My favourite part is the guitar playing the siren sound (nee naw) my brother said that it had the sound of the Blur remix album Bustin' + Dronin' which I was more than happy with!

Fear

The true gravity of the situation begins to dawn, there's nowhere to turn, and few people to trust.  A feeling of dread begins to grow within you as you navigate this new and hostile landscape. What once were safe and welcoming places are now inhabited by individuals full of suspicion and menace, self preservation at all costs is the order of the day, making every interaction unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

Inspiration for the atmosphere of this track comes from the Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes scores by Jerry Goldsmith and Leonard Rosenman, for their use of percussion with heavy effects processing and discordant sounds respectively.

The Deep End

It's getting dark, you're tired and the chill of the air is beginning to hurt your throat.  Within an empty village, you find a small abandoned end-terrace house on the end of a severely fire damaged street.  The door is unsecured and opens without force, you step in and take shelter into what used to be the living room, you listen for a moment for signs of life within the house, you hear nothing and crawl beneath damp cardboard and bubble wrap for warmth.  You're awoken by the sound of heavy breathing and shuffling boots on the stripped floorboards, you open your eyes to the dawn light to see a emaciated man with a wild expression stood astride of you holding a large pair of scissors in his left hand and various sized knives taped to his torso. "Have fun?" he asks, almost as a statement rather than a question, followed by a blood curdling laugh.  You throw him off balance in a bid to escape and a fight for your life ensues.  You wound the man, badly, with his own blade, leaving him on the floor and escape into the street, where you stand for what seems a lifetime, waiting for the madman to emerge.  He doesn't.

The was no specific inspiration for this track, I tried to make it sound as unhinged as disturbing as possible, the vocal performance came from another project I was working on and fit quite well.  If you listen carefully you will hear the sounds of blades making a snipping sound like scissors in the chorus sections.

Inevitable (Inner Peace)

You've sustained some minor cuts and heavy bruising from your fight, which is hindering how fast you can travel, you're exhausted and need to find somewhere to recover.  You make your way towards some woodland on the outskirts of the village and find a clearing in the woods, where you collapse on your back, broken.  You think of how simple and certain things used to be before all this happened, how unknowingly content you really were before everything changed.  Your eyes close as you accept the now, and you will yourself to pass away.  Just then the morning ray of the sun breaks through the tree canopy to where you rest, warming you.  The birds begin their song, just as they do every morning, another day has begun. You will yourself to stand up.

This is a track of two parts, the first part is inspired from the opening titles of David Fincher's Se7en (Seven) which is a Nine Inch Nails remix and the Aphex Twin track, Ventolin. The beginning is meant to sound as abrasive as possible then transitioning into something a lot more relaxing.

Last One Standing

You make the long journey back to the city, knowing what you must do.  You have survived: the virus, the violent fallout, the despair and madness. You have survived.  There are people you left behind in the city who need your help, and you can help them.  And you're going to find them.

...Cue titles and rousing music and leave it open for a sequel. Job done.

This track was inspired by the music of The Proles and Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper (more cowbell!) The hope was to build to a rousing rock finale from a more sedate contemplative start.

I really enjoyed putting this album together, there were some tracks which never made it to the final version, either because they felt out of place or I couldn't get them to sound the way I wanted.  They may end up on the follow-up album (one day).  I think if I were to make this type of album again I'd like to start with a clearer narrative and break the story down into episodes, then write a track for each episode to match, in tone with the previous.  There's also the possiblity of adding script or voiceover narration to make it more like a 'War of the Worlds' type project.  Though I think I would need to work with collaborators in performing arts if I were to broaden the scope to that extent.

Thanks for reading this article and showing your support by streaming / downloading my music, please share this blog to anyone who might be interested. I appreciate your support.