Mark Gardener With Goldrush - These Beautiful Ghosts
ARTIST.....: Mark Gardener With Goldrush
TITLE......: These Beautiful Ghosts
LABEL......: UFO Music
URL........: www.markgardener.com
RIP DATE...: Oct-11-2005
STORE DATE.: Oct-11-2005
GENRE......: Indie
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 84,9 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Snow In Mexico 04:12
02 - Getting Out Of Your Own Way 04:48
03 - To Get Me Through 05:05
04 - Magdalen Sky 03:33
05 - Rhapsody 05:49
06 - Summer Turns To Fall 04:07
07 - Beautiful Ghosts 04:42
08 - Flaws Of Perception 05:15
09 - The Story Of The Eye 04:01
10 - Where Are You Now? 04:30
11 - Water And Wine 02:26
12 - Gravity Flow 06:13
─────
54:41 min
Release Notes:
ôRideÆs a tough act to follow, but IÆm loving what IÆm hearingàö
Strong words for Mark Gardener about the process of creating
"These Beautiful Ghosts," his first solo effort since his
now-legendary group Ride disbanded. Ride, for you youngsters, kick
started the ôshoegazingö movement of the late eighties/early
nineties in the UK and influenced artists for years to come. Not
to disparage the impact that their music had on those times, but
you know, that was then, this is now. Mark says, ôMy passion for
making music hasnÆt changed, but of course, IÆm a completely
different person now.ö
Make no mistake; Gardener has been indulging that passion for a
while now. And like most records, this one has a storyà
Back in February 2003, after spending a couple of years laying
low, shacked up in barn in a walnut orchard in Le Lot and then
travelling in India, Mark leapt at the opportunity, offered by the
success of the Ride Best Of release, to play live again. The US
label that had released the Ride compilation asked him to come
over and play an acoustic show at SXSW in Austin, TX in March and
to do a few interviews, radio sessions etc. This was the first
time in 11 years that Mark had played shows in the States - when
Ride last toured there in 1992 they were still too young to drink
in the clubs they played. The SXSW showcase turned into a full
two-month solo acoustic tour with Mark playing mostly Ride
material, but also a smattering of brand new stuff.
Prior to heading off to the States Mark played a low-key warm-up
show in the Cellar Bar in Oxford where he was joined onstage for
half the set by local alt. country stars Goldrush, (they used to
cover Ride's ôDreams Burn Downö in their live set and had hooked
up with Mark when he went to see them play at the Garage in London
at the beginning of the year). The loose idea had been to play
some shows together and it was a good chance to try the idea out.
As fate would have it, Andy Bell was over from Stockholm for a day
and both he and Loz Colbert joined Mark and Goldrush onstage for
an extra "near-Ride-reunion" encore (Steve was in the Shetland
Isles at the time).
When Mark returned from his US tour, he and Goldrush decided to go
out and play the UK shows that they'd spoken about earlier in the
year. They recorded some tracks together for an exclusive Tour EP:
"Falling Out Into The Night" featured one Mark song, ôSnow In
Mexico,ö (weÆll get to that later), one Goldrush song and one Ride
song, the aforementioned, ôDreams Burn Down.ö A few copies leaked
out and the lead track was played on BBC Radio 1 and on BBC 6music
A few months later, Mark would play a packed out London's Spitz on
the 30th July with Goldrush as his backing band.
More writing and demo-ing followed in August (back in the land of
walnuts) and then 2 months in the US taking the Gardener/Goldrush
touring format Stateside. Goldrush were recording with Dave
Fridmann out there in September and it seemed rude not to hook up
and play some shows. In true ambitious fashion, Mark and Goldrush
then rambled from the East Coast (where Mark continued to record
some of the tracks that would become "These Beautiful Ghosts") to
the West Coast, to Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, then back to London
and a quick jaunt to Spain. Whew. Then, it was more writing (in
France), a well-received tour of Australia (w/sometime Ride
keyboardist Nick Moorbath) and some more shows in Spain,
punctuated by a support slot (with Goldrush) to die-hard Ride fans
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Forum in London. In fact, BRMC
managed to tease Mark back onstage at the end of the night for a
storming cover of RideÆs ôLeave Them All Behind.ö
Mark then returned to France in the summer of 2004 to finish
writing "These Beautiful Ghosts."
The remainder of the year was punctuated with occasional live
shows with Goldrush including an appearance on the John Peel Stage
at Glastonbury. Mark also hooked up with French duo rin⌠τΘr⌠se to
write and record some tracks for their imminent V2 album release.
They had traveled across France as obsessive fans to see one of
MarkÆs solo shows and, after a little vin rouge, the three of them
ended up spending a long weekend together in a Montpelier studio,
writing and recording.
Over the past year Mark has also collaborated on recent releases
from German dance duo Jam And Spoon, Italian singer/songwriter
Deepo and Australian alt rock outfit The Morning After Girls. It
would seem that the Ride gospel traveled far and wide and that
MarkÆs musical currency has never been higher.
Buoyed by the inspiration from his travels, Mark returned to New
York early in 2005 to work with producer Bill Racine. Bill had
engineered the Tarbox recording sessions at the end of 2003 and
Mark wanted him to record and mix the remainder of the tracks. The
initial mixing sessions in the legendary Bearsville Studio in
upstate NY were an instant success and Mark arranged for Goldrush
to fly over to record the rest of the tracks. Always keen to tread
the boards. Mark played a series a of East Coast and West Coast
shows backed by the Bennett brothers, Robin and Joe, from Goldrush
and Brooklyn vocalist/performer Cat Martino (who also features on
two of the album tracks).
Okay now, deep breath. "These Beautiful Ghosts" is finally in the
canà
And with all of the globetrotting, itÆs a wonder how Gardener
found it in him to embrace such introspective meandering. The
title track, for instance is about looking back to realize that,
ôthings in our lives didnÆt work out for a reason.ö ôItÆs about
those isolated moments in the evenings and the mornings,ö Mark
says, ôwhen the past, good and bad, can sweep around us. Those
fresh things we breathe in and the old that we breathe outà
detoxing.ö
"These Beautiful Ghosts" opens with ôSnow In Mexico,ö (I said weÆd
get back to it), an ethereal and poignant piece Mark says is, ôà
about people collisions.ö Inspired by a newspaper headline, Mark
ran with the spirit of the words. ôItÆs really about how people
can blow hot and cold, be one way one minute and then completely
different, the next.ö
Texturally, the record does retain some of the atmospheric nuance
that Ride knew so well. For reference, listening to mammoth pieces
like the sweeping ôGravity Flowö but "These Beautiful Ghosts" is
completely different animal. ôI wanted to make a record thatÆs got
some weight and some emotional content, but is also interesting to
listen to.ö The emotive quality of the record is certainly not
lost to its soundscapes. Rather, the wedding of neat sounds to
songs that reach out to us are palpable as in the bonafide pop
song, ôTo Get Me Throughö and the gorgeous ôSummer Turns To Fallö
(actually penned by Robin from Goldrush and American songwriter
Danny Power while meditating on MarkÆs time with Ride), with its
uplifting harmonies reminiscent of the best things Crosby, Stills,
Nash and Young have ever done. The rest of the record rolls off
like a desert wind- memorable, mysterious and refreshing.
Slated for release on October 11th, 2005 on new model indie United
For Opportunity of whom Gardener says, ôcredible music people find
each other,ö "These Beautiful Ghosts" will undoubtedly open a new
chapter for a musical iconoclast.
Until then, Mark is spending his Summer playing various European
festivals as guest vocalist to rin⌠τΘr⌠se before returning to the
States in September to support the aforementioned Black Rebel
Motorcyle Club across their month-long US tour.
Stateside headlining dates with backing from the full Goldrush
line-up will follow post-release.