#danny mclewin

One of the best surprises of 2018 was Ghost Vision, the enigmatic duo of Psychemagik’s Danny McLewin and deep tech producer Thomas Gandey. Their first release, the Shakahuchi single on Love on the Rocks, was a neon-hued adventure through gliding rave breaks, electro futurisms, and vocal trance euphorias that also featured equally stellar remixes by Tokyo Black Star and Al Kassian. The Saturnus 12” on Kompakt came soon after and saw the duo’s sound shift rather dramatically towards deep space exploration, with ethereal pianos and ominous layers of synthesis surrounding zoned out acid chuggers. Now roughly a year later, Gandey and McLewin return with the Mirador 12” on Pinchy & Friends, a beautiful two track journey that sees Ghost Vision shifting sonically yet again, this time into realms of romantic balearica and pastoral space psychedelia. Indeed, “Mirador” is a deeply transportive Ibizan anthem, with pounding downbeat breaks and fat-bottomed bass synths gliding towards an exploding horizon of red, orange, pink, and purple while romantic piano melodies and shimmering guitar arpeggios swim through sunset orchestrations (see Daniel Heidkamp’s stunning cover painting for a visual approximation of the sound). And in “Ozen,” we enter a rural, rainbow colored, and sometimes shadowy krautrock paradise at the center of the cosmos, with hippie folk guitars, dreamscape sequences, and gaseous electro-rhythms charting a journey through an ever-evolving universe of atmospheric synthesizer magic. 

Ghost Vision - Mirador (Pinchy & Friends, 2019) The pads that introduce “Mirador” paint the air in colors of early twilight while a slow motion breakbeat flows underneath, built from baggy kick drums and crisp hats and snares. Flubby and romantic boogie basslines are repurposed for a downbeat love song while chiming electronics float towards a colorburst horizon. Synthesized orchestrations wrap ever tighter around the heart and further pad layers descend alongside glowing piano enchantments, with spellbinding ivory runs up the scale that disappear into the clouds, only to reappear and descend on pearlescent lightwaves. There’s a touch of soft-jazz schmaltz amidst the atmospheres of balearic wonderment as the track hits upon that classic 90s Ibizan sound, evoking Real Balearic and Café del Mar compilation legends such as Cantoma, Afterlife, José Padilla, Bliss, and Calm. Sensual electric guitar twiddles sit deep in the ether, 12-string acoustics weave swaying waterfall cascades, layered violins diffuse in then vaporize, and feedback fever tones bend into a hallucinatory haze…all while bells shake and submarine pings glide on sunbeams. At the middle of the track sits a deeply freaked out fusion solo, though the blazing runs and laser speed leads never rise above a cosmic whisper as they squiggle and slide through pools of galactic grease. Sometimes it all backs down into pounding machine rhythms, low down boogie bass, and melodious piano magic before the aquamarine orchestrations and shimmering guitar webs rush back in. And eventually, the drums and bass cut away, leaving just bubbling bass pulsations, sizzling cymbal work, and seasick arpeggiations that soon fade into nothingness. 

“Ozen” begins with wobbling bass textures supporting an ominous kick, hand drum, and shaker groove while birdsong flows through reverberating liquids and delirium sequences lock into a Steve Hillage lullaby. Tambourines shimmer over an agrarian bassline, which is tracked by laser light synth leads and soft psych-folk guitar riffs. And as crystalline arpeggiatio flow into the mix, the track works itself into a sort of barnyard space jam in the style of Popol Vuh or Agitation Free (as well as their spiritual descendants, The Alps). There’s a moment where things fall apart, with the rhythms being replaced by sci-fi clock chimes and gemstone sequences that time-morph into total stasis….all while a galactic wind blows. Then as the heady groove rushes back in on cyclical guitar narcotics, shadowy euphoria tones, aquatic e-piano sexualisms, and hypnotic shaker patterns, we momentarily find ourselves in Air’s melancholic chill-out paradise. “Ozen” continues to morph, expand, and contract according to a psychedelic dream logic, with the krautfolk guitars sometimes cutting away in favor of melting color tracers and dub echo panoramas, while at other times, tambourines, shakers, and cushiony kicks work alongside psychotropic oscillations as marbles vibrate through corridors of cosmic light. Sorcerous bass sequences ascend through ritualistic filter motions and crystalline arpeggiations cycle before disappearing, taking with them everything but kick drums, shakers, and hovering dream orchestrations that are danced through by futurescape harpsichords and blurred e-piano romanticisms. And towards the end, we dive deep into a fantasy ocean, wherein mermaid symphonies are mimicked by vintage string synthesizers as bubble strands float towards the wavering sunlight.

Ghost Vision is the new project from Thomas Gandey and Danny McLewin (of Psychemagik and Spacetalk) and they’ve just released a pair of 12”s: Shakuhaci for Love on the Rocks and Saturnus for Kompakt. Shakuhachi is an incredible package, featuring a dreamy breakbeat original and two high quality remixes from Tokyo Black Star and Al Kassian. There are also informative (and hilarious) liner notes concerning the origins of the ancient shakuhachi flute. Saturnus, on the other hand, explores the outer expanses of the cosmos with two extended pieces of zoned out and propulsive space music.  

Ghost Vision - Shakuhachi (Love on the Rocks, 2018) The original cut of “Shakuhachi” is a futuristic beatbox odyssey…throw down some cardboard and breakdance through the cosmos. The bass is chunky and percussive, overlaid by sparkling synth effects and beatific organ chords. Totally dreamy vocals in spritely sequences enhance the euphoric vibe as everything comes together for a deeply affecting climax. The whole track is just full of positive energy and light, sometimes backing off into sections involving just the breakbeat glide and hallucinatory vocal pads, other times letting the rhythms drop away in favor of staticky noise and outerspace synthesizers. Tokyo Black Star’s “Atlantis Remix” occupies the same side, and sees the b-boy breaks swapped out for a huge housey pulse and funky tight bassline, with the diva moans of the original amped up and little stardust melodies flashing through the sky. The oceanic organs are foregrounded and the lysergic vocal pads are more restrained, still letting out angelic ooo’s and aaa’s, but stretched out and majestic rather than kaleidoscopic and playful. And at times, the track breaks down into mind bend sections of oscillating synth weirdness.

Al Kassian’s version leans hard into the ravey flavor of the original, with a massive pillowy kick locked into a four-four and the cymbal play and fat meaty bassline giving things a break-y feel. Melodrama is created by deep pulsing choirs and once the chewy and spellbinding acid line fades in, Al Kassian just revels in this cosmic euphoric zone for an extended jam out. Eventually, the melodic pads and percolating arps rain down over the mix as the drums pull away, peak-time ecstasy achieved with organs and trippy vocal sequences dancing alongside majestic string synths. It’s a moment of blissed out magic amidst the acid squall…rainbow light glowing with positivity and love, everybody on the floor joined together as one and anticipating the raging storm to come. Indeed, we bust back into the punishing rhythmics, now with wild toms rattling through the mix and the resonance and filtering allowed to go wild on the hypnotic acid line, everything building towards a massive climax of 90s rave rhythms and cosmic atmospherics.

Ghost Vision - Saturnus (Kompakt, 2018) “Saturnus (Ghost Vision Theme)” drops right away into a galactic power glide, with crisp hats, kick, and snare locked into slow disco enchantment. There is the subtle and futuristic sounding clavinet line that morphs from ear to ear, with ghostly pads in a tremolo infused swirl and haunting voices chanting “ghost vision”. The track is a textural fantasia and a masterwork of deep psychedelic listening, everything recorded huge and given space, especially the flashes of slide guitar and heavily modulated space leads. It has the feel of an ascendent build, confident in how utterly cool it is, with moments where the track seems to explode as heavy washes of choral synthesizers rain down, but the fireworks always fade in favor of the mystifying dream pulse. And just when you have resigned yourself to this universal flow, a menacing acid line bubbles to the surface, literally perfect, and the spacey groove is further colored by bright arcs of synth noise and guitar feedback.

With “Zuul Passage”, we are immediately thrust into some otherworldly acid ritual, dark growling 303’s and heavenly choirs over a minimal hat’n’kick pulse. Deep in the mix are floating arpeggios and electronic fx, forming an enveloping fog that supports gorgeous piano melodies and a shimmering web of synthesizers. Eventually, a fat-bottomed beat is established, slow and low, with dusty snare cracks and flashes of space wind over the gurgling acid bass. Minimal pads waver like a mirage and the track takes occasional detours into sections of strange ambient prog, and the peaceful sunset melodies, now on synth, are increasingly stretched out into epic and hallucinatory shapes. Towards the end, everything devolves into abstract bass pulses, wild effects, and sea sick drones before fading away.

Psychemagik - Ritual Chants - several selections from the “Beach” disc

‘Ritual Chants’ is a stellar earthbound and outer space odyssey spanning 3 discs, respectfully embellishing Psychemagik’s taste and passion for the wonderful, the sublime and very often unusual.

Psychemagik have announced the follow-up to their Magik Cyrkles and Magik Sunrise, Magik Sunset, which will be out on September 4th via Leng Records. As big-time record collectors, the UK duo have developed a reputation as the go-to guys for rare records and samples that you won’t find anywhere else. Their satisfied customers include  2 Many Dj’s/Soulwax, Chemical Brothers, Q-Tip, and Fake Blood…