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Ghostpoet, aka Obaro Ejimiwe, ain’t no rapper, nor is he sure if he’ll ever record another album. But for now he’s waxing lyrical on the every day, one day at a time. Stuart Evans gets the low down. here is generally a clue to Obaro Ejimiwe’s lyrics. Ejimiwe, better known as Ghostpoet to the masses, is a melancholic MC with a reputation for lyrics that chronicle life’s variances. His prose is firmly rooted in the abstract. He laughs, “It’s not really that complex as it’s me mumbling over my diverse musical tastes and then getting people to like it. I don’t make records for anybody but myself and most times I go in with the mindset of making a record that I would like listen to.” He says he doesn’t want to be a pop star and his lyrics aren’t complex. “I mean, my lyrics aren’t as straightforward as an abc rhyme or anything and they’re not Bob Dylan. It’s just me talking about the world as I see it.”
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He says Some Say I So I Say Light is a different album, and different for a reason. “Subconsciously, I’d stored up enough material since my last album so when it came down to write new material just flowed. I didn’t feel pressured or stressed as it was about having fun and making music.” He says he wanted to experiment and explore. “The new album’s still experimental in nature as this time I wanted to work with acoustic instruments and continue my exploration with electronics. I feel it’s evolving me as an artist. I work full-time in music and I’ve been able to immerse myself in the genres that I love.”
Having received such critical acclaim for Peanut Butter Blues And Melancholy Jam, Ejimiwe’s followup album was always going to stoke comparisons. Was he little more than a one-album wonder? The thought never crossed his mind, although the success
He is also candid about the need for him to progress. “I knew that whatever I did after Peanut Butter Blues And Melancholy Jam I needed to develop as an artist and that my next album would have to be recorded in studio.” So his latest effort is slicker and more
THE NEW NORMAL
“It came very fast and it came on the back of a lot of work from Glenn, who had been championing the idea of a band with myself for many years,” Ox informs. “And in the end Glenn just literally... I was on Skype with [him] and he just said, ‘I’m coming to Melbourne, I’ve got a
WHO: Ghostpoet WHAT: Some Say I So I Say Light (Liberator) WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 15 September, Brisbane Festival, Famous Spiegeltent
GOING TO You Am I, The Tivoli
CHECKING OUT Jesus Christ Superstar, BEC
WATCHING ICC Champions Trophy
READING David Warner’s Twitter
EATING Super Bowl laksa
DRINKING Red Bull Silver Edition
Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.” - Martin Luther
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Ezekiel Ox has never been short on drive and focus, and right now the provoking and fiery vocalist, poet, actor and activist is stressing the importance of a fresh slate. The Nerve – made up of the former Mammal mouth, ex-Cog drummer Lucius Borich, bassist Davarj Thomas (formerly of Pre.shrunk) and guitar maverick Glenn Proudfoot – have smashed into the Australian hard rock landscape with such a force you’d have thought this band and sound was years in the making. However, as Ox levels, this simply wasn’t the case. Calling it “a very 2013 process”, the singer explains that the band and songs were all put together over the past summer via Skype, Dropbox and the web, between Melbourne (Ox and Thomas), Sydney (Borich) and Prague (Proudfoot).
You’d think that he’d have plenty of material for a third album. After all, life changes daily; new books arrive and the information age is relentless with who does what and why it matters. “I don’t have a clue if I’ll ever make another album,” he admits. “I still love making music and I’ll probably make another one at some point. What? How? When and where?… Who knows? I don’t.”
Wowee Zowee, Pavement
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Even with a band full of proven warriors, The Nerve are well aware that reputations can be destroyed as quickly as they’re made. But as Ezekiel Ox tells Benny Doyle, the past “counts for fuck all in this instance”.
Content-wise, the lyrics and storytelling remain as abstract as ever, even if it’s relatable. If there’s an evident rationalisation for the new ideas on Some Say I So I Say Light, it’s because life has a canny knack of changing. That Ejimiwe writes about life and not about themes gives him plenty to say. “I just write about stuff. It could be something I’ve read or something I’ve watched on TV. It could be a bit of art I’ve seen. Themes don’t mean anything to me. It’s about exploring the world of emotions. We all feel some kind of emotion – black, white, tall, short, Australian or English – emotions are the one thing we all have in common.”
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Some Say I So I Say Light was largely recorded in analogue and in a studio, a stark contrast from the home recorded Peanut Butter Blues And Melancholy Jam, which was recorded via digital instrumentation. Established producer Richard Formby (Formby co-produced Some Say I So I Say Light) helped the transformation, or advancement. Although there was a need to bring in assistance, Ejimiwe’s quick to clarify that Formby’s contribution was a value-add, not a must have. “I knew I needed to bring in a co-producer as I wanted to get the best of this experience. Having a co-producer was about aiding and improving the music I was already making and not him making music for me.”
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refined that his debut, yet manages to trend between gritty realism and over-the-top production. The other difference is the list of guest contributors – Tony Allen, Lucy Rose, Woodpecker Wooliams to name a few. Ejimiwe says the choices were deliberate. “I wanted real musicians to feature on the album. They may not be the typical commercial big headline acts but they are people with a reputation for their music.”
of Some Say I So I Say Light has surprised him. “I didn’t expect such great reviews as I didn’t think people would like it. I’ve realised as I’m getting old I’m getting more pessimistic. I’m really pleased with the reaction though, so it’s so far so good.”
Released in 2010, Peanut Butter Blues And Melancholy Jam was picked up by Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label and the album immediately earned praise for lyrics that spoke of everyday life. And by everyday life, that’s exactly what Ejimiwe speaks of: lyrics could reference a past takeaway, a movie or a dream he had last year. On paper it’s hardly the subject matter that speaks to a generation, yet Ejimiwe has achieved the feat of being completely and easily identifiable. He sees the funny side: “I just say what I want and what I feel. It’s me talking about everyday life, the people I meet and the situations that arise.” Nevertheless, the comparisons with rap are easy to reconcile. If rappers tell stories of personal adversity, triumph, hardships and life’s twists and turns, so too does Ejimiwe. Still, if comparisons are to be made it’s probably with Mike Skinner (The Streets) or Roots Manuva. Like Ejimiwe, both artists combine tales of gritty urban life with electronic and atmospheric influences. It’s evident in Ejimiwe’s latest and equally conceptual album title, Some Say I So I Say Light. “As strange as it sounds the album title came to me in a dream,” he laughs.
e’re all very proud of our previous work as a group, but it – and we – have got everything to prove to ourselves and we’ve also got everything to prove to our audience because they don’t owe us shit – we owe them.”
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After his 2011 debut album, which carried an abstract moniker (Peanut Butter Blues And Melancholy Jam) was shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, some tagged Ejimiwe as a neo-rapper – a guy who represented a new direction for British rap. He disagrees. “I’m not a rapper and would never describe myself as one. I’m a fan of rap music but I’m a fan of many genres. I listen to hip hop, trance, indie and all kinds of music and don’t need to limit myself to one genre. I hope the diversity comes out in my music as I don’t write to sound like one particular style.”
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d’. studio booked and we’re making this fucking record’. d ’t Basically. He was sick of my vacillating, I guess. I don’t think anyone could accuse me of procrastinating – I was very busy at the time – but he just wanted to get it done.” Proudfoot then arrived in Melbourne with 24 rough songs and the band begun working them up. “We all knew when we heard it that it was something that gave us a real energy bolt and it gave us a sense... it’s kinda indefinable, it’s just about, ‘Something is going on here, this is worth pursuing’... [Now], to say [something] worth pursuing would be understating it; it’s truly something that has the potential to be remarkable, and that’s exciting.” Highlighting the power of the digital age, it wasn’t until four days before their first gig at the Espy in February that the foursome all stood in a room together: “a unique moment as far as music goes”, Ox understates. “But when Lucius counted us off and it sounded really good, it was awesome – as thrilling as we all hoped. And then we just went to work. We had three rehearsals before [the] gig, and that [night] really was something to write home about.” The Nerve’s first track to surface, The Witness, is a solid slab of riff and roar that hits hard, but does so with flair. However, when pushed for a comment
whether this song is indicative of their debut (working title: Audiodacity) Ox is unwilling to make a definitive comment. Right now, all we know is that there are ten songs, approximately 30 minutes of music and plenty of ideas bubbling to the surface. “If we can use the fitness analogy,” Ox gests, “it’s going to be a super fit, toned up personal trainer drill sergeant, barking, barking orders at you to sort yourself out and lift those knees, soldier. [But] you can’t try to imagine what people are going to think of it, you just have to make sure it makes you bob your head when you listen to it and you’re still getting those goose bump moments when you work on it, and we are.” WHO: The Nerve WHEN & WHERE: Friday 21 June, The Brewery, Byron Bay; Saturday 22, The Tempo Hotel
Wolfmother main man Andrew Stockdale returns to us with a surge of creativity in the shape of Keep Moving, his first self-produced studio album under his own name, and an honest exposé of Stockdale’s poetic point of view within his day-to-day experiences. Thanks to the good people at Universal music we have five copies of the album to give away! To enter this and checkout heaps more head to the Time Off Facebook page.
For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 17