Exclusive Interview with 'GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES'

Theo Brehony on vocals, Sanderson Rocha on guitar, and Fred Ala on production make up Ghosts Of Our Former Selves. The London-based band put out new music in 2021, which led to the release of their second album. These songs by Lazor cover a wide range of topics, including internet dating, fathers, living each day as if it were your last, relationships in which time is running out, Glastonbury, Trump, and Brexit. GOOFS are a live force of funk who have played Secret Garden festival and supported Beverley Knight on tour, winning over new fans each night. In support of their new music, they toured France last year and will do so again in 2020. Theo Brehony supported Beyonce on tour, co-wrote the international hit song “Push Up,” and Elton John is a fan of his soulful voice. From Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sanderson Rocha is a prolific creator of funk, soul, rock, and all other guitar genres. As a master of hip hop beats, Fred Ala has collaborated with many studio legends, such as Gus Dudgeon (Elton John, David Bowie), Robin Miller (Sade), and others.
The Golden EP’s release serves as a reflection of how powerful fatherhood has been for Ghost of our Former Selves. So much so that the band decided to play an impromptu rendition of Paul Simon’s Mother and Child Reunion instead of sticking to their own songs during a recording session. After making the connection, the band decided it had to be included on the new EP, and they also produced an exclusive live video to go along with the release.
Golden, the album’s last song, was a little bit of a surprise. Strings were substituted for the band’s usual synth and brass sounds, an unusual move for Brehony that ultimately opened the door to something truly special. The song’s end builds to a strong gospel-rock groove as it concludes, topped with Baby Sol’s smooth vocals on the harmonies and outro. Check out the EP and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES: I was in a band signed to a major label previously and was a collaborator with the Freestylers (I co-wrote Push Up and sang on it). I had kind of lost my confidence after we parted ways with Sony but gradually started writing again with a brilliant Brazilian guitarist called Sanderson Rocha. I’ve never doubted my voice but I started to realise the songs we were creating were meaningful and good. A year later, I bumped into producer Fred Ala in an Iranian restaurant and told him I had some demos. I then pestered him for 6 months. Eventually we got in a studio on the Kingsland Rd in Shoreditch and we started to really invent a sound. Pretty soon Fred was hooked and joined the band. We’ve gone on a massive journey ever since!

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES: I have a natural tone and flexibility to my voice – I’ve been singing at the drop of a hat since I was 14 years old. But, once I got into the music industry professionally, I realised that my voice was my instrument and I needed to protect it. I went off once a week for a year tosee a singing coach and that allowed me to have control and not wear my voice out in sessions or on tour.

In terms of being a music maker in the studio, I learnt by sitting next to clever, gifted people – producers, engineers and mixers. I am pretty good myself at this point and I like to use Logic Pro but I know that there is a level where I need help.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES’?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES: Growing up it was all Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and the Beatles. Those are some good teachers. As my taste matured and widened, I got into hip hop, jazz and artists like Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Neil Young and Prince. Fred is also a massive Steely Dan fan and this is a constant debate with us!

Our name came about because of where I was in my life. Two things happened, I found a small book of poems my Dad had written and alongside that some old demo tapes that I had not listened to for over a decade. I just felt I was in a certain position in time and that we are all echoes of what has happened before. There is actually a song of ours called Father’s Song where I took a poem he wrote about me as a child and we put it to music (in collaboration with Jon Moody from Franc Moody).

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES: We want to be known as some of the best songwriters around with great arrangements and vocals. A merging of influences like classic pop, funk, jazz, soul and singer songwriter with great beats. When you see us live this all make sense!

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as singer songwriter/soul?
**GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES**: Everything is everything, you are just taking all your influences and filtering them through your own personal lense. It’s important to avoid cliché but you should feel free to do what you love and hopefully that will be original. Your own style is something you have to trust in – we always say, if we make something then it will sound like us!

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES:

I like to write about everything around me – I think that most artists write about the personal because that is what they feel the most but yes, sometimes you write about the world outside your room. I wrote about how I felt about Brexit and Trump in 2016 (Outsiders) and about how we were all handling Covid (Sea of People). At the moment, my mind seems to be preoccupied with mental health – mine and other peoples’ – and how we all are doing. I’ve noticed that people seem to be disappearing for chunks of time around me (I’m writing a song called Private Weather about this) and I’m trying to figure out why and what they are going through.

Music can be the gateway for everything! I think that when we all come together to experience it, it is spiritual. That’s what our album title Night Church means – it’s all about trying to figure out this existence together.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES:

We want to keep building and connecting. I love talking to someone who DMs me from Japan or Holland. We love to make music but we want to perform to more people. That is the biggest kick of all. After learning so much, we will release music that is our best yet next year and we want people to hear it!

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES: There is no one way to write a song but… I have notes and lyrics that I constantly write. The musical ideas often come from somewhere else and then I try to put the two together. I really like collaboration with other musicians. We write a lot just as a trio – sometimes we make beats or we just play guitar – but lately we have brought in other players to write with on occasion and it makes you raise your game. I’m writing a song called Happy Birthday Philip We Love You – that’s what I saw written on a missing persons poster on a café window. That was a narrative I wanted to tell straight away.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

GHOSTS OF OUR FORMER SELVES: Being dropped by a major label is not fun but music is a vocation if you are serious about it and a couple of years later I co-wrote a global hit. You have to honour your talent and keep going.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

So many moments! We opened for Beyonce in my previous band (Heist), got signed to Elton John’s management label, toured with Beverley Knight and played Secret Garden Festival when we released our first GOOFS record. One big one is being crazy enough to organise two tours of the south of France (with some French promoters who are now friends) and play everywhere from castles to vineyards like a travelling minstrel show – the effort to do that was exhausting but the pay off in terms of memories is huge!