“Keep doing it – if you are making good music, you need to be lucky and make connections but that won’t happen if you are not constantly on it! – Fred Ala
London three-piece Ghosts of Our Former Selves return this March with the soulful new single ‘The Island’, taken from their second album due for release this year. Comprised of lead-singer Theo Brehony, guitarist Sanderson Rocha, and producer Fred Ala – They’re a creative juggernaut that addresses everyday issues to wider, socio-political turmoil in their music
We caught up with the trio following their highly anticipated release of their new single “The Island” to find out more about their latest music, and their journey to date.
The Beginning
Following his time in the band “Heist”, Theo’s path took him from London to New York, where he got an internship working for Jive in their studios. During this time he started hanging out in the offices of Universal Music Publishing where another friend was already signed.
“I started making friends with people and playing them our demos which eventually led to them helping me. Long story short, I moved to New York, finished an album and got signed to Sony Music. That was the start!”
The Island
The Island itself is about Theo’s relationship with his dad. When he was a kid he moved to a “literal” island while his father was struggling with depression and a rage against the world. The song is an embodiment of emotions about how Theo felt about his father later in life. For the trio as a team, they wanted to get an authentic 70’s gospel sound.
When it comes to describing their music, the trio work really hard to write songs that mean something and allow Theo’s voice to do what it does. Soulful with a lot of varying influences – funk, hip hop, jazz, classic rock, folk pop.
For their listeners the trio are keen to invoke an emotion that moves them, makes the listener think and ultimately make them dance, leading to an inner yern for more projecting an emotive response of what the next song has in store.
Social media has had a huge impact on defining the trio to where they are now. For them as musicians, they believe it is vital to engage allowing them to open up their music to fans everywhere.
Finding Strength through Mental Health
Lead Singer Theo humbly admits to having dealt with some issues a couple of times. There are a period when things were not going well with his career. Working with Beyonce would sound like a dream, which in effect it was, however, the band found themselves getting no label support which was very difficult to deal with.
“It was very weird to be doing this great thing but knowing the big picture was unravelling.”
Theo highlights songs which he has written around a number of issues, which he admits has been a big help in helping him get through. He goes on to explain how important it is to work with people that actually care about you and your music, and understand the type of music you make. Music is a secret language and you can always identify those people on your wavelength.
Looking Forward
Looking to the music industry, lead singer Theo likes the idea that artists are given the time to develop. Championing the amount of creativity coming through, he feels we need to work out how to pay our artists better. Highlighting their greatest challenge to date has been running a band, finding new listeners, and consistently generating new exciting content.
For students interested in following the creative path, Theo strongly recommends working on enhancing your song writing and performing. “Be obsessed”!
Looking to the future, the trio are keen to be a band with a loyal following. “We want people to listen to what we are making and come to great shows. We are going to release a song called Night Church about that kind of communal experience when you see a band and that’s what we want to create.”
The trio are currently in the production phase of a number of new songs, including an EP, so they are keen to see the final visuals currently being produced. In addition to a new album coming out later this year!
