The Ghost Of Helags - Essence of Stardust

For most artists, you could use two hands to point out where you wrote and recorded an album. They might’ve written a lot of it in their bedroom, or a home studio, maybe even a writing retreat. Recording would either be in a make-shift studio, or a more professional establishment, depending on the recording requirements. But The Ghost Of Helags aren’t most artists, and you might need a world map to see all the places this album was written and recorded. It’s called ‘We Came From The Stars’.

The Ghost Of Helags are a Swedish duo in the form of Teresa Woischiski and John Alexander Ericson. Now based in Berlin, they released their six-track EP ‘Shibuya’ in early 2017, and their first single release from their debut album came a year later, as well as standalone single ‘Wildest Dreams’. The duo’s Instagram page could just as well function as a travelogue, with photographs taken in Brussels (Belgium), Andalucía (Spain), the French Riviera, Warsaw (Poland), the Amalfi Coast (Italy), Prague (Czech Republic), and so on. We Came From The Stars was released in mid-March 2021, with a brand new video for their single ‘Chemistry’.

The album begins with synthesized percussion on a bed of foreboding keyboard before the real beat kicks in. Teresa Woischiski’s voice hangs in the balance between a veil of reverb like the record is coming into focus. Hand-clap synthesis lures you into believing this is a 1980’s sounding record, but in reality it’s more 21st century than you think.

‘Chemistry’ has the air of a journey beginning, and so does the video by Switch Studio, showing the duo getting into a Jaguar and leaving the city. Over the course of the story you see them driving with Woischiski at the wheel, going through frosty countryside to arrive at their destination of a deserted beach and a stormy sea. If this is the start, where do The Ghost Of Helags end up?

‘Mary’ immediately has more pace, I love that opening beat. You can almost see John Alexander Ericson tapping that out on pads at a gig. The continuing beat forms the basis of the track for the first couple of verses before cutting out as Teresa sings ‘Mary goes and Mary says it’s over now. She used to stay awake for days and fall asleep to the sound of the rain, but that was then and this is now…’ The synth layers aren’t as numerous as Chemistry, but there is an indecipherable vocal loop that has the melodic structure of being played on a keyboard. The instrumental section in Mary really pulls you in, with the beat the focus and simple pad chords on the keyboard.

If Mary was chock full of beats, ‘In The Dark, Honey’ is almost devoid of any. This piece largely centres on Teresa Woischiski’s vocal soundtracked by Ericson’s piano and featuring British artist Hayley Ross on backing vocals. The comparison might be easy, but I’m reminded of The Cardigans’ album ‘Long Gone Before Daylight’ in songs like ‘Couldn’t Care Less’ and ‘Feathers And Down’. The end section with the gentle but firm bass drum and Ross’ vocal harmonies is an utterly captivating and beautiful moment on this album. The sinister music video masquerading as comfort unfortunately cuts the end of the track off, but the full version is included here. I could listen to this all day.

This melancholic thread continues in ‘Bye bye Tokyo’, though there’s something more optimistic about the key and the melody The Ghost Of Helags employ in this track, like where something ends, something new begins too. ‘Let me, let me take your mind, and take it for a ride. I’ll show you what you’ve missed, you don’t know the world that exists…’ This is a fitting opening lyric for a band that has experienced many corners of the world.

The beat for Bye bye Tokyo is easy on the ear, not forceful or driving, as are the organ sounds that fill the sonic space between the drums and Teresa’s vocal. There’s a light lead synth line that continues as the song fades out and the lyrics have ceased, the instrumentation is perfect across this whole piece. I feel like at times fade-outs are a thing of the past that people don’t use so much anymore, but I do enjoy the idea that a fade-out creates the illusion of the song going on forever, much like it does here.

‘Night Summer Waiting’ gets a music video in the form of a night-time drive through Berlin. In general the lyrics seem more reflective, my favourite lines being; ‘Night Summer Waiting, I’ll take on anyone tonight, we’re lovers on the edge of town, and all, and all my life, watching the world with restless eyes…’ I love how beat-driven the music on this album is, it’s always interesting to hear each beat build up. Bass drum, snare, add some hi-hat, then additional percussion, it’s a real treat when listened to in headphones.

The false finish is a surprise, then the track builds back up again. The keyboard work is simple and chord-based, but rhythmic like the rest of Night Summer Waiting. By this point, I’m realising the duo has taken care to craft a sound across this album, a prevailing mood that is all at once an ice-cold breath and being wrapped up warm by the fire.

‘Anthem – We Came From The Stars’ was originally released in early 2018 as a single follow-up to their Shibuya EP. The early beat here is almost indescribable, like it’s three beats overlapping at once. The chords underneath sound like cello, slowly dragging their bows across the strings. Woischiski’s vocal sounds like it was recorded in a small space, like she’s sitting in the bottom of a cupboard far from home.

The production here though is excellent. As another synth fades up, hi-hat is added, and then we realise why this song is called Anthem first and foremost. However, it doesn’t quite reach the formulaic climax of most club songs, which is somewhat of a relief. The fact that I expected it and it didn’t come to fruition is what I’ve yearned to hear for some time. Instead, Anthem comes down again to re-introduce Woischiski’s vocal. The string parts of this track are truly beautiful, as the conclusion of the song features more violin and viola over the repeated lyric ‘You will be mine.’

‘I wanna breathe Unconditional Love.’ This song wastes no time and goes straight in with Teresa’s vocal, the synths underneath are a combination of pulsing bass and something that sounds like a voice sample. The lead vocal here is so clear, free of the over-compressed home recording that producers might be tempted into. Similarly, the reverb isn’t overdone, it’s just enough to take it out of the room it was recorded in. The added vocal layers open this out, panned hard so you can hear the characteristic of each voice individually.

These sounds serve as a three-minute introduction to the beats that follow and a synth that in another world would be played on bagpipes. Once again, the beats defy explanation, like it’s a living thing migrating across land. Musically, Unconditional Love is simple, but to me this is a strong contender for a single and music video release.

‘Under My Skin’ is a track resurrected from their Shibuya EP, re-recorded for We Came From The Stars. The original features a heavier beat, while this rendering is more gentle. In particular, Woischiski’s vocal is closer, allowing you to hear the nuance of the melody, which to me makes this arrangement the superior one.

The music early on is split between a higher organ sound and something that sounds like guitar feedback, manipulated to have more rhythm. The call and response of the lyric that ensues is unusual for this album, but I like it. Refreshingly, it’s not a simple delay on the vocal, replicating and repeating it, but rather a whole individually recorded backing vocal, giving this a more authentic edge instead of a chopped-up track on a digital audio workstation. Towards the conclusion of Under My Skin, the feedback is brought up a notch. It’s unclear if this is guitar, or heavily effected keyboard. I feel like this should go on for longer, it has a soundtrack quality that would be excellent for live performance with images on a screen.

Immediately I love the feel and more importantly the melody of ‘Rain’. The piano is natural, you can always tell a real piano, the way the notes carry through the wood and the metal framework really matters to the sound as much as the notes themselves. A slight creak of a piano stool here is another giveaway - the authenticity is much appreciated. There’s something majickal about Rain in the lyrics too; ‘Come, step into my world, where things are not quite as they seem…’ The whole lyric is the most comforting thing on We Came From The Stars.

Once the beat kicks in, there are synth strings and vocal samples that are pitch-shifted which come in and out of the song. I would love to see a piano/vocal only version of this song. The additional vocal layers at the end however are essential, it would be incredible to hear a choir singing that. A track that has captured my heart and put it somewhere safe.

Bringing us firmly out of the world of Rain is Parallel. Beginning with multiple vocals, then a hard driving combination of drums and metallic synthesizer, Parallel shows the range of The Ghost Of Helags in their production and songwriting. The extended instrumental section after the initial vocal outpouring is well worth it, which breaks down as Woischiski interrupts Ericson’s electronica with a floating lyric and waves of reverb. This is all taken away with the lines ‘Be the one I love’, though it’s impossible to know how many vocal layers there are with the harmonies and ad-libs Woischiski provides. This is the most dance The Ghost Of Helags get on their album, which ceases abruptly…

…as ‘Wicked Wind’ begins. The keyboard is like a soft church organ, the kind that plays as people are taking their pews. Again, Ericson makes an interesting beat over the simple keyboard sounds, like he’s really thought about each note. A vocoder can be heard, playing Woischiski’s vocal through a keyboard and using the notes to dictate what she sings. The sweeping sounds of tape strings are a good production decision, the clash of the unnatural execution with the heavenly sound is a favourite of mine in music.

The final song on We Came From The Stars is the conclusion of our journey, bringing us back to Berlin. ‘And the road is dark, and there are a million stars, and with the radio playing on the autobahn.’ If there have been touches of church organ before, then Autobahn Lullaby is a hymn. The beat is simple with bass drum and handclaps. There’s also a bass sound that’s so trebly it almost isn’t bass at all, but it has the pang of bass guitar strings played on a keyboard.

The video sees Teresa Woischiski take a walk with I presume John Alexander Ericson behind the camera, the surroundings are beautiful and suit this song down to the core. The Ghost Of Helags could’ve taken this album into the more obvious melancholic route it seemed destined for, but the note they finish on is a high one. It’s optimism, and it’s exactly what everybody needs right now.

‘There’s a tomorrow I’m ready for.’

1. Your debut album 'We Came From The Stars' was written all over the world, what was the most incredible place you did some of the writing?

Teresa Woischiski: in the airplane over the Japanese clouds. On a night flight back to Berlin. That’s where Bye bye Tokyo was written. 

John Alexander Ericson: We did some writing in a remote cabin in the Polish “giant mountain range” area. That felt quite special. 

2. As a duo, you moved further south from Sweden and set yourselves up in Berlin - what was the reason behind that?

Alex: Berlin has the grit and the ugliness I needed to get creative. But also Berlin has such a beautiful side to it. Great mix! 

3. A question for Alex - what was the division of writing on these tracks? Did you both bring individual tracks to the project or was it all more collaborative?

Alex: It varies from track to track. Some songs I write both the music and the words, but some songs Teresa writes words to. Bye Bye Tokyo, for instance, I sent her an mp3 with the music and she put words to it. 

4. Teresa, what was the recording process like for the album? Did you enter any studios or was everything recorded while travelling?

Teresa: a lot of times we travelled only for recording a song. Basically a music trip. The most surreal was probably the recording of Night Summer Waiting up on a hill in a small Italian village where we isolated in midst of the pandemic to get some shit done. Because who can be creative when all these Corona news are all over the place on TV, radio etc. so we fled to a place without all that. And who would have thought that such a cheerful hopeful song emerged!

We also have a studio in Berlin, if we want to get it done right on the spot, it’s perfect!

5. What can you tell me about the character of Mary? Is she entirely fictional?

Teresa: The name is fictional, but the character is based on somebody I met once, outside the techno club “Tresor” in Berlin. 

6. Tell me about the making of the 'Mary' video, where did those ideas come from?

Teresa:  It’s basically about doing exactly what you want, no matter how crazy it is, if you feel it is right, just do it. So, hopefully we are all Mary every once in a while.

7. Hayley Ross worked with you both on 'In The Dark, Honey', how did that collaboration come together and what was the experience like?

Teresa: We have the same press agency and I immediately loved her soothing voice and thought it would be a great fit for the song. She was so cool to work with and gave the song her personal touch to it. So glad we did that together!

8. 'Under My Skin' was actually put out on your debut EP 'Shibuya' in 2017, what made you want to remake it for your album?

Alex: We always liked the song and I wanted to try a more bare approach to it, without that brutal drum loop from the original version. Something more intimate. 

9. The video was released almost four years ago now. If you were to make that video in 2021, what would be different about it?

Teresa: We never shot an official video for this, we did a dance rehearsal video for it where I improvised to the song. I would probably do the same thing just another location. Maybe in that village in Italy. In front of this white huge chapel on the hill. At midnight. 

10. 'Wicked Wind' pays tribute to Kate Bush. I always like to ask what a Kate Bush fan's favourite era of her music is - what's yours?

Teresa: 1989 The Sensual World was quite special, absolutely love “This Woman’s Work”. Also Walk Straight Down the Middle, awesome. But favorite is 1978 The Kick Inside. Love the way she sings there. And of course Running up that Hill (A Deal with God), from Hounds of Love. That song is outstanding and a masterpiece. 

11. The location used for the video of 'Autobahn Lullaby' is beautiful, where was that shot?  

Alex: Oh, that's Karl Marx Allee in Berlin, just a stones throw from our studio. The avenue is weird mix of Paris and Socialistic architecture, it used to be the “fancy show off avenue” of former East Berlin.

12. I love asking people this question. If time and money were no object, what would the ultimate live experience for The Ghost Of Helags be?

Alex: Madison Square Garden. And Fever Ray would hop on stage for the last song. Then it would all end in a Rave and everyone would go crazy :) 

13. A question for both of you - what have you been listening to in 2021? 

Teresa: Bicep and Elvis. And I love Marisa Monte in the mornings, when I get the day started. It’s a wild mix. 

Alex : Edith Piaf and Kraftwerk

14. You're both well travelled as The Ghost Of Helags, but is there a place you'd like to perform this music that you haven't been to before? 

Alex: Traveling far seems so exotic now... Maybe Canada? Never been there before, wanna see it!

Teresa: Been there but haven't played there yet: Would love to play in Tokyo somewhere amongst neon lights and temples. 

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Download the works of The Ghost Of Helags, including their debut album ‘We Came From The Stars’ from their Bandcamp page here.

Follow The Ghost Of Helags on Facebook @theghostofhelags, on Twitter @ghostofhelags and on Instagram @theghostofhelagsofficial.

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