Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, Gothic, Cinematic.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Two years ago now Sascha Tayefeh reactivated Ghosting. A few new tracks were released, but the main attention went to compilations. “The Order Of Things” brings five new cuts.

Content: The EP features 2 distinguishable parts. You first will discover 2 songs, which might find their place on dancefloors. Typically Ghosting mixes electronics with supportive guitar playing and the unique voice of Sascha on top. We next get instrumental, evasive, pieces supported by beautiful, retro-like, string parts.

+ + + : The EP sounds pretty retro-like. You get the impression Ghosting never stopped composing new stuff. The title song followed by “Upright” both are cool songs mixing melody, power, drama and dance. I even prefer “Upright” to “The Order Of Things” for its extra dancefloor approach.

– – – : The Ballad/Cinematic style bring some evasive moments, but rather sounds like B-side songs. The EP is maybe missing an absolute ‘hit’, but Ghosting still is definitely back composing cool music you can’t compare to other bands.

Conclusion: Ghosting remains a very unique sound experience in the German Wave/Gothic scene; a band with a proper sound DNA and which isn’t affected by the weight of time.

Best songs: “Upright”, “The Order Of Things”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Ghosting.Office

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Ghosting

Ghosting was formed in 1989 in Koblenz, Germany, by Sascha Tayefeh and Andreas Rudel, both fifteen at the time. The group drew on the British post-punk scene and moved through several line-ups, among them Diana Rappauer on vocals, Thomas Nilges on guitar, Wolfgang Cornet on keyboards and Stefan Noll on bass between 1992 and 1996.

Releases from that period include the self-released “Secret Books” (1989) and “Brave New World” (1990), “Black Romantic” (1991) and “Enter My Crypt” (1992) on Ghosting Office, “Romantic Death” (1993) and “Songs From Fairyland” (1994) on Glasnost Records, “Lips Like Red” (1995) and “Der Magische Puls” (2001). The band paused between 1996 and 1999 and stopped in 2003.

Tayefeh reactivated the name around 2020 and runs it as a solo project. The Alice In… / Dark Dimensions release “Black Pearls” collects early songs reworked and remastered. Tayefeh reviewed the band’s history in the ‘Click Interview’ with Ghosting, published by Side-Line on 6 June 2022. “The Order Of Things” is a digital EP of five new tracks.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Sascha Tayefeh was fifteen years old when he set up Ghosting in 1989. The German formation was inspired by the British Post-Punk scene and started to release successful productions. The band was quite ‘hot’ in the 90s but finally stopped its activities. Nearly twenty years passed till Sascha decided to reactivate Ghosting. He started to compose new songs although his latest album “Black Pearls” released by Dark Dimensions/Alice In… is a fine selection of early songs that have been reworked and remastered. Ghosting went through different line-ups but is now a solo-project. I got in touch with Sascha Tayefeh to talk about the past and the present.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You set up Ghosting in 1989. Can you draw up the balance sheet of the past 33 years? What have been the best- and worst memories?

Sascha: Well, I guess we’ve published about 7 or 8 full length albums, have been on stage for about 50 times (I’m not so much the stage guy) and created about 100 songs that we’ve published on albums, singles or compilations. I don’t know how many members Ghosting has had, but it must be a dozen.

The best memories I’ve got concern the very beginning of my music creation, back in 1989 when I had got my first sampler (actually, my first gear was a sampler, not a synth) and I was exploring the possibilities of sound creation. A sampler was a rare and expensive gear back then, and I loved the way it estranged the sound of natural instruments. It was all new to me, and it was pure magic.

The worst memories concern the co-working with most of the band members in the early years. I was too young and not so much of a team player. And I’ve never liked being on stage so touring also stays deep within my hated experiences.

Q: You were a teenager when setting up Ghosting. How do you today as an adult look back at these early years and how much of the early Sascha Tayefeh do you still recognize in you today?

Sascha: I have gone through various, deep transformations since then. I think I have completely changed a couple of times, you wouldn’t recognize me. But then again, when I decided to restart doing music two years ago, after almost 20 years of off time, I was very keen to get back to my roots, to get familiar with the Sascha of 1989. I thought the best way to do so was to recreate my first 20 songs using precisely the same gears I used back then. Doing some kind of a wanna-be time warp into my past. It actually worked and that’s how “Black Romantic III & IV” were created and released two years ago.

You know, I thought during my musical journey I had lost something I was in possession of when I started making music. This travel back into my past, into the young, almost child, was for me the point I wanted to restart doing music and see what happens. I think I was successful. The new songs I am about to create sound way more like what I want to do than what I did in the 2000s.

Q: Germany became really famous in the 90s for its Gothic scene. What made this scene become that successful? Was there a kind of spirit and what have been your experiences with other bands?

Sascha: Oh, I am sorry, I don’t know. I’ve been asked this question quite regularly, but I never considered myself to be part of the 90s German Goth scene.

First, I was involved into the London Goth scene, which I had started to explore in 1988 and where I went regularly at least twice a year until, say, 1993. Of course, I visited German Goth clubs, too, but I was never ever into the German Goth style. And back then, most Goth DJs would tell me they had no idea when to play my songs, they’d never fit in theirs sets. No, no, I didn’t like german Goth and the German Goths didn’t like me.

Second, by 1993 I had already been involved in Goth for five years, and it was becoming boring to me. While on the other hand, there was this Rave and Techno thing evolving at my doorstep, Frankfurt. I found it extremely exciting, it was the Sound of DAF, Kraftwerk, Nizzer Ebb and Front 242 taken to its max. It was something completely new. And it was exploding! Naturally, I got involved more and more into Techno.

But when I started to merge Goth with Techno in 1994 or so, nobody liked it. For the Goths it was too Techno, for the Raves too Goth. I find it very funny that meanwhile Electro-Goth sound quite like my first attempts.

So that said, I didn’t have much contact with other bands, especially not German ones of the 90s.

Q: You this year released the album “Black Pearls” which is a compilation (’best of’) of early, remastered songs. How did this album saw the daylight and did you’d specific criteria to choose the songs?

Sascha: I had plenty of requests of listeners for re-releasing the old albums. But it seemed to make no sense, because there were many songs included, I didn’t like. So I thought instead of releasing 7 old albums with mostly not-OK songs, I’d compile the songs I value the most on one single album and give it a useful cover artwork. Frankly, I think this is going to be the final physical release. I was quite surprised that there was interest in physical releases at all. I was glad to get rid of all my vinyl, CDs and tapes and have it all online now for streaming. And I am sure this is the future.

Q: A lot of things have changed over the years; think about equipment, recording- and production techniques, social media, streaming platforms etc… What’s your perception about this evolution?

Sascha: Lovely! I started with four devices –one sampler, one effect rack, one mixer and one 4-track recorder. We’ve been to recording studios stuffed full of devices and with huge mixers. By the end of the 90s, I had such a studio at home, dozens of synths, guitars, effect racks and a huge mixer. Now, I have reduced myself to 10 devices, most of them synths. All the rest is done with my computer and I am very happy about it.

Also, I love the way I am now able to manipulate each and every nuance of the sound. Back then it was all about avoiding noise and distortion. Now I can choose how much and what kind of noise and distortion I want to add to what sound. And recording and cutting and adjusting audio recordings has become so easy. Yes, indeed, I love the progression.

Q: You’re still composing new songs like the ones featured at the EP “No Dreams”. Are there significant changes in the modus operandi of the writing and production? What does Ghosting mean to you today and what are the further plans/dreams?

Sascha: There has been a change indeed in the writing. When I started writing back in 1989, I was coming from a classical composition education, i.e. I used a pen and a score paper to first write down my chords and notes and then play them on the keyboard. I had lost this practice during the 90s and that had a tremendously negative impact on the complexity of my chord progressions. I am back to that now, I start on an empty score sheet and then play it on the keyboard.

Ghosting to me is very important today. When I had stopped creating music in about 2003, I thought I could live without music at all. I thought I didn’t need it, neither listening nor creating it. Now I know I cannot do without. And when I explored my own compositions, I found that music is way more than just some sound assembled. If you mean it seriously. The creator exposes his soul. Like the photographer catches the visual moment of something or somebody, a honestly created song can be the snapshot of your emotions, your thoughts, your very soul.

I was glad I had that on the old tapes and I could relive all that. And I am glad for that insight, because now I see all serious composers with different eyes. I have realized it’s their innermost soul they expose and give you to read.

And that’s what Ghosting is to me: my way of exposing my soul, record it and create a snapshot for the world outside –and for myself. It somehow helps doing so.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Gothic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Ghosting became a renowned band in the 90s. The German Goth formation released multiple successful albums and hits. Nearly twenty years after Ghosting stopped its activities Sascha Tayefeh reactivated Ghosting as a solo project. After the last year released EP “No Dreams” he moved on reworking and remastering old songs for “Black Pearls”.

Content: Even if “Black Pearls” is a kind of compilation it first of all brings us back to the original magic of Ghosting. A powerful and eclectic Gothic sound now boosted by guitar playing and then achieved with melodic electronics. Sascha’s vocals are a mix of passion and theatrical interpretations. Most of the songs are remastered edits but you’ll also discover “Single Edits” while the last song is a personal adaptation of Franz Schubert.

+ + + : Compilations are useful when it comes to bring a great band like Ghosting back on the map. Ghosting belonged to the legendary 90s German Goth scene and just like other bands -think to Das Ich, Goethes Erben, Relatives Menschsein…, they had something apart. It’s impressive to hear how more than 30 years later songs still has this magical effect. Ghosting stands for power, darkness, melodies, melancholia, and theatre. It’s an artistic creation which hasn’t lost its original impact. This is a way to re-discover famous songs like “Lion King”, “Der Tod In Flandern”, “March” ao.

– – – : I just regret it’s not a new album but compilations like this is too good to be true.

Conclusion: This work brings us back to the glorious days of 90s Gothic music and Ghosting definitely was one of the architects to this period.

Best songs: “Der Tod In Flandern – Single Edit”, “Lion King”, “Bombed The World”, “March”, “One Bullet – Single Edit”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Ghosting.Office

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

Alice In…, another Dark Dimensions label, issued “Black Pearls” on 28 January 2022 on CD and digitally. The thirteen tracks are “Lion King – Remastered”, “Bombed The World – Remastered”, “Der Tod In Flandern – Single Edit”, “One Bullet – Single Edit”, “Paranoia – Remastered”, “Ad Infinitum – Single Edit”, “Die Baby Die – Remastered”, “Blood Ocean – Alternate Version”, “Heal Me – Remastered”, “Disguised In Black (Single Edit)”, “L’Eremitage – Remastered”, “March – Remastered” and “Der Leiermann”.

Listen to “Black Pearls”:

About Ghosting

Ghosting is a German dark wave and gothic project started in 1989 by singer and songwriter Sascha Tayefeh, then fourteen years old. Discogs places the formation in Koblenz and names Andreas Rudel as co-founder on guitar. The first demo tapes, “Secret Books” and “Black Romantic”, combined sampler and synthesizer work with classical and medieval elements.

The band was signed by Glasnost Rec./EFA in 1991 after a show at the Ballhaus club in Bonn. Bruno Kramm of Das Ich recorded the debut album “Romantic Death” at Danse Macabre Studios in Bayreuth. Ghosting played the first Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig in 1992 and released two further albums on Glasnost, with the line-up changing repeatedly across the 1990s. The band paused between 1996 and 1999 and dissolved in 2003 during the recording sessions that followed “Disguised In Black”.

Tayefeh restarted the name as a solo project in 2020. Side-Line reviewed the Ghosting – No Dreams EP in February 2022, spoke to him in the Click Interview with Ghosting two months after this compilation, and reviewed the first album of new material, Ghosting – The Order Of Things, in August 2022.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Gothic.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Set up in 1989, Ghosting became a successful formation of the German Goth scene in the 90s. After a long hibernation, the band resurrected and started to compose new music since 2020.This EP features four new songs, which were released by the end of 2021. 

Content: Ghosting brings us back to the essence of Gothic music; dark atmospheres accentuated by melodic organ sounds and captivating vocals. The songs feel like little, dark stories. It sounds pretty Ghosting-like with some extra sensibility, which sometimes reminds me to Sopor Aeternus.

+ + + : You don’t really get the feeling Ghosting took a break. This EP features a mature composition filled with delicacy and great sound treatments. The organ sounds reinforce the Gothic exposure. I also have to say a word about the great vocals’ production. Both debut songs are sonic pearls.

– – – : Both last songs sound more like the B-side of the work.

Conclusion: Ghosting is back and this EP is more than just a resurrection, but reveals a band with a creative spirit.

Best songs: “Pastures”, “There Are No Dreams – Epic Mix”.

Rate: 8.

Listen to “No Dreams E.P.”:

Artist: www.facebook.com/Ghosting.Office

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Ghosting

Ghosting was formed in 1989 in Koblenz, Germany by Sascha Tayefeh and Andreas Rudel, both fifteen at the time. Diana Rappauer, Björn Dingedein and Stefan Buchhofer are also listed among the members. The band paused between 1996 and 1999 and dissolved in 2003 while recording a follow-up to “Disguised In Black”. Tayefeh resumed releasing older and new material in 2020.

The early catalogue runs from the self-released cassette “Brave New World” (1990) through the 7” “Paranoia” (Glasnost Records, 1992), the limited cassette “Pure Romantic” (Ghosting Office, 1992) and the 12” mini-album “Paint It White” (Ghosting Office, 1994) to the album “L’État C’Est Moi” (Synthetic Symphony, 1996) and “Disguised In Black” (Alice In…, 2002).

After the return, Alice In… issued “The Flanders E.P.” in 2020 and the albums “Black Romantic III” and “Black Romantic IV” in 2021. The four-track “No Dreams E.P.” followed on 3 December 2021 with “There Are No Dreams (Epic Mix)”, “Pastures”, “Getting Used” and “The Little Prince”. The remastered compilation “Black Pearls” and the “Der Tod Reit’t E.P.” both appeared in 2022, the latter through Dark Dimensions. Side-Line published the ‘Click Interview’ with Ghosting in June 2022.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com