About this album
Collaborative coldwave, ethereal avant garde, darkwave, indie rock album recorded in Greece 2003
Daemonia Nymphe, Louisa John-Krol, Nikodemos Triaridis
A shadow burns on the water
– A line in Sabda, in The Bijak of Kabir
and the sea gives store of fish, and all out of his good guidance, and the people prosper…
– The Odyssey of Homer, Book XIX, Harvard Classics
Tracks & Lyrics
So it was a deliberately calculated ghost, to keep you in order
Fontane: Effi Briest
(Only lyrics by Louisa are shown here)
#2. Cigar of the Red King
Duration: 3:47
Music: Nikodemos Triaridis
Lyrics: Louisa John-Krol
They live inside your vinyl
Pressing along every wall
Under your blood-red studio
Pushing against every floor
Sliding beneath your footsteps
Hiding behind every door
Riding on your excuses
Next time they’re taking us all
To the highway we dreamed of
Through your last black hole
You won’t believe your cigar
When she tells you to roll
Roll green thunder
Blue skin stirring
Smoke ring turning
Red King burning
No reason to be worried
No reason for you to fear
Just listen to your cigar
When she tells you they’re here
Sliding beneath your footsteps
Hiding behind every door
Riding on your excuses
Next time they’re taking us all
#4. A Candle in the Sea
Duration: 4:16
Music: Evi Stergiou
Lyrics: Louisa John-Krol
Your fire beyond the islands
Is the morning of a dream
A burning boat sinking in my Ocean
A Candle in the Sea.
Guitars summon a memory
Of the way you made a music of the night
A line of lights floating in the distance
On the shoreline of my heart.
And who are you to bring me from a far land
Round the planet’s raging sphere?
And who am I to take your from your homeland
When so much would keep you here?
And who are all the strangers of tomorrow
To be now so ever dear?
When other ones we love are woven deeper
In our lives for all these years.
From the white stone upon these mountains
To the dark silk of the Grecian Sea
The ashes of your vision sailing southward
Passing islands to the East.
And shining are the cities in the distance
That whispered “I am free”:
A burning boat sinking in the Ocean
Like a Candle in the Sea.
And who am I to say I’ve understood you
Or the lives along these piers?
And who are you to say you’ve understood me
From our laughter, storms and tears?
And who are they to count us in the centre
Of an Earth that Time would steer?
When all of us are lifted by the Ocean
To be loved for all these years.
#6. Skin Meadow
Duration: 5:26
Music / Lyrics: Mark Krol / Louisa John-Krol
You whispered over waters
You severed the last anchor
Rain on pages, melting notions
Washing debris away –
My skin meadow for you!
And if you fall it don’t matter,
And if you’re lost it don’t matter,
And if you walk through smoking rain
It don’t matter
I journeyed from moon to moon
I shared the sky, a mad sailor
Rain on pages, melting notions
Washing debris away –
My skin meadow for you!
Those legions of sleeping moons
Lay regions of a silver platoon:
Rain on pages, melting notions
Washing debris away –
My skin meadow for you!
My skin meadow for you!
#8. Tangaroa
Duration: 3:35
Music / Lyrics: Louisa John-Krol
Ocean… Ocean…
And their blue eyes glimmering, shimmering
Onward, climbing our shining Tangaroa
And the Wave Box opening, opening
Sun Locks, slaking and breaking Pandora.
Inspirations
We gathered in Thessaloniki in the underground studio of Nikodemos Triaridis, with its red walls, concrete, smoky rugs, coffee, newspapers, subterranean wire and surrealism, experimenting, joking, all of us egging each other on, chasing ghosts in and out of stone.
A traveller’s thoughts in the night wander in a thousand miles of dreams.
Wang Wei
No people sing with such pure voices as those who live in deepest hell;
what we take for the song of angels is their song
Franz Kafka
Nay, from the sea there came a ghost that kissed
My lips, and so I cannot come to thee!
Andrew Lang, In Tintagel, in Rhymes a la Mode
I suffered grief not to be spoken of… But now
The Earth-Holder has granted me calm
After the Storm. I shall fasten the garlands on my hair and sing
And may the envy of Immortals not trouble me.
Pindar: Isthmian VII
So I put up my arms, and fished and pulled, and down came the house of cards
A.S. Byatt, Possession
Who knoweth grief can read the tale of thee:
One love long lost, one song for ever heard
And wings that sweep the sea.
Euripides: The Iphigenia in Tauris
Credits
Like fish unaware of water, we do not realise that we live in the Age of Marketing
Geoffrey Miller: Spent – Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior
Composition
Spyros Giasafakis / Evi Stergiou / Nikodemos Triaridis / Louisa John-Krol
Performance / Instrumentation
Vocals: Louisa John-Krol (lead) / Evi Stergiou (backing, esp. harmonies in ‘A Candle in the Sea’), also Orestes Giasafakis: vox in # 11
Flute: Spyros Giasafakis, founder of Daemonia Nymphe
Bass: Nikodemos Triaridis
Electric Guitar: Nikodemos Triaridis, except ‘Skin Meadow’: Louisa John-Krol
Classical Guitar: Spyros Giasafakis, except ‘A Candle in the Sea’: Evi Stergiou
Mandolin (‘Tangaroa’): Louisa
Violin: Thodoris Gotsis
Contrabass: Maria Stergiou
Drums: Kostas Ketoglidis
Other percussion: Christos Koukaras
Production
Recorded, programmed & mixed 2003 by Nikodemos Triaridis
Produced and mastered at “Q” Studio, Thessaloniki, Greece
Visual Art
Cover / Artwork / Design: Sabine Adelaide, Prikosnovenie www.sabine-adelaide.com
Calligraphy: Robinson Deschamps
Label
Prikosnovenie, France, 2005 www.prikosnovenie.com
sold out / out of print (but there might still be a few ghost-fish lurking online!)
Reviews
“When you hold… fruit of collaboration between… archéo-folk Daemonia Nymphe… fairy Louisa John-Krol and Nikodemos Triaridis… you know you are about to discover an exceptional work… Apart from some tracks (‘B’ and ‘Tangaroa’ for Louisa and ‘The Lonely King’ for Daemonia Nymph), we are far from the usual universes of the protagonists. It is probable that Nikodemos Triaridis, with his guitar and especially his lo-fi production, inspired a dark rock spirit… The pair ‘Inside’ – ‘Outside’ is the best example… electric guitars and the drums… with violin, flute, mandoline and another double bass (as on ‘Cigar off the Red King’ and his velvety environment blues rock or the western rock’n’roll D.D.L.M). Louisa John-Krol explores new vocal registers… with legends of which she has the secrecy. She sublimates… (‘Candle in the Sea’) or plays throbbing rock on the fabulous ‘Skin Meadow’, with lyrics by poet Mark Krol. A new world is born…”
Frederic Cotton, Le Fantastique, Belgium
“…If you know Daemonia Nymphe you probably already love their obscure atmospheres… deeply linked to Greek tradition… Ghost Fish is a peculiar album where electric ballads meet Daemonia Nymphe sounds of violins, arps and percussions… a magic atmosphere so melancholic and energetic… The label’s sheet to describe the sound name Lush, Birthday Party and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Well, there are certain influences that could link their sound with Lush’s sounds or… raw impetuosity of Birthday Party but songs like ‘Skin Meadow’ remember also Cocteau Twins… with some faery inserts where Daemonia Nymphe… help mainly on rhythmical partiture and… atmospheres (‘Tangaroa’), or (‘Outside’)… cool that Prikosnovenie is still exploring new way of proposing their releases.”
Maurizio Pustianaz, Chain D.L.K.id#1979
“Daemonia Nymphe leave Greek Antiquity behind to co-operate with Australian singer-songwriter Louisa John-Krol to make, well a rather quirky but endearing melodic rock CD. Louisa’s enchanting vocals fuse with energetic percussion, and twanging guitars on ‘DDLM’ and ‘Cigar of the Red King’. By contrast ‘A Candle in the Sea’ is more solemn and reflective. ‘Skin Meadow’ reminds me of Lush at their peak in the early 1990s. ‘Tangaroa’ sees Louisa reaching for the mandolin, and sounding like Louisa does on her own albums. Then suddenly the CD changes course, towards what could be described as an experimental jazz rock number, with some sublime vocals. A successful collaboration indeed, fusing some quite diverse talents.”
Mike Shankland, Oriflamme Journal, (no longer online), England
“PJ Harvey… Australierin und griechischen Antwort auf “The Cure”… die mystisch anmutenden Klänge sind sicherlich für Freunde dieses Genres interessant und eines Anspielens würdig. Wie man sieht, lassen sich Ghost Fish nicht so leicht in eine Schublade stecken und die im Hintergrund gehaltenen Violinen, sowie die Background-Chöre geben der Platte ihre unnachahmliche Note. Die Flöten und der Kontrabass findet hier gepaart mit klassischem Gitarren-Wave eine düstere Ecke.”
Mindbreed, http://mindbreed.de, Germany
“Prikosnovénie dat zich richt op engelachtige stemmen en vreemde (sprookjes) muziek… Louisa John-Krol en Daemonia Nymphe… werkten ook al samen in het project Love Sessions en hebben beide al diverse cd’s gepubliceerd. Op de gelijknamige cd Ghostfish krijgen ze nog hulp van de Griekse gitarist Nikodemos Triaridis en een viertal anderen op contrabas, viool, drums en percussie. Het resultaat mag er wezen… Wel laat Louisa haar prachtig etherische stem galmen. Deze wordt omhelst door wonderschone strijkmuziek, elektrische gitaren, zware bassen, ijle fluiten en allerhande percussie… dromerige cold wave gemengd met mysterieuze ambient; niet alleen sprookjes, maar ook de harde werkelijkheid. Ideaal voor fans van de oude 4ad, Siouxsie & The Banshees en de hier aanwezige artiesten zelf. Heerlijk nostalgisch album.”
Jan Willem Broek, Senzor/Radio100/Subjectivisten/OOR Popencyclopedia, The Netherlands
“…una collaborazione tra Louisa John-Krol, Daemonia Nymphe (Spyros Giasafakis e Evi Stergiou) e Nikodemos Triaridis, e mostra per l’ennesima volta come l’etichetta francese riesca a colorare il folk di tinte inconsuete, scavando nei sentieri del Tempo e dello Spazio… e le frullano in un folk-rock psichedelico capace di essere graffiante, e notturno (‘A Candle In the Sea’) senza perdere mai la sua caratteristica carica emotiva. La voce della Krol ha un ruolo fondamentale nel definire le coordinate della musica ma nei pochi esempi in cui la Stergiou si aggiunge ai cori, vengono toccati picchi di assoluta bellezza (The Lonely King).”
Roberto Mandolini, Losing Today, www.losingtoday.it, Italy
“Ghost Fish… involucra Louisa John-Krol y Daemonia Nymphe, con la colaboración en la música del ingeniero de sonido de éstos últimos, Nikodemos Triaridis. ¿Qué decir de la omnipresente Louisa John-Krol? Pues que el año 2005 ha sido tremendamente fructífero para ella, con la publicación de su quinto trabajo Apple Pentacle y sus colaboraciones… Daemonia Nymphe un grupo que se dedica a crear una música con una gran raigambre en la tradición musical griega aunque eso sí, incorporando elementos actuales. Su origen se remonta a 1994 y desde entonces hasta esta fecha han publicado The Bacchic Dance of the Nymphs, Tyrvasia, Daemonia Nymphe… siendo sus líderes Spyros Giasafakis y Evi Stergiou… fusión de estos músicos sale una mezcla muy diferente, sobre todo a lo que hacen habitualmente Daemonia Nymphe, pues prácticamente desaparecen los elementos tradicionales – aunque alguna vez suene una flautita por algún lado o aparezcan puntuales percusiones étnicas-, creando melodías pop y a veces algún elemento jazz…. resultado es el de Dark Pop… Una de las virtudes de este CD es su variedad… canciones más tranquilas, rítmicas tribales, un poco de jazz… que destaca por su percusión étnica, mezclada con caja de ritmos y con una contundente guitarra es ‘Kik’. Este sí es mi favorito, y tiene un aire a Faith and the Muse, otorgado fundamentalmente por la forma de cantar de Louisa… fuerza y el personalidad… ‘Tangaroa’… instrumento de cuerda antiguo, como un arpa… a la voz de Louisa, casi desnuda, arreglado con tenues efectos electrónicos, en un juego con la música similar al que hace B’Eirth con In Gowan Ring. También voy a destacar ‘The Lonely King’… las voces entonan elevados, ornamentadas con… violín y de la flauta dulce. Luego están los temas pop por antonomasia… entre los que voy a destacar ‘Cigar of the Red King’, con una nota de sensualidad en la voz de Louisa, con aire cabaretero…”
Mentenebre, www.mentenebre.com, Spain
“I’m a recent fan of yours but I fell in love with your graceful music and voice listening! I also adore your side-project Ghostfish. Hope to see you live in Italy someday!”
Laura, Ha11ucigenia, Myspace, 26 September 2006, Italy
“Hi Louisa! Hopefully we can play together soon.”
Irfan, Myspace, 6 October 2007, Bulgaria
“I especially loved your album with Ghost Fish… I like the pop side of a song like ‘Cigar of the Red King’ or ‘Skin Meadow’ (remind me of early Cocteau Twins)”
Stephane Leguay of Paris, email, 7 June 2006, France
“Hi! Your Concert was great… I am the daemonia nymphe and ghostfish fan… and yours too obviously. Hope to see you soon on other concerts.”
Elizabeth G. Silmarwen, Facebook, 5 May 2009, Belgium
“Prikos send to me the superb Ghost Fish”
Giancarlo Bolther, email, 21 July 2005, Italy