Ghost Community may be a relatively new band on the scene, having formed in 2015, but their line-up boasts five seasoned prog veterans who have played in the likes of Also Eden and The Reasoning, and it was the intimacy of the progressive music scene that brought the group together.
“You know how small this scene is, and you’re always bumping into people as you’re going along,” Ghost Community bassist Matthew Cohen explains. “So sometimes when you’re sat down after a gig or whatever, you get a sense that the people you’re talking to are good people, and that’s all it needs. Simplicity is the key to life.”
Cohen attests that the band members of Ghost Community possess a strong bond, both musically and personally. “John Paul [Vaughan, lead vocals] was in a band with me 18 years ago, and when he got in touch with me a year and a half ago, it was like we’d never been apart,” he recalls.
“Simon [Rogers, guitars] I’ve known for years. With Moray [Macdonald, keyboards], I’d only seen him in one other band when I put him in touch with the guys from Godsticks, and when I’d heard him in Godsticks, I thought, ‘This guy is brilliant.’ And, of course, me and Jake [Bradford-Sharp, drums] go way back.”
The strength of this union has led to their long‑awaited debut album, Cycle Of Life, which was mixed and produced by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord. “We knew we had to do something that was a little bit different,” muses Cohen, “and Bruce drew this out of us.”
As you might expect from a band whose members have a rich history in progressive music, there’s plenty of variety on Cycle Of Life. “Rise Up is a big rock track,” Cohen explains, “but the second track, Mirror Lakes, has a lot of melody. And then another song called Anything And Everything is poptastic: the verse is bouncy and singalong. The album has everything: the prog, the rock and the pop.”
Listening to Cohen speak about the album, it’s clear that this was a personal endeavour for him, and the end result appears to be one of catharsis.
“We’ve put out a record that we are all incredibly proud of, where we’ve put in 100 per cent,” he says. “This record is about embracing the future, and I’m uber-proud of what we’ve achieved.”
PROG FILE
| line-up |
| John Paul Vaughan (lead vocals), Simon Rogers (guitars/backing vocals), Matthew Cohen (bass), Moray Macdonald (keyboards/backing vocals), Jake Bradford‑Sharp (drums/backing vocals) |
| sounds like |
| Dream Theater’s little brother jamming with Damian Wilson |
| current release |
| Cycle Of Life is out now on ROK Music |
| website |
| www.ghostcommunity.co.uk |
