Hidden Shoal Recordings » Stray Ghost Reviews

Stray Ghost ‘Nothing But Death’ – Textura

Jamie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:06:47 +0000

Excerpt: “The Nothing, But Death title isn’t the only epic thing about Anthony Saggers’ latest Stray Ghost collection…. There’s movement, of course, but movement of the generally slow and ponderous kind, as Saggers pursues his vision methodically and without haste, and with one part merging without pause into the next…Saggers effects a natural segue from the album cover’s water imagery to the ocean sounds inaugurating the opening part. They gradually give way to a judiciously controlled flow of symphonic ambient material where string and electronic tones gently overlap like so many waves crashing ashore. The mood, sombre yet soothing, carries over into part two where the distorted crackle and shudder of electronics adds a spacier dimension to the material’s strings and woodwind elements …One best make oneself comfortable when listening because Nothing, But Death—not nearly as gloomy as its title suggests…. When bird chirping supplants the string tones at the end, one can’t help but feel that some kind of paradise has been reached. All things considered, the recording sounds like a major step forward in an artistic evolution that has been exceptionally rapid.”

Textura

Stray Ghost – Cork Campus Radio

Jamie — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:53:32 +0000

Excerpt: “Don’t be put off by the title – this is some of the most uplifting music you’ll hear this year. Anthony Saggers is an English ambient drone architect. These tunes, labelled Parts 1-8, are slow-moving glaciers, washes of synths. Absolutely gorgeous.”

The Underground of Happiness radio show Cork Campus Radio: Ireland

Stray Ghost ‘Nothing, But Death’ – Deer Diary

Jamie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:52:18 +0000

Excerpt: “an organic ambient/drone album consist of 8 dreamlike soundscape parts. This is a must-have listen for all ambient ‘junkies’!”

Deer Diary

Stray Ghost ‘Nothing But Death’ – Music Musings and Miscellany

Jamie — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:43:10 +0000

Excerpt: “a collection of melodic and environmentally informed ambience that begins with the sound of the sea and ends with bird song. If anything, this is a celebration of life rather than an introspective gaze at its end. Much of Saggers’ previous work has been drone-based, but here the music is much more open and coloured, with drifting, wave-like melodies composed of synth washes and string samples… The key to this music is space. Not cosmic space, but wide open landscapes with sweeping skies. Somewhere to escape to, away from the claustrophobia of modern life. Yes, there is sadness in this music, but also joy. The sort of wondrous feeling that a spectacular landscape or sunset or a clear sky on a pitch black night gives you. It’s Saggers best work yet.”

Music Musings and Miscellany

Stray Ghost ‘Each Paradise Is A Lost Paradise’ – Textura

Jamie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:57:00 +0000

Excerpt: “While the material Oxfordshire-born Anthony Saggers has thus far released has been modest in amount, there is still enough that a Stray Ghost ‘sound’ has come into focus. The two full-lengths he’s issued, 2008’s Losthilde on Highpointlowlife Records and 2009’s An Avalanche of Swollen Tongues on Dead Pilot, opt for an uncompromising dark ambient style that can make the listener feel as if he/she has been spirited away on a one-way tour through Hell—memorable recordings, for sure, but not what you’d call calm-inducing. All of which makes Each Paradise is a Lost Paradise, Saggers’ first Stray Ghost release (and digital-only release) for Hidden Shoal, such a pleasant surprise: in diametric contrast to the nightmarish ambiance of the album releases, the EP’s three settings are becalmed and beatific. In contrast to a downward trajectory, the direction is now upwards, with some heavenly paradise the implied destination.”

Textura

Stray Ghost ‘Part 4′ – Luna Kafe

Jamie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:43:37 +0000

Excerpt: “an elegant track within its repetitive minimalism. It’s sort of catchy in the most unexplainable way. Well-worth checking out.”

Luna Kafe

Stray Ghost ‘Each Paradise, Is A Lost Paradise’ – Hypnagogue

Jamie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:25:46 +0000

Excerpt: ‘Things just sort of came to a standstill when I began listening to Stray Ghost’s three-piece offering, Each Paradise Is A Lost Paradise. Anthony Staggers’ work will set you floating, relaxed and completely trusting, in the deeper waters of his slow, hushed drifts and dimly described environments. Within moments you’ll understand that there is no hurry, there is no world, there is only the sound of Stray Ghost. Caught in the drift you see texture, interest, movement.’

Hypnagogue

Stray Ghost “Each Paradise is a Lost Paradise” – [sic] Magazine

Thea Porter — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:48:02 +0000

Excerpt: “‘La Belle Semaine‘ floats into view quite beautifully and progresses in this manner for several minutes, lacing light tones over a distant static backdrop before wavering frequencies take over reminding of a radio broadcast that just can’t quite reach it’s destination. A gorgeous and haunting opener. ‘A Revoir A La Belle Semaine‘ as the title may suggest is of the more mournful variety, moving at a funereal pace like church bells ringing in slow motion. Which leaves closing number ‘Réminiscences Et Rêves De Beauté‘ (Reminiscence And Dreams Of Beauty) to aptly follow its title, using the sort of stirring, slow shifting melodies that underpin the music from the likes of Stars of the Lid, The Dead Texan et al. A surprising recording from Stray Ghost, but one that proves this youngster can do almost anything.”

[sic] magazine

Stray Ghost “Each Paradise is a Lost Paradise” – Music, Musings & Miscellany

Thea Porter — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:51:58 +0000

Excerpt: “This is calm, reflective music, rich in texture. Opener “La Belle Semaine” builds and fades, before resuscitating with a lightly touched sequencer pattern. The ghosts of sampled voices lead into the haunting and ethereal chimes of “Au Revoir à la Belle Semaine” whilst the closing “Réminiscences Et Rêves De Beauté” gradually decays into nothingness… Each Paradise is a Lost Paradise holds the attention.”

Music, Musings & Miscellany

Stray Ghost “Losthilde” – The Silent Ballet

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:46:48 +0000

Excerpt – “Of all the daring new punks giving old ambient stalwarts a run for their money, Saggers is at the top of the heap, a prime example of the refreshing and beautiful ambient renaissance of the past few years… At the forefront of his scene, Saggers is an artist with extreme vision and a definitive brace on the current ambient sound.”

Jack Britton, The Silent Ballet