Ghostwheel is the artistic pseudonym of European-born, US-based producer / recording artist Dobo Radichkov. Ghostwheel sources musical inspiration from Depeche Mode’s world of dark electro-rock soundscapes and UK’s Britpop scene.
Ghostwheel’s music transcends reality to a place glorifying the beauty of melancholy ridden melodies driven by stark, yet layered atmospheres. Technological precision, ethereal instrumentation, experimental sampling, vulnerable vocals, and human imperfection catalyze a chemo-musical reaction best described as, well, ghostly.
Newborn, Ghostwheel's impending first release, is a collection of ten atypical Depeche Mode covers. The album was recorded during 2006-2007 and is released on Minor Key Records.
01. Sea Of Sin
Sea Of Sin originally appeared on the World In My Eyes single in 1990. Many fans concur that the song should have been included in Violator , but for whatever reason the band decided to release it as a b-side of the album's third single.
The original track is a sensual number with a creeping bass line, a pounding beat, and sleazy electronics. Ghostwheel's interpretation is his cover album's most upbeat and in-your-face track featuring screaming guitars, live drums, and scratchy vocals.
02. Behind The Wheel
Behind The Wheel was the third single from Depeche Mode's 1987 Music For The Masses album. The track is very popular among fans and is often performed live by the band on recent tours.
Perhaps the safest of Ghostwheel's interpretations, this version is slightly slowed down, but it manages to preserve the energy of the original through a bit more dancey sound.
03. Newborn
Newborn is the b-side of the second single from 2007's Playing The Angel - A Pain That I'm Used To - and is one of two songs from that album covered by Ghostwheel. The track is one of the stronger Depeche Mode efforts as of recently and is justly included amongst Ghostwheel's favorite songs of the band.
Newborn also has the particular distinction to have inspired the name of Ghostwheel's cover album.
04. It Doesn't Matter Two
It Doesn't Matter Two is an inconspicuous track from the seminal Back Celebration album. Not a particularly popular Depeche Mode song, the original It Doesn't Matter Two is a pulsating and bizarre Martin Gore-sung mixture of electronics and odd voice samples. The song has always been one of Ghostwheel's favorites and after he had the opportunity to experience the magic of its melody live on Depeche Mode's last tour, Touring The Angel , he decided to include it amongst the covers on Newborn (A Depeche Mode cover album).
Ghostwheel develops the minimalist production of the original in a smooth pop arrangement driven by a fuzzy bass line and elegant guitars, while preserving many of the track's odd nuances.
More snippets coming soon!
Sea Of Sin video:
