Fuzzy Logic
Orbiting the multifaceted music thermosphere of the Ghost Funk Orchestra
I am often asked, “Do you listen to new music?”
Yes, I do.
However, I freely admit that most of the music I listen to and the records I own are older.
The follow-up question I often get is, “Who is your favorite contemporary band/musician?”
I always hesitate to list “favorites,” but one band that immediately comes to mind that would be in contention is…
Ghost Funk Orchestra
Imagine if composers David Axelrod & John Williams, surf guitarist Dick Dale, Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria, and Library musician Janko Nilović met up at a far-out hippie pad, dropped acid, and wildly composed music for a ten-piece Psychedelic Big Band featuring a set of female singers. While it may sound like the script for a Hippie exploitation B-movie starring Peter Fonda or an obscure ‘70s Italian Library album unearthed from the vaults, it gives you a peek into the eclectic sound of New York City’s Ghost Funk Orchestra.
GFO creates a mind-bending array of sonic layers that sculpt a hypnotic soundscape straddling multiple genres of music. What bubbles to the top is their love for ‘70s library music, exotica, and lounge music that’s given a trippy dose of fuzzy, psychedelic, reverb-heavy surf guitar garnished with lovely female harmonies and a healthy sprinkling of soulful Latin Jazz funk. Their albums are a heady yet lush mixture of deep aural intoxication and impeccable production.
Despite being a ten-piece band, they are the brainchild of writer, producer, and arranger Seth Applebaum.
On February 23rd, Ghost Funk Orchestra dropped their stellar fourth album, A Trip To The Moon. Compared to their earlier records, A Trip To The Moon incorporates all the elements above while blending in a more cinematic vibe. Weaving between its effervescent songs and groovy instrumentals are various transmissions from multiple Apollo Moon Missions. The brass section features more dominantly than in previous records. The song, ‘To The Moon!,’ sounds almost like an interstellar soundtrack to James Bond before making a segway into a thick, deep groove and soaring harmonies. In the sublime ‘Achluo,’ the bass clarinet, flute, violin, and viola are given wide spaces to breathe freely. Megan Mancini's vocals sparkle on the sassy opening song, ‘Eyes of Love,’ and Romi Hanoch’s rich, gorgeous, and bluesy voice has never sounded more powerful than when she soulfully belts out “I’m never gonna fall in love, again” on the devastatingly beautiful ‘Again.’
A Trip To The Moon is a fantastic addition to Ghost Funk Orchestra’s ever-growing creative and inventive discography.
Ghost Funk first came onto my music radar on May 30, 2020. I remember the date vividly because stores in Portland, Oregon, had just begun to re-open, but they controlled the number of customers they would let in. I went to a local record store, queued up, and patiently waited about 30 minutes to be one of the five allowed to enter. As I entered the store, it felt glorious to flip through the records again. I was reminded of how much I love to browse the record bins, its meditative effect on me, and how I missed it dearly when shops closed in lockdown.
As I leisurely looked through records, I stopped when I saw the words Ghost Funk Orchestra. The band's name immediately caught my eye. There was also a mysterious aspect to the white cover and its vague album title, A Song For Paul, that I was curious about. I decided to take a punt on it and kept it in the pile I was buying. Playing the record for the first time, I was taken aback by the overwhelming cacophony of sound and the intricate richness of its production. Its dense layers, abstract time signatures, and psychedelic, soulful, and somewhat sinister jazzy ambient compositions resonated and sucked me in.
In November 2020, GFO released their second album, An Ode To Escapism. As much as I loved A Song For Paul, Applebaum set the bar even higher on his sophomore album. It is an exhilarating sound collage that’s even more diverse but less dark than its predecessor. The album starts with a female voiceover calmly telling the listener, “We are going to take a peek into your subconscious.” The album’s vocal harmonies take flight on the outstanding ‘Little Bird,’ ‘Fuzzy Logic,’ and ‘Queen Bee.’ Its funky, rhythmic instrumentals, songs, and occasional voiceover effortlessly transition into one another. It’s a phenomenal record from start to finish and the perfect follow-up to their mesmerizing first album. Clearly, for Applebaum, the lockdown was a highly creative and productive downtime, and the new album celebrated his escapism into the studio.
One of the things I missed with the pandemic was live music. When venues started to reopen and book bands, it was an exciting time that felt like life was beginning to return to its new, post-COVID normal. In March 2022, I was excited to see that Ghost Funk was embarking on their first US tour, and an intimate Jazz bar in Portland was one of the dates. While the complex and multidimensional studio world of GFO is one of their many strong points, the live band is staggering, and their dynamic sound bursts into life in the live setting. The vivacious trio of vocalists took full control of the stage, accompanied by the energetic, sharp horn players. Leading the band, Applebaum cooly strummed his surfy, reverb-soaked guitar and was often visibly touched by the intimate yet enthusiastic crowd. As the show nearly ended, they teased that a new album would be released later in the year. I entered the venue as a fan, but I walked out of the gig having fallen completely in love with the band.
Before 2022 ended, the band surprised fans by dropping not one but two albums. The first, titled Night Walker/Death Waltz, was a remaster of earlier recordings dating back to 2016. They were more like sketches for ideas that Seth Applebaum was experimenting with but eventually planted the foundational seed into what GFO would become. Originally released digitally and on a limited cassette run, the two EPs were remastered and given an official vinyl release. It combines their love for multilayered, loungey, spacey, complex instrumentation with the occasional singing and spoken word vocals. While the album is significantly rawer, darker, and more minimal than where the band has since traveled, it is a captivating glimpse into the early beginnings of Ghost Funk Orchestra.
The official third album, A New Kind Of Love, was released two months later in November 2022. With their third official album, GFO progressed into the more loungey, jazzy side of their narrative music lore. It combines their love for fantastic short instrumentals with powerful female vocal performances. The absolute highlight for me is the magnificently dizzying ‘Why?’ which erupts off the sonic canvas into a kaleidoscopic stew. Stephen Chen’s baritone sax and Christine Chanel’s breathtaking voice transport the listener into a swirling storm of reverberating aural bliss. It is one of the finest tracks Ghost Funk Orchestra has committed to tape. The song comes alive when performed live, exploding and spiraling into a fusion of sounds.
In 2023, legendary ‘60s Brazilian Tropicalia band, Os Mutantes, invited GFO to be their support act on their US tour. With an August Portland date announced, I eagerly jumped on tickets. Opening with one of my favorite Ghost Funk songs, ‘Franklin Avenue’ from the Night Walker EP and pulling from all albums, it was a brief but powerful set teasing the mostly uninitiated audience with their exciting blend of music.
Ghost Funk Orchestra perfectly captures how the younger generation can effortlessly absorb sounds from different music genres and blend them to create something fresh, thrilling, and truly fulfilling. The future is bright for Ghost Funk Orchestra, and I can think of no better band I’d like to orbit the moon with.
Reward yourself by allowing your mind to wander and enjoy the interstellar sounds of Ghost Funk Orchestra.
I’ve been aware of this band but never listened to their music. I like all the videos you posted so will have to go give some of their work a listen. Thanks for the intro!
That's a band that knows how good it is and songwriting / composition that understands what it wants to do. I've seen the name before, but I think I was confusing them with someone else. Also gives me that feeling of late 90s—early 2000s lounge stuff that I loved. Real cool, this is pretty untouchable!