The new release from Poltergeist is here and ROX-TV is there to catch you up to speed. Read on to find out all you need to know about the artist and the latest drop.
Welcome back to the ROX-TV website. As always, I appreciate the returning readers and first timers stopping by to see what we are getting up to. I enjoy getting the feedback and emails about our articles and featured artists, so keep them coming.
Tonight, we are going to discuss the artist Poltergeist and his new release that just dropped on July 1st. So, get a drink, roll some smoke, and prepare to relax for a spell. Before we jump in, I’d like to thank Tiphanie at Citizen Records for keeping us in the loop from the other side of the world. Here we go…
Before we drift into the dark woods for this piece, I’d just like to take a second and talk about the importance of forever broadening your horizons. In my life I have found that keeping your eyes open and the willingness to experience new and different things can make all the difference in enjoying an interesting life. I’ve always loved fostering my opinions about everything from daily existence to my vast musical tastes. My constant journey for different points of view, sounds, and ideas is never ending. I have found that the most unique people in my life were the ones that continue or continued to grow and evolve throughout the years.
I learned long ago that being “open” to ideas that differed from mine allowed me to hear other takes on a certain topic…sometimes opening me up to other worlds that I had previously been unaware of. I’m a traveler and experience is my gold. I’ve never been afraid to reach out to people in search of new and exciting things. Although some people might not believe it, when you ask the universe a question…it sometimes responds.
I first got keyed into Citizen Records when I was doing a piece on the amazing artist Vitalic. Although separated by the ocean, thousands of miles (educated guess), and country borders, I reached out for an interview. This developed into a great article after Vitalic and Citizen Records agreed to do the interview. (Link below)
From there I became friends and a supporter of Citizen Records. They turned me onto Lord John Fonda and another wonderful interview was born into existence. I really enjoy what Citizen Records/Vitalic/LJF are getting up to and told Tiphanie at Citizen Records to please send me any news or dope artists my way. A chance encounter and interview eventually has blossomed into what I call a great connection. Which brings us to the yesterday’s future and tomorrow’s past (fancy way of saying today). I was contacted by Citizen Records, and they gave me the heads up on a brand-new release from the artist Poltergeist. I immediately dug into what they sent me and was pulled in by the things I heard and seen.
The epicenter is Berlin. The Wall, Lou Reed’s Gotham, the Bowie/Eno trilogy, the toxic nights of the underground clubs… Alone with his guitar and keyboards/machines, Poltergeist suggests all this through the power of a one-hour set. A heavy and dark atmosphere, as ample and majestic as Wagner. One cannot help but be struck by the Germanic rigor, intensity and stature of his performances, given his young age. “It must have come from my training at the Conservatory”, the young prodigy modestly explained…
Marco Dazy (Rockenblog).
Traduit par Adrien Guitton et Pierre Acobas
“Poltergeist has that strange power of attraction that hold these personlaites with their mysterious aura. As soon as Ari Girard (aka Poltergeist) appears, something happens, he catches the light and strikes the spirits. The Kampfer LP is a ghost story where Poltergeist invites Joy Division, New Order, Talking Heads, The Cure, Can, Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails or Jeff Mills for its first album. At the Poltergeist banquet, the crows of cold wave and the barbarians of krautrock, the metallers of indus rock and the freaks of techno meet”
“The Kampfer LP, Poltergeist’s first album, reveals its dark and disturbing universe. Marked by a heavy, deep, and majestic atmosphere, this project evokes, without ever saying it openly, the climatic urgency, the ineluctable destiny, the human obsession to be first, to leave a trace of its passage and the nightmares which agitate the nocturnal spirits”
-Citizen Records
July 1st, 2022
I was excited to check out the new album, so I did what I always do, I listened. I’ve found that listening is much more powerful than talking (at times). A good listener will catch what the constant talker will miss. I hit the play button on YouTube and started my wonderous journey into the dark forest that is the music of Poltergeist. The first song I listened to was “La Grand Dame”. It had all the hallmarks of music that I enjoy. If you know me, I tend to lean into the dark side of life from time to time. Sometimes for an hour, sometimes for a month…it’s just something I’ve always done. With that said, anything that can take me there when I’m in the mood for a lonely walk into the fields at dusk, is much appreciated and enjoyed.
“La Grand Dame”
The song instantly tugs on my sleeve, with an eerie sadness. Not the overwhelming kind, but more like a constant light breeze. I close my eyes and I’m in the field, and I’m all alone. I don’t understand German, but it doesn’t matter because the tone and sounds of the song take me there anyway. We don’t always need to know another language to understand each other, sometimes there is a knowing involved. That vibe or frequency that shows you the way. I get that from this song, and I must say, from right out of the gate…I dig Poltergeist. Like I just highlighted, I’m not sure exactly what he is saying because of the language barrier, but I feel from the music, what he’s telling me.
“23:23”
I’m intruged by the name of this song and when I interview Poltergeist in an upcoming ROX-TV special edition on the artist, I will inquire the importance of the numbers. I must say this one is a dope track too, very heavy and encompassing. I love anything with heavy atmosphere and this song is a double dose. It’s like a lead blanket that smothers you, but in a good way, especially if you’re into this sound and I am. This track is so fucking heavy, it could be used as a bullet proof vest. See for yourself.
“Dark Wave”
The song starts out with a lonely vibe, which I’ve been known to celebrate most of my life. Sometimes you feel like the only person on earth and this track does this for me. A place where I feel like utterly helpless to solve the world’s problems, cure our differences, and the inability to help people move forward to higher ground. In those times I feel alone and sometimes sad. The frequency and sound of this track could be the background noise for when I’m feeling blue. Sometimes I revisit these emotions when I’m not overwhelmed and simply want to get away from it all, this song does it for me.
(Author’s Note: To get the complete listing, head over to Poltergeist’s YouTube channel and enjoy the full list of the tracks from the new album) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEhzQ6Ag1TqXPbcbn6gDyA
Further on Poltergeist:
The epicentre is Berlin. The Wall, Lou Reed’s Gotham, the Bowie/Eno trilogy, the toxic nights ofthe underground clubs… Alone with his guitar and keyboards/machines, Poltergeist suggests all this through the power of a one-hour set. A heavy and dark atmosphere, as ample and majestic as Wagner. One cannot help but be struck by the Germanic rigour, intensity and stature of his performances, given his young age. “It must have come from my training at the Conservatory”, the young prodigy modestly explains. But beware, one Poltergeist can hide another. It would be wrong to reduce the beast of the stage to acold-blooded animal, a humanoid for martial and disembodied trance.
“No, it is the opposite. What permeates is the emotional side, what makes you get hooked or not. And that can’t be taught. All the music he loves comes from there… While his parents are more punk and French rock, little Ari swears by jazz, blues and rhythm’n’blues, “Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke…”. Electro music came to him as a teenager when he was hit in the face by Prodigy. Then it’s the path towards New Order, Talking Heads, Kaftwerk or Rodolphe Burger, which is the basis of his recognizable style. Even if he is labelled “cold wave”, the extent of his musical culture is impressive. Punk, post-punk, metal, pop, trip-hop, goth… this music freak doesn’t restrict himself to anything and gives the feeling of having listened to everything in so few years. Even the classical music of his childhood. “I dream of a string quartet.
From an interview and article by Marco Dazy (Rockenblog). Traduit par Adrien Guitton et Pierre Acobas
“Scratching synths, a dark and heavy universe: we can undersand Vitalic’s crush, who decided to sign the project at the first listening on his label Clivage Music”
-Citizen Records
So there you have it, if you’re into this type of music, then I’ve found your next favorite artist for you. If not, you were still exposed to something new and worthwhile and come away with some different perspective and knowledge. Not bad for an afternoon. I’d like to again thank Citizen Records for the opportunity to do another article on their camp. We are working out the details on the forthcoming ROX-TV special edition interview with Poltergeist, so keep checking back for more details on that. I hope you enjoyed this break from the doldrums of everyday life and please feel free to come back anytime. We enjoy showcasing new and exciting music, among the forty or fifty thousand other items we find interesting, so just know there is always at light on at the ROX-TV website. Until next time…
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Head Writer
shepard2909@hotmail.com
photo credits for above pics goes to PsychoKatZ
