The pairing of singer-songwriter Adam Dawe (Lunar Seasons, Novus Wild) and composer-guitarist Karl O'Shea (Balloons Kill Babies, inovo, Sarah Stockholm, Ghostwoods), Daylight Ghosts offer a rustic, raw blend of dark-folk and stripped-back indie pop.
Driven by Karl's desire to explore a style of songwriting outside of his usual music world, which has been largely playing bass in the prog/ metal environment, Daylight Ghosts came together last year.Karl's vision for this project brings together his love of intimate music with shared influences coming from artists as diverse as Chelsea Wolfe, The Go-Betweens, Swans and Scott Walker.
After early releases 'Hook, Line' and 'Golden Hour' showcased the duo's talent, their first proper single 'Delirium's Refrain' is a gorgeous composition brimming with melancholic atmosphere paired with sparse instrumentation.
Ahead of its release tomorrow (29 May), scenestr is excited to premiere 'Delirium's Refrain' today. Enjoy.
"Refrain is an interesting word. In everyday language it means to hold back or stop oneself from doing something," Adam says.
"In musical and poetic terms, refrain means something completely different. It's a recurring, repeating element or word/s. Usually prominent and often catchy. Addictive, some might say.
"When I first heard this piece of music I couldn't help but notice a very hypnotic, repetitive nature to it.
"What better to write about lyrically than something else that is hypnotic, cyclical, repetitive. Something that makes us delirious. Something that frightens us, that we often want to hold back from, but we can't help but get caught up in its addictive nature. We want it. We don't want it. We want it again. And then we don't.
"Welcome to 'Delirium's Refrain'. A story of doomed lovers playing the same poisoned song over and over again."
Adam and Karl make their debut performance as Daylight Ghosts with a live-streamed set from Karl's home courtesy of Live At Mars 5 June (8pm EST).
