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Ghost Against Ghost

Words: Happy Ears
Photography: Danila Luppino

Ghost Against Ghost is the electronic-rock concept of producer/composer Christopher Bono. Inspired by conceptual, progressive, post and psychedelic rock, the anarchic concepts of late Leo Tolstoy, dystopian epics, and neo-romanticism. We interviewed him in the beginning of summer in New York.

What is the relationship between music and mind?

Sound is a mechanical wave traveling through space. It has the capacity to be embedded with information carrying numerous qualities. Consciousness can embed it’s intentions, and perceptions into these mysterious waves, which on a purely scientific level is an absolute miracle. The “Mind”’s job is to interpret, convert, translate these magical messages through absorption. Sometimes this embedded information brings insight, sometimes indifference, sometimes emotions depending on the state of the listener. Most often and most interestingly, the effect is a result of the intention of the cause.

What is the connection between music and emotions?

Music has the capacity to be a stimulater for emotions, however it is not necessarily inherent as emotions are a subjective experience. Music can be much more, but as we all know, music can touch “in between” places in the heart-mind beyond the reaches of standard language. In these hidden spaces of consciousness, we sense an ancient or alien language that speaks from a place beyond the dimension of contemporary communication.

Christopher Bono, producer/composer of the ambient post-rock band Ghost Against Ghost

Which is your first sound memory? Please describe.

Honestly, I don’t have one. My earliest musical memories are my mother playing classical music late at night on the upright piano after she’d put us to sleep. It was the only time she could nd a moment to try and practice.

What is noise to you?

It depends on the circumstance and frame of mind. Like technology or anything in the phenomenal world it has a multifaceted character. Sometimes I’d de ne it as an irritable eld of sound, as in a public place, when you’re in a poor mood. In the studio, I often see it as a clay-like block of sound that provides an opportunity to sculpt and layer into a new instrument or arrangement.

I believe the primary source to listen to is your own mind and the body. Any heightened listening seems to come out of a calm, centered mind.

What is your favourite sound (except music)?

Silence. If it must be a 1 instead of a 0, I’d say nature sounds, gentle wind in leaves, soft streams, etc.

What do you associate to when you think of “complete silence”?

A quiet mind, centered and focused, usually following a withdrawal of senses.

When do you listen?

I believe the primary source to listen to is your own mind and the body. Any heightened listening seems to come out of a calm, centered mind. So each morning I meditate in silence until I feel I have heard and calmed the often anxious voice of my monkey mind.

From where do you get your inspiration to compose your music?

The primary inspiration usually is derived by deeply personal experiences that I feel compelled to process through music. However, I also try to compose daily, believing that regularity is an important ele- ment of the creative process. Paraphrasing a Stra- vinsky quote I once heard,“I try to come knocking at their (the Muse’s) door everyday, sometimes they ”I also try to compose daily, believing that regularity is an important element of the creative process.” answer, sometimes they don’t, but I am always there at the same time.”

“I could see the sounds, like a massive and extraordinarily complex piece of architecture, or some sort of alien, psychic sculpture, but I did not know how to realize it technically. … Until I heard Stravinsky.” -Bono

Which is your first sound memory? Please describe.

Honestly, I don’t have one. My earliest musical memories are my mother playing classical music late at night on the upright piano after she’d put us to sleep. It was the only time she could nd a moment to try and practice.

What is noise to you?

It depends on the circumstance and frame of mind. Like technology or anything in the phenomenal world it has a multifaceted character. Sometimes I’d de ne it as an irritable eld of sound, as in a public place, when you’re in a poor mood. In the studio, I often see it as a clay-like block of sound that provides an opportunity to sculpt and layer into a new instrument or arrangement.

I believe the primary source to listen to is your own mind and the body. Any heightened listening seems to come out of a calm, centered mind.

What is your favourite sound (except music)?

Silence. If it must be a 1 instead of a 0, I’d say nature sounds, gentle wind in leaves, soft streams, etc.

What do you associate to when you think of “complete silence”?

A quiet mind, centered and focused, usually following a withdrawal of senses.

When do you listen?

I believe the primary source to listen to is your own mind and the body. Any heightened listening seems to come out of a calm, centered mind. So each morning I meditate in silence until I feel I have heard and calmed the often anxious voice of my monkey mind.

From where do you get your inspiration to compose your music?

The primary inspiration usually is derived by deeply personal experiences that I feel compelled to process through music. However, I also try to compose daily, believing that regularity is an important ele- ment of the creative process. Paraphrasing a Stra- vinsky quote I once heard,“I try to come knocking at their (the Muse’s) door everyday, sometimes they ”I also try to compose daily, believing that regularity is an important element of the creative process.” answer, sometimes they don’t, but I am always there at the same time.”

Interview: Happy Ears
Photography: Danila Luppino