Ghost Coast Choir, Missionary Lover Review

Ghost Coast Choir is a contemporary classical choral ensemble that is pushing the boundaries of choral music. With the prime directive to make beautiful classical choral music accessible to all. The idea started in connection with a live concert at C/O Pop in Cologne in 2015 when Thorben Seierø and Gustav Rasmussen did a show together with the German choir Cantus Domus.  The two were inspired to create an album of choral music with a twist, and that would be to write down-to-earth lyrics that could reflect people’s daily lives, hopes, and dreams. Seierø and Rasmussen, together with the Aarhus based Ensemble Edge have created a new contemporary sound for the choir. ENSEMBLE EDGE is the first Aarhus-based chamber choir entirely dedicated to performing contemporary music (with strings). The choir is made up of a selection of the best classical choral singers in Aarhus (European Capital of Culture, 2017). Now Ghost Coast Choir has recorded their debut album in Denmark together with the Aarhus based Ensemble Edge. The second single from the project is now being released, titled “Missionary Lover.”

Bottom Line:  “Missionary Lover” pushes the traditional sounds of the classical choir with electronic manipulations, guitar effects pedals, and vintage tape machines. The opening sounds have a repeating voice looped on the vintage tape machine. The sound adds a unique rhythmic layer that the choir begins to build the theme upon. Seierø and Rasmussen have composed a stunningly beautiful composition for the choir. The lyrics are modern, and the harmony is modern, but still based in the classical tradition. Ghost Coast Choir has a new sound with their current lyrics and ambient electronics. The choir’s performance is beautifully in sync, and there is both male and female soloist that expand the vocal colors. The electronic manipulations and post-production add ambient soundscapes. The chorus is the hinge that transitions to the soloist, both are beautifully sung. The singing is stunning with modern world lyrics combined with buzzing choral voicings and sounds of beauty and rawness—the deconstructing elements of the electronics contrast to the uplifting and the worldly sonorities of the choir. Ensemble Edge is the perfect vocal ensemble to pair with the new expression in choral music, which Seierø and Rasmussen call post-classical indie-choir. Ghost Coast Choir’s debut album will be out in March ’21 on ExoPAC/Nordic Music Society. Until then, drink deeply of the sounds of “Missionary Lover.” That’s the short of it!

Connect with Ghost Coast Choir: Website |