No Ghostless Place

No Ghostless Place
Studio album by Raised by Swans
Released	January 11, 2010
Recorded	2007 - 2009 House of Miracles London, Ontario, Canada
Length	52:46
Label	1101
Raised by Swans chronology
Codes and Secret Longing (2005) No Ghostless Place (2010)

No Ghostless Place is the second studio album from Canadian solo artist Raised by Swans. It was written in its entirety by Eric Howden, and recorded at Andy Magoffin's studio, House of Miracles in London, Ontario, between 2007 and 2009. On January 11, 2010, it was released on his own label, 1101.^[1]

Raised By Swans is the solo and collaborative music project and alter ego of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eric Howden. His songwriting, arrangement, and musical style have, in Howden’s own words, "drawn many new and admiring fans ", to which Howden greatly enjoys.

"We were young/We didn't heed those things," Eric Howden quietly sings in falsetto on opening track "We Were Never Young." The first moment of No Ghostless Place begins a journey through 13 moments of aural splendor, as themes of fading youth and fleeting love evoke both mournful and triumphant emotions.” The 2010 review from Travis Persaud, editor of Canada publishing web music magazine exclaim.

During the creation of the album at House of Miracles, Howden underwent a unique recording process which included the use of a variety of old and damaged multi-track machines, and the teaching of each part to the chosen session musicians and collaborators who would later record on the album itself. Howden was very particular with his chosen method of recording, arrangement and teaching, to the point where he would, quite literally, shape the instrument until the sound was exactly as he wanted, only to wind up recording the guitar and vocals on his own. Howden stated in his bio that he desired the term "i", as opposed to "we" for his solo artist work.

In May 2010, Raised by Swans toured across Canada in support of No Ghostless Place, with Canadian indie folk band Pink Moth.

Track listing

Along with Exclaim! magazine; Rhombus magazines as a top must listen to album in ^[2] describing No Ghostless Place as “13 moments of aural splendour…transcendent and angelic” and “starkly beautiful” which demonstrates the album's widespread positive influence on renowned reviewers.

"London, Ontario's Raised By Swans found a small but devoted international audience with the 'beautiful, deeply compelling, cuts-you-to-the-core' sound of its critically-acclaimed debut Codes and Secret Longing."^[3]

^[4] Howden packaged the album in a clear Jewel case which also contained a four-panel booklet. The artwork, design, and layout was also designed by Howden. The "Shape in the sky" drawing, CD label, and inner panel was designed by Antranik Tchalekian, with liner notes hand-redacted by Howden. All music and lyrics were written and performed by Howden, with contributions from Andy Magoffin, Alex Wright and Brady Parr.

1. "We Were Never Young" - 2:58
2. "Hail Of Arrows" - 5:04
3. "Secret Garden /S.C." - 4:58
4. "Easier" - 2:50
5. "Night Fighter" - 2:49
6. "By An Ion" - 3:21
7. "How Do These Hearts Unfold" - 4:05
8. "The Waiting's Over" - 5:01
9. "Old Fires" - 3:36
10. "The Past Is The Prey" - 6:04
11. "Longer Shadows, Shorter Days" - 5:33
12. "There's Hope Yet" - 3:27
13. "North Of Light's End" - 3:04

Performance Credits^[5]

Eric Howden – electric and acoustic guitars, all tracks; lead and harmony vocals, all tracks; bass guitar, tracks 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13; piano, all tracks; synthesizers and additional keyboards, all tracks; hammond organ, all tracks, stomps and claps, track 5

The album's introductory and breakthrough track “we were never young” features the three live band members Howden has commonly associated himself with. This consists of Alex Wright on 2nd electric guitar from 2010 to 2012, Andy Magoffin on bass, and Brady Parr on drums. The band also performed the track in the feature film Chloe (2009)

Alex Wright – additional electric guitar, tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12

Andy Magoffin – bass guitar, tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12; drums, tracks 6, 9, 10; stomps and claps, track 5

Brady Parr – drums, tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12

Atom Egoyan's Chloe (2010)

Film director Atom Egoyan included two songs from No Ghostless Place in his erotic thriller Chloe (2010). Parts of "We Were Never Young" and "Longer Shadows, Shorter Days" were performed live, with an appearance from Raised by Swans in the film. Additionally, the studio version of "We Were Never Young" was used in several scenes.^[6]

In one particular scene, Egoyan overdubbed Amanda Seyfried singing a fictitious melody at the end of "We Were Never Young", to represent a haunting effect with respect to the storyline of the film. The three band group members also appearing together performing the track, in the feature film Chloe (2009)

With the release of Chloe in March 2010, Raised By Swans' international audience has grown considerably.

References

1. Persaud, Travis (2011-05-10). "Raised By Swans - No Ghostless Place • Pop & Rock Reviews •". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
2. "20 Important Songs You Should Hear". Retrieved 2016-04-08.
3. "Canadian Blast: "No Ghostless Place" - Raised By Swans". www.canadianblast.com. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
4. Music, CBC. "CBC Music". music.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
5. http://raisedbyswans.com/new/?page_id=148. Retrieved 2013-05-13. Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. "Atom Egoyan | TALKING TO... | TORO MAGAZINE | What Men Need to Know about Sex, Style, Music, Sports, Drinks & Video". Toro Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-29.