Ghost Twin

Ghost Twin

You like things that pulse? Hailing from Winnipeg, the duo Ghost Twin will fill that aching hole you have inside you that demands you jam more synthwave into it. So. Much. Pulsing. And aside from throbbing bass and walls of synth arpeggios, Ghost Twin prattles around your haunted heart with dreamscape guitar lines and vocals like phantoms caught between netherworlds. They’re also somewhat known for their marriage of visuals to their live show, adding colour and texture to the atmosphere that permeates their music. - Prairie Dog

CALGARY — Retro sleaze ball synths buzz around eerie baroque vocals on Here We Are In the Night, the debut effort of Ghost Twin, the gloom-pop project of husband-and-wife duo Jaimz and Karen Asmundson, also known for their experimental film work.

The short film Goths! On the Bus!, a comedy directed by Jaimz and Karen released in 2010, would be the impetus for Ghost Twin’s formation a few years later.

It was the first project where the two had shared film credits, and the first time they had collaborated on a piece of music.

“It wasn’t really a Ghost Twin song,” says Karen of the jokey track in the film inspired by Bauhaus’s “Bela Legosi’s Dead” and Marilyn Manson. “We would never perform that live.”

But, Jaimz adds, “We had so much fun working on it together that we knew we worked well together… It was a natural progression to go from film to music together.”

By 2013, the duo had played their first show, and with Karen’s art/noir-pop band, Querkus, having recently split, the timing was right to get serious about a new creative endeavor.

Despite her classical training as a pianist, Karen handles guitar duties for Ghost Twin while Jaimz plays synth.

“In this project I don’t play any piano at all,” says Karen. “It has been a really eye-opening experience to try and simplify my ideas, because a guitar is something I have a rudimentary ability with.”

Working with producer Michael Petkau Falk (of defunct indie-pop band Les Jupes and head honcho at Head in the Sand records), the couple’s brand of synthwave brims with darkness.

“We knew he was a secret goth,” says Karen of why the producer was a good fit for their sound. “His first band when he was really young was a goth band and we remembered that… He also has such an amazing skill set for production and recording.”

Cult cinema fetishists will likely feel drawn to the duo’s cinematic arrangements that incorporate synth-heavy creepiness and a hypnotic vibe.

If Julee Cruise (the haunting voice behind the Twin Peaks theme song) provided vocals for the soundtrack of John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, the result would probably sound like the EP’s title track, “Here We Are in the Night,” which was recently released with a wildly creative video drenched in mysticism from director Gwen Trutnau (KEN mode, Chica Boom Boom).

“We just kind of let her take us wherever her imagination wanted to go,” says Karen. “She loves to build props and puppets and costumes. She lives in a really crazy aesthetic world, so we let her do what she does.”

Given their backgrounds as filmmakers, Ghost Twin’s live shows are a musical and aesthetic feast for the senses. Using a special program and video processor that transmits images from digital to analog, Jaimz is able to perform music live while triggering a barrage of visuals and video clips.

“It’s like this very weird, colourful video art,” says Jaimz. “Most of our songs are about strange topics, like supernatural or occult topics, so there’s a lot of clips drawn from experimental film and horror movies.”

“As a filmmaker, I can’t help but think cinematically,” he adds. “I’m always thinking what can I use for visuals in this song as I’m writing it?”

Ghost Twin performs at The Knndy on March 12, the West End Cultural Centre on April 2, and the Handsome Daughter on April 17 (all dates in Winnipeg). Explore more Ghost Twin music via ghosttwin.com or visit their Bandcamp page to purchase tunes or their VHS mixtape with live analog video art. - Beatroute

Gloomy Winnipeg synth-pop outfit Ghost Twin recently released their debut EP Here We Are in the Night, and Exclaim! is now pleased to present the video premiere for the title track.

The song is a dynamic blend of baroque-pop vocals and pulsating industrial sounds, while the video features an equally eccentric combination of imagery. As the band put it, “The video explores a haunted world of alien gardens and underground ice terrariums, floating ESP tests and a funeral for a television.”

The surreal, spooky shots were directed by Gwen Trutnau and lend an extra layer of darkness to the electro-tinged pop tune. Get dragged into Ghost Twin’s mysterious wonderland in the video for “Here We Are in the Night.” - Exclaim!

The goth scene is one of the most tight-knit scenes in the Winnipeg music community. Goth shows are always well attended by fellow goths (and goth fans). One of the most prominent acts from this scene is Ghost Twin, a dark synthpop duo comprised of partners Jaimz and Karen Asmundson. Ghost Twin is made up of equal parts haunting melodies, eerie synths, and bass that makes you feel your skeleton. All of this is coupled with occult-inspired glitched out visuals, creating a live show that engages on every level. The two have been married for 11 years (“We met at Goth Night,” says Karen. “He was dancing to Ministry, wearing eyeliner”) but only started the band a couple years ago after Karen’s previous band, Querkus, ended.

“We started writing music without any intention of playing [live] right away,” Jaimz explains, “then our friends asked if we’d do a show and we pretty much wrote an entire set in a weekend. We both really respect each other’s ideas and totally jive on musical tastes, so it comes pretty easily.”

“The Winnipeg music scene is so welcoming,” says Karen. “We love playing here.”

This natural chemistry leads them to work on all pieces of the band together. “We take passes at [writing lyrics].” says Jaimz. “Usually if I start, then Karen will rewrite everything to be more poetic.” Karen says the videos are, “mostly Jaimz . . . but I help choose elements to add.”

2015 has been a busy year for Ghost Twin. In April, they released their EP Here We Are In The Night, a project that contains four new tracks and four remixes from local producers—one being Jaimz’s side project, vvinter rainbovv. The project is available digitally, on CD, and on a VHS mixtape with the four original tracks paired with their live visuals. They followed up this release by touring eastern Canada this summer.

“[The tour was] mostly good!” says Karen. “The best thing was NXNE. We got to play at 1 a.m. on Saturday night at Handlebar. There were people backed up to the front door and there was lots of dancing. We had zero expectations and were so happy about the response!”

There were some negative experiences along the way, but Ghost Twin embraces the strange and unusual. “What wasn’t good was weird and memorable,” says Jaimz. “The weirdest part was staying in this old haunted hotel with no one else there. There was an entire floor of just darkness. Then playing to an empty bar with the only patrons being Kingpin from the Daredevil comics and his band of strippers. He paid with a brick of money and then yelled at people on his phone the whole time.”

Overall though the tour was a success, playing to packed rooms full of dancing people. They’re home now, but they haven’t taken a break. Karen says they plan to record again this winter and are currently shooting a music video.

“Gwen Trutnau is directing,” says Jaimz, “it’s for the title track. Something about creepy gardeners, dark hallways, and amoebas.” “We’ve been friends for years,” adds Karen, “A few years ago we made a film together called ‘Polar Express’ in which I did heavy metal cross-dressing at the Red River Ex. We are going to put it on YouTube very soon.”

Working with friends is something that both Karen and Jaimz find important, and they say it is “basically [their] philosophy” with Ghost Twin. “It’s so great finding someone as weird as you are,” says Karen. - Stylus Magazine

Weird and wonderful Winnipeg has definitely inspired Karen and Jaimz Asmundson, the duo behind Ghost Twin.

"One of the things I take inspiration from is how weird Winnipeg is," Jaimz explains. "For example, our legislature building is an exact replica of the Temple of Solomon. It has all of this really strange occult symbolism and was (supposedly) built by Masons. ... I would say we definitely take inspiration from weird things like that, and dreams and the supernatural. Winnipeg is a haunted city."

The resemblances to Solomon's temple are so striking, in fact, they spawned at least one doctoral thesis on freemasonry in British architecture and were reported on in the Globe and Mail in April.

The filmmaker (he) and musician (she), who have been married for about 11 years, say working together keeps things fresh.

"When you're with somebody for so long, it's not like you need to keep reinventing the relationship, but this has definitely injected some interesting dynamic into our relationship," Jaimz says while his beloved chuckles in the background. "I mean interesting in a good way -- we're having a lot of fun doing this together. We get to travel around and do shows together."

They say music is a natural hobby for many in Winnipeg, which, like Sudbury, suffers through a six-month winter.

"We spend a whole lot of time indoors writing electronic music, because we don't want to go outside and die, which is a different type of inspiration, but it works," Karen says with a laugh. "Doing art, in general, in Winnipeg is a fun and productive hobby. It's something we can do, rather than watch everything on Netflix three times over."

Karen, formerly of the Winnipeg-based band querkus, and Jaimz launched Ghost Twin about two years ago. They recently released their debut EP, Here We Are in the Night, and are set to headline a showcase at the NXNE music festival in Toronto on Saturday.

"It's validation for us, that we're doing something people seem to care about," Jaimz says. "It's really exciting for us that we created something that people want to see, hear and experience."

Following their Toronto performance, they will embark on a six-city tour of Ontario and Quebec, with a stop in Sudbury on June 23 at the Townehouse Tavern. They organized the tour themselves, taking to Facebook to touch base with bookers and promoters, but Karen says many people along the way have offered assistance.

The Asmundsons' music, which they describe as dark synthpop, is a marriage of electronic, industrial and classical, with definite alinear cosmic leanings.

Part musical treat, part visual feast, Ghost Twin combines "roaring synths, dirty pulsing bass, dreamy guitar and a haunting vocal dichotomy where Baroque meets Industrial, with live video percussion that feeds cinema through a cut-up technique imbued with the esoteric," according to their press release.

The experience is a multi-sensory narrative of "shadowy, haunted rooms occupied by astral phantasms and electronic voices from beyond the ether." Cue the occult.

Sudbury's own BBBRTHR and Edmonton-based We Were Friends join Ghost Twin at the Townehouse, 206 Elgin St. Tickets cost $7 at the door and the music starts at 8 p.m.

Ghost Twin's EP is available for purchase on bandcamp. To learn more about the darkly hypnotic duo, check them out on Facebook (search for Ghost Twin music), on YouTube or at www.ghosttwin.com. - The Sudbury Star

It’s always interesting to hear what individuals involved in multiple aspects of the arts create when putting their talents into music. For filmmakers Karen and Jaimz Asmundson, their penchant for the dark, haunting, and cinematic is reflected in the name of their music project, Ghost Twin, and their new EP, Here We Are in the Night. The Winnipeg-based duo’s album consists of four original songs and four remixes. The EP can best be described as a mix of 80s new wave, industrial, and electronic with Baroque-style vocals. Another way to think of their music is Sarah Brightman fronting a band that sounds like a cross of early Depeche Mode, a touch of Joy Division, a dash of Phantogram, and a bit of CaveofswordS. Their vivid music is matched with their psychedelic filmmaking, as evidenced by their two videos below.

The EP comes out tomorrow. Limited, hand-numbered copies on CD and an even more exclusive number of VHS mixtapes are available on the duo’s Bandcamp site. The EP can also be ordered digitally as well on Bandcamp.

For those in the Winnipeg region, the duo will have an album release on Friday, April 10 at The Handsome Daughter. - The Revue

Ghost Twin is the brainchild of husband and wife duo Jaimz and Karen Asmundson, two names that will probably be familiar to local film and music fans. Karen is from Querkus, the art rock/electro-acoustic group known for keeping audiences on their toes with inventive arrangements and a disparate cornucopia of themes and topics. Jaimz is best known for his work as a filmmaker, with films like Goths! On the Bus! and his dramatic documentary epic, The Magus. The two combining forces make for an experience that will tantalize your senses of sight and sound. - The Manitoban

The local group Ghost Twin are also part of the bill, and they sound a lot more intense. They self-identify as 'dark synth gloom pop', and it's a pretty fitting description, if you had to label it. Their music has an aura that shifts constantly from industrial, crashing sounds that grip your brain to stirring, aetherial vocals and aloof synths. It's like someone thawed out some German 80s electronic/new wave duo from an abandoned cryo chamber and unleashed them on Winnipeg 30-something years later. If these bands are as good live as they sound coming out of this laptop, the Park Theatre is where you should be spending your Easter Sunday night, especially for a paltry 15 doubloons. - The Enemy