Ghost Estate

I met Ghost Estate's Josh Loughrey and Virginia Luella for the first time at the 20th Anniversary concert for the Celtic Harvest Festival in White Oak, PA. I was performing as my own act as well as sitting in with Bonfire Night Acoustic. As for Ghost Estate, it was their debut performance as a musical act. I very much enjoyed them as a live act and it turned out that Josh did the musical score for a film I'm in (yep, the entertainment world really is a small world). Because I really enjoyed their live act, I was definitely looking forward to their first EP, "No Earthly Thing" and I'll say right now that it was worth the wait.

1. "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"- The EP begins on a strong note with an adaptation of this traditional song. Fans of the traditional folk, Celtic, and World Music genres are most likely familiar with the adaptations by Loreena McKennit and Dead Can Dance. In the adaptation by Ghost Estate, we are introduced to Luella's clear soprano vocals and Loughrey's complex music composition. There are several different musical dynamics woven into this adaptation and it serves as an accurate introduction to what the listener is about to embark on.

2. "The Girl Who Walks the River"- The second song on the EP is a Ghost Estate original (although it could easily be mistaken for a traditional if one didn't know any better). In this haunting track, Luella harmonizes with herself over Loughrey's Celtic influenced musical composition infused with some electric guitars, violins, electronic sounds, and an almost Trip-Hop (actually bordering on Hip Hop) type of beat combined with some Middle Eastern percussion underneath it. I would say it's probably the most unique and ear-catching track on the EP.

3. "Roslyn Castle"- This third track is another adaptation of a traditional and an instrumental where Luella demonstrates her ability on lead violin. When listening to this track, I was easily able to envision a crisp autumn light with a full moon and a band of gypsies playing outside of a run-down castle as the spirits of those who once inhabited the castle come out and dance in the ruins that were once their Earthly home. The composition on this one is more simple than it is on the other songs, but it makes for a beautiful platform for Luella's violins.

4. "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose"- I always love it when someone can take a rather simple, brightly composed Scottish folk/love song and turn it into something a little more dark and serene. As a vocalist who includes traditional folk songs in my own repertoire, I never really had any desire to do this one as it's never been one of my favorites. But I very much enjoy this particular adaptation of the song. As on "Roslyn Castle," Loughrey's compositions are more on the simple side but appropriately compliment Luella's vocals and the song's lyrics.

5. "Greensleeves"- Ghost Estate closes their EP with the very well-known song originally penned by King Henry VIII. Many singers throughout the ages have done their own adaptation of this song (yours truly included) and you think that once you've heard (and enjoyed) one adaptation, you've heard and enjoyed them all. But Ghost Estate pleasantly surprises us with this one. Instead of sticking with a more traditional sound, this version is what I would call Rock over World percussion. Of course there are also some electronic sounds thrown into the mix with Luella's soprano vocals over top of them. Like the beginning song, "The Wind that Shakes the Barley," this song also weaves in a few different musical dynamics and elements that makes for some real ear candy. I think this is probably my favorite adaptation of this song out of any artist's version I've heard (and that includes my version).

It's difficult to sum up the sound of Ghost Estate with one word and to me, that's a good thing. We live in an age where autotuned voice and live lip synching is pretty much celebrated and it is always refre - Music's Underworld

I met Ghost Estate's Josh Loughrey and Virginia Luella for the first time at the 20th Anniversary concert for the Celtic Harvest Festival in White Oak, PA. I was performing as my own act as well as sitting in with Bonfire Night Acoustic. As for Ghost Estate, it was their debut performance as a musical act. I very much enjoyed them as a live act and it turned out that Josh did the musical score for a film I'm in (yep, the entertainment world really is a small world). Because I really enjoyed their live act, I was definitely looking forward to their first EP, "No Earthly Thing" and I'll say right now that it was worth the wait.

1. "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"- The EP begins on a strong note with an adaptation of this traditional song. Fans of the traditional folk, Celtic, and World Music genres are most likely familiar with the adaptations by Loreena McKennit and Dead Can Dance. In the adaptation by Ghost Estate, we are introduced to Luella's clear soprano vocals and Loughrey's complex music composition. There are several different musical dynamics woven into this adaptation and it serves as an accurate introduction to what the listener is about to embark on.

2. "The Girl Who Walks the River"- The second song on the EP is a Ghost Estate original (although it could easily be mistaken for a traditional if one didn't know any better). In this haunting track, Luella harmonizes with herself over Loughrey's Celtic influenced musical composition infused with some electric guitars, violins, electronic sounds, and an almost Trip-Hop (actually bordering on Hip Hop) type of beat combined with some Middle Eastern percussion underneath it. I would say it's probably the most unique and ear-catching track on the EP.

3. "Roslyn Castle"- This third track is another adaptation of a traditional and an instrumental where Luella demonstrates her ability on lead violin. When listening to this track, I was easily able to envision a crisp autumn light with a full moon and a band of gypsies playing outside of a run-down castle as the spirits of those who once inhabited the castle come out and dance in the ruins that were once their Earthly home. The composition on this one is more simple than it is on the other songs, but it makes for a beautiful platform for Luella's violins.

4. "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose"- I always love it when someone can take a rather simple, brightly composed Scottish folk/love song and turn it into something a little more dark and serene. As a vocalist who includes traditional folk songs in my own repertoire, I never really had any desire to do this one as it's never been one of my favorites. But I very much enjoy this particular adaptation of the song. As on "Roslyn Castle," Loughrey's compositions are more on the simple side but appropriately compliment Luella's vocals and the song's lyrics.

5. "Greensleeves"- Ghost Estate closes their EP with the very well-known song originally penned by King Henry VIII. Many singers throughout the ages have done their own adaptation of this song (yours truly included) and you think that once you've heard (and enjoyed) one adaptation, you've heard and enjoyed them all. But Ghost Estate pleasantly surprises us with this one. Instead of sticking with a more traditional sound, this version is what I would call Rock over World percussion. Of course there are also some electronic sounds thrown into the mix with Luella's soprano vocals over top of them. Like the beginning song, "The Wind that Shakes the Barley," this song also weaves in a few different musical dynamics and elements that makes for some real ear candy. I think this is probably my favorite adaptation of this song out of any artist's version I've heard (and that includes my version).

It's difficult to sum up the sound of Ghost Estate with one word and to me, that's a good thing. We live in an age where autotuned voice and live lip synching is pretty much celebrated and it is always refre - Music's Underworld

Ghost Estate is a band from Pittsburgh PA. Their music is a wonderful combination of classical vocals and violin melding with guitar and synth, all done with a Celtic Twist. The result is a debut album that is a highly dramatic, original take on some of your favorite songs.

The album is aptly named as there is an almost other worldly, surreal quality to it, as if it was recorded somewhere between the concert hall and a ren faire, by the light of a gypsy moon. All of the songs are wonderful but the hauntingly beautiful Roslyn Castle is outstanding, and I am not generally a fan of instrumentals. Greensleeves has long been a favorite of mine and this version is one of the best I’ve heard. This is an amazing first album and one classical crossover fans and lovers of good music, that isn’t afraid to push the envelope, will want to have in their collections. - Fanrealm.com