The Mouth of Ghosts

Who’s The Mouth Of Ghosts? How you guys all met?

Simon: The Mouth of Ghosts are Alla (vocals), Marco (bass), Phil (drums), Valerie (backing vocals and synth) and myself on Guitar. At the start of 2011 I started looking for people to start a band to make live performances of some songs I had written. I found Marco on a local musicians website, he’d just moved to England from Italy and was looking to join a band. I met Alla in the same way, she was studying singing at a music school near where we rehearse. When we found her we knew she was our singer! Everything fitted so well!! Phil joined the band in late 2011, and Valerie is our newest addition, she joined in March 2012. The line up works really well though, we have a great chemistry with each other.

Alla: I knew when I heard the demos of the songs that this was my band!! I loved the music so much, it really fits me!



What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Simon: It’s actually a song title by one of my favourite bands, Dilinger Escape Plan. The song has so much atmosphere and tension in it, so much dynamic. It inspired me to make a bunch of tracks that had all of that atmosphere, but I wanted to include some other influences and some really sweet female vocals. The name of the band is tipping my hat to that influence.



How would you describe your sound?

Marco: It’s a fusion of alternative rock and trip hop, with lots of atmosphere and tension in the songs. The soft parts are sweet and pure, the louder parts are intense and full. It’s all about the atmosphere, the experience.



Alla: It’s the sound of a crazed mind close to madness!!



What are your music influences?

Simon: Between us we are in to lots of different bands and genres. I think for this band the main influences are Portishead, Deftones and The Cure. I’ve loved Portishead since their first record came out, I kind of wish they’d release more material, but maybe that’s part of the allure of them, the exclusivity of their songs. The Deftones’ album White Pony is especially important to me, I love that album. So much atmosphere and feeling it’s crazy, and it’s got this really dark sexual undertone to it, I’d like to think we have a bit of that record in here somewhere. Also The Cure just wrote really amazing indie-pop songs that were so dark. Again I think there’s some of that in the track ‘When The Sun Sets’…it’s dark but catchy and almost poppy, you can sing along to it.



When The Sun Sets. How was the recording and writing process? How you came out with the album’s title?

Phil: We recorded the EP over 5 days in London. Mixing and mastering took another 6 days. It was a pretty intense process, but we are really happy with the debut record we’ve put out.



Simon: Three of the songs were written before the band was put together, one was written by myself and Alla a month or so before recording (Close). The other song is a cover of the Deftones track ‘Digital Bath’. So we knew most of the songs pretty well before going into the studio.



Marco: The EP is named after the first song, When The Sun Sets, we just made a video for that song and it had some radio play recently as well, so named the EP after that track.



What has been the funniest moment you guys have been or took part while touring?

Phil: I knocked myself out 30 minutes before a gig, by accidentally hitting myself in the face with a music stand! I played the gig, but couldn’t remember much about it!



Simon: You can guarantee if there’s something to hit yourself with, or something to fall over….Phil’s your man…



Phil: Shutup!!!



Are there any plans for the near future?

Valerie: At the moment we are hoping to get to play the Envol & Macadam Festival in Quebec, Canada in September. We are part of a competition to play there, hopefully we’ll win!



Marco: We’d like to follow up our EP with either another EP or a full-length album within the next six months, but - Vents Magazine

The ’90s will never die. That is the assumption this reviewer makes based on numerous listens to When The Sun Sets by British rock outfit The Mouth Of Ghosts. That is certainly not a bad thing; it brings back memories for some of cheesy pop music and attempts at mimicing dance routines and for others, perhaps the older generation, of ground breaking, astonishingly different progressive rock bands with powerful vocals and weighty meaning. It seems as though The Mouth Of Ghosts belong in that era of entrancing pre-goth rock with their moody sound and the impressive vocals from Alla Seydalieva; who appears to be the poster girl for this interesting band.

The wonderful tone in the vocals within each song make it impossible to avoid comparing the band to the iconic Portishead particularly as they are teamed with a hint of shoegazing synth and rock guitar. These ingredients make for a very organic and atmospheric EP in which each element and instrument compliments the next in a most favourable fashion.

It is surprising to hear clean the EP is despite the freshness of The Mouth Of Ghosts. It would be easily forgotten that they are a new band and do not come from the era of Massive Attack and Bjork; they seem to have the style and the expertise of a band that has been around for much longer. Rocking yet mellow, ambient yet unsettling, it is an EP of opposing emotions and it works so well.

When the Sun Sets brings a very impressive rendition of Deftones’ ‘Digital Bath’ quite seamlessly alongside their original tracks . Each song stands out on it’s own with the title tracking drawing particular attention from any listener. It combines that aura associated with ambient music from the early 00's with heart-aching wail from many 90's classics, coming from the astonishingly talented front woman. Alla’s vocals become all the more impressive in ‘patient’; a heavy hitting, emotionally driven track with an abundance of crashing symbols and the singers pain-stricken vocals. ‘World’s End’ is a different kind of song which contains an enticing sense of urgency in the tempo and lyrics; the opposition between the two songs highlights the flexible talent of the British band.

The EP is intriguing; no mean feat for any band trying to stand out from a throng of unsigned artists. It is melodious throughout which takes away from the predictable and often tedious “Dark and Ominous” approach many bands that fall into the same genre take. It is an achievement to combine beauty with irksomeness and pull it off. A delightfully haunting EP which you can enjoy by visiting the Mouth of Ghosts’ official website. - Claire Kane, freelance journalist

British alt-rock outfit The Mouth of Ghosts make dreamy, atmospheric music that fuses trip-hop and shoegaze with a hint of goth. Citing their influences as The Cure, Portishead and Deftones (paying homage to the latter with their own version of ‘Digital Bath’), the band’s sound is synth-laden yet organic, balancing mellow, jangly guitars with delicate keys that complement rather than drown out the other instruments.

Despite being a relatively new band, their EP ‘When The Sun Sets’ is an impressive, highly polished and classy offering that fans of the aforementioned bands, as well as artists like Massive Attack, Garbage and Björk, will surely dig. I’d even recommend them to fans of Lacuna Coil and ‘Souvenirs’/ ‘if_then_else’-era The Gathering – basically, if you like female voices and pretty music, this is for you.

The EP, currently only available for download at the band’s official website, consists of five well-crafted songs, four of which are originals that showcase singer Alla Seydalieva‘s stunning voice against a backdrop of haunting guitar melodies and moody bass. Each song is distinctive: the title track is a pretty, chilled-out ditty with some spine-tingling moments; standout track ‘Patient’ has a big, epic chorus punctuated by heavy guitars, crashing cymbals and Alla‘s desperate melancholic wails, and ‘World’s End’ pulls you in with a quiet urgency. ‘Close’ features swelling strings and ethereally beautiful vocal harmonies that verge on eerie, all helping to create an overall sense of slight uneasiness.

In short, The Mouth of Ghosts make a beautiful racket – melodious yet discordant, calm yet ominous, with darkness lurking underneath, like the world of a David Lynch film. These guys deserve to go far – keep an eye on their website for updates and make sure you try and catch them live. - This Is Not A Scene

If you mix some serious female vocals with some moody guitar fills and cracking melodies, you'll get The Mouth of Ghosts' EP 'When the Sun Sets'.

Far removed from the mainstream muck that seems to perforate our eardrums on commercial radio, this London based group appear to blend alternative rock and trip-hop flawlessly to produce a distinct sound.

Their marquee track 'When the Sun Sets' is superb. It is reminiscent of The Cure's infamous 'Lullaby', as The Mouth of Ghosts mix hushed, whispering lyrics with warm guitar fills and protrusive bass lines that culminate in a catchy, dread-filed refrain.

If we are to criticise this EP, it must be said that the tracks that follow 'When the Sun Sets' are rather predictable. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing; 'if it ain't broke'… and all that. However, at times the vocals seem to overpower the music which can make for a couple of seconds of uncomfortable listening.

A recurring theme that flows through this EP is the sense of dread that this English group have been able to create. The fantastic female vocals definitely conjure up a different and, more importantly, unique mood.

This group are not trying to out-do each other. There are no needless solos or any overt shows of individual superiority. This EP seems to be all about the music, all about a particular blend of styles and effects which combine to create a very solid and admirable piece of work.
- Unsigned Music Review

An unsigned band formed in early 2011, The Mouth of Ghosts are influenced by the likes of Deftones, Portishead and The Cure.

The band is made up of Alla Seydalieva (vocals), Simon Langford (guitar), Marco Italia (bass), Phil Page (drums) and Valerie Deniz (vocals and synth).

Currently The Mouth Of Ghosts 5-track Ep – “When The Sun Sets,” is available for download on their website. And a limited time it’s FREE!

Lovers of the above mentioned bands who have influenced TMOG, including Lacuna Coil and especially The Gathering, should rush over and get this album now.

TMOG embrace their style beautifully: sparse but powerful guitars and solid rooted drums, often mysterious keyboard folds and runs with ethereal synth sounds, plus the lambent, distinctive voice of Alla Seydalieva. When you put it all together, it really seems that there’s nothing the band isn’t capable of in their genre.

Seydalieva’s heavenly voice is the primary feature and expressive source of the emotional energy of these songs. Her singing is consistently harmonious with the music, which is rich in instrumental texture and reflective, with intense rises to emotive eruptions. Allowing her voice an enhancing level of flexibility with very fluid, naturally flowing arrangements.

On ‘Patient,’ Simon Langford’s guitar playing is almost experimental, in the tradition of ambient guitar rock and progressive rock, using a heavily fuzzed-out distorted guitar tone for louder sections. Simon uses a variety of effects and feel, to perfectly color the sound on this album.

‘World’s End’ is drenched in atmospheric bliss and richly melodic. Bathed in a warm, refreshingly organic sound, the language of motion and orchestration of the music, is pure feeling given musical shape, and correspondent to the rhythm and spirit of desperate human aspiration.

Apart from being an attractively beautiful lady, which helps tremendously in an era of visual music, on ‘Close,’ Alla Seydalieva sounds like an angel. Her voice is smooth and very legato, floating gently and with ease over a richly orchestrated and eerie musical backing.

The absolute highlight of the album is without doubt, the title track. ‘When The Sun Sets’ is probably also the most accessible track. It is structured more like a classic pop song; intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-brigde-chorus etc. Incorporating all the necessary catchy pop hooks that makes songs, hits. Slow mellow verses intertwine with gilded soaring choruses, so dear to the Top40 chart lists.

The “When The Sun Sets,” EP – is lush with rich, lyrical melodies and heavy atmospherics, as well as, a hard, edgy guitar sound. This album has energy and emotion on all tracks, including the slower paced ones. The creativity of the music, the beautiful vocals and the wonderful lyrics will have The Mouth Of Ghosts songs spinning around in your head, after just a couple of listens. - Jamcast Magazine

The Mouth of Ghosts are out of time. They do trip-hop, complete with enormous female vocals and massive emotional soundsystem bridges. But trip-hop's gone palliative. And it's too bad, because if the Mouth of Ghosts had been on the scene a decade and a half ago, their name would have followed Massive Attack and Morcheeba on an alphabetical list radio-ready trip-hop acts.

Being out of time doesn't degrade the Mouth of Ghosts' good work. In fact, it's given them perspective that has allowed them to work-out the kinks. They've mastered their own version of the moody Bristol sound. They've dropped the looped chill-out effects and hushed vocals for machined power and passioned vocals, which works extremely well for them. And, in turn, returns some relevance to the genre.

The Mouth of Ghosts' EP, is available for download free, and is definitely worth the fraction of a second it takes to click the link. - Jim Morrow, Risk and Consequence Blog

I stumbled across these guys whilst browsing around (which I tend to do) and found their video for the title track "When The Sun Sets" (which the band have kindly posted on the site saving me the time) on an affiliated site. By the time I'd clicked on the play button I had already listened to around another 30 or so tracks from others and was getting kind of tired - I was about to get a quick wake up call within the next 60 seconds. I wasn't expecting what I was about to hear.

Now, regular listeners will know only too well what music "floats my boat" but you'll also know that I have a broad range of tastes in my collection and when listening to the music on this video I found myself on a wee nostalgia trip whilst my brain was registering band after band that these guys reminded me of.

The guys themselves list Portishead and The Cure amongst their influences and for me Portishead was the first band that popped into my head, (especially on "World's End") but for me I was also getting hints of early Björk (namely on "Patient"), and a touch of Evanescence in there too. But for some reason I was even getting a sprinkling of Tear for Fears in the song structure and choruses.

But here's the big point that I often don't make - The Mouth of Ghosts in many parts do it better and with a track record and some well deserved publicity and a few tours under their belts people will surely start to compare tracks to them instead.

I challenge you to listen to "When the Sun Sets" a couple of times and see if you can get it out of your head - one of the hardest things in song writing; coming up with a catchy tune and The Mouth of Ghosts nailed it with the title track and Alla does an outstanding job of delivering the song perfectly with a hugely dynamic vocal performance.

But if you think I'm mad when I say Tears for Fears then take a listen to Head over Heals or Shout (or even some of their less commercial offerings) and pay attention to the song structure and the way they build to their chorus and also have a listen to the Bass and drops. Tears for Fears were a huge selling band and a hugely influential band too and I only compare The Mouth of Ghosts song writing in a similar fashion to help suggest that in my opinion it's only a matter of time before these guys write some anthem building ass kicking tracks. Let me know if you think I'm mad?

To stretch the canvas even further have a listen to "Close" and let me know if you think that Massive Attack and even the Cocteau Twins have been sprinkled over the top.

This EP for me is like tasting a fine wine and discovering flavours and fragrances scattered throughout and it's not because The Mouth of Ghosts are trying to copy anyone - far from it. They have taken that trip-hop genre and have written songs that are comparable with the like of those I have mentioned above - far from clones they are easily in the same league!

Someone up there is looking after The Mouth of Ghosts!

Based in London and having only formed in 2011 - with some members having only been drafted to the ranks a matter of months ago (from time of writing) - if this is the quality of song writing and standard to come from The Mouth of Ghosts in early 2012 then I for one will be following every step they make in anticipation of what's to come.

We'll be keeping you up to date as best we can on activities and any further features we can bring your way. In the meantime I would suggest that you take a trip over to their web site and follow them on the usual social networks so you don't miss out! - http://www.onairtunes.com

Like all great art, When the Sun Sets challenges the listener whilst maintaining a sense of beauty. Eerily atmospheric vocals, heart pumping drums and guitar effects that just hit all the right places. It would be a crime to music if The Mouth of Ghosts don't have a highly successful music career. Keep an eye out for them. - Robert Dewis, LS Radio

The Mouth of Ghosts, true to their name, have a very extra-terrestrial sound. They have a great unique selling point in their haunting and eerie sound which is created by distorted guitars and vocals over a delicate cascade of white noise. The vocals, however, are what bring this song to life. They soar and fly over the instruments, enveloping the listener into their magical yet sinister world. - Anishka Sharma, RAW Radio Warwick

Very interesting - Goldfrapp meets The Cure meets Florence. Would love to hear more from these guys. - Pete Donaldson, Absolute Radio