Holy Ghost!
Encyclopedia
Holy Ghost! are an American electropop duo from New York City
consisting of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel.
of New York City
and attended elementary school
together. They were later part of a hip hop
group called Automato. Automato's debut album was produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy
of The DFA
. After the release of the album, Automato "kind of fell apart". However, Millhiser and Frankel kept working on music. Initially it was going to be more hip- hop work, but decided to create music with vocals and poppier
arrangements. The name Holy Ghost! was selected just before the pressing of their debut single "Hold On" in November 2007. The single was described by Resident Advisor
as "one of the dirtiest little Italo
tunes you're likely to hear this year".
The duo continued to work on various remixes for the like of Moby
, Cut Copy
and MGMT
. Their second single, "I Will Come Back" was initially released in conjunction with Mountain Dew's
Green Label Sound record label. A video was made for the single that is a shot-for-shot remake of New Order's
"Confusion" video, including Arthur Baker
reprising his role from the original. The song was later included on the "Static on the Wire" EP, released on the 18 May 2010. The duo also began to play live, starting with a tour with label mates LCD Soundsystem
.
The duo also worked on a self-titled album released on April 2, 2011.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
consisting of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel.
History
Millhiser and Frankel both grew up on the Upper West SideUpper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and attended elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
together. They were later part of a hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group called Automato. Automato's debut album was produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy
Tim Goldsworthy
Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist, living and working in New York City since 1999.Originally a musician/producer for UNKLE, Goldsworthy co-founded James Lavelle's Mo' Wax label...
of The DFA
DFA Records
DFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
. After the release of the album, Automato "kind of fell apart". However, Millhiser and Frankel kept working on music. Initially it was going to be more hip- hop work, but decided to create music with vocals and poppier
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
arrangements. The name Holy Ghost! was selected just before the pressing of their debut single "Hold On" in November 2007. The single was described by Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor is an online electronic music magazine dedicated to the global dance music scene. The website won a People's Voice award in the 12th Annual Webby Awards in 2008.-Site History:...
as "one of the dirtiest little Italo
Italo disco
Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...
tunes you're likely to hear this year".
The duo continued to work on various remixes for the like of Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Cut Copy
Cut Copy
Cut Copy are an Australian electronic band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford on vocals, keyboard and guitar. Other members are Tim Hoey on guitar and sampler, Ben Browning on bass guitar and Mitchell Scott on drums. Their second album, In Ghost Colours peaked at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart in...
and MGMT
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
. Their second single, "I Will Come Back" was initially released in conjunction with Mountain Dew's
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
Green Label Sound record label. A video was made for the single that is a shot-for-shot remake of New Order's
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
"Confusion" video, including Arthur Baker
Arthur Baker (musician)
Arthur Baker is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, and the British group New Order.-Early career:...
reprising his role from the original. The song was later included on the "Static on the Wire" EP, released on the 18 May 2010. The duo also began to play live, starting with a tour with label mates LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
.
The duo also worked on a self-titled album released on April 2, 2011.
Singles
- "Hold On" (DFADFA RecordsDFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
· 2007) - "Hold On" Mock & ToofMock & ToofMock & Toof are two London based producers, Duncan Stump and Nick Woolfson , who record for Tiny Sticks , Mule Musiq & DFA Records. They were initially noticed with their remix for The Juan Maclean, which was quickly followed up by their re-edit of Madonna's Lycra Virgin...
remixes (DFA · 2008) - "I Will Come Back" (DFA/Green Label Sound · 2009)
- "Static on the Wire" (DFA · 2010)
- "On Board" (Friendly FiresFriendly FiresFriendly Fires are an English band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008 and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelve for the 2009 Mercury Prize on 21 July 2009.-History:Friendly Fires...
cover, backed with Friendly Fires covering "Hold On") (XL RecordingsXL RecordingsXL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
· 2010) - "Say My Name" The Revenge remixes (DFA · 2010)
- "Do It Again" (Digital Only · 2011)
- "Wait & See" (DFA · 2011)
Remixes
- PanthersPanthers (band)Panthers is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The Village Voice described them as "groundbreaking dissonant HC with Rolling Stones swagger." Three members were previously in the hardcore band Orchid. Panthers have released four records. The most recent two, The Trick and Things Are...
- "Goblin City" (Vice · 2007) - Only Fools and Horses - "Spectacle Wins" (Permanent Vacation · 2007)
- MGMTMGMTMGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
- "Of Moons, Birds and MonstersKids (MGMT song)"Kids" is the third single from MGMT's album Oracular Spectacular. It was released as a single on October 13, 2008.The song was the center of a legal dispute with the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, over the "insulting" compensation he offered for his illegal use of the song during a party...
" (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
· 2008) - They Came From The Stars, I Saw Them - "Moon Song" (THISISNOTANEXIT · 2008)
- MobyMobyRichard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
- "I Love to Move in HereI Love to Move in Here"I Love to Move in Here" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released as the second single from his 2008 album Last Night. It features Grandmaster Caz on vocals....
" (MuteMute RecordsMute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
· 2008) - JazzanovaJazzanovaJazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group is one of the foremost proponents of the nu-jazz, chillout and jazz house styles of music...
- "I Can See" (VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
· 2008) - Cut CopyCut CopyCut Copy are an Australian electronic band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford on vocals, keyboard and guitar. Other members are Tim Hoey on guitar and sampler, Ben Browning on bass guitar and Mitchell Scott on drums. Their second album, In Ghost Colours peaked at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart in...
- "Hearts on FireHearts On Fire (Cut Copy song)"Hearts on Fire" is the first single by Cut Copy taken from the band's second album In Ghost Colours. A re-edited version of the song was released on the 5 July 2008.-Track listing:# "Hearts on Fire" - 4:52# "Hearts on Fire" - 5:39...
" (Modular RecordingsModular RecordingsModular Records is an Australian record label. It was established by Sydney-based music promoter Steve Pavlovic as a joint-venture with EMI, but is now distributed by Universal Music in Australia...
· 2008) - Curses!Drop the LimeDrop the Lime, is an electronic producer and DJ and founder of dance label Trouble & Bass. Drop the Lime's new material and DJ sets also feature live vocals on original compositions....
- "The Deep End" (Institubes · 2009) - PhoenixPhoenix (band)Phoenix is a Grammy Award winning French indie rock band from Versailles, founded by Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz.-Formation and early years:...
- "LisztomaniaLisztomania (song)Lisztomania is a song by the French band Phoenix from their 4th album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It is their 2nd single off this album, though a music video of this song came before "1901". It peaked at #11 on the "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles" in the US and as well peaked at #56 in Belgium...
" (KitsunéKitsuneis the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...
· 2009) - DatarockDatarockDatarock, derived from the Norwegian word for computer – datamaskin and the word rock , is a Norwegian electro rock band. The band formed in 2000 as Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien and soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, but the duo of Saroea and Mosnes...
- "The Pretender" (Nettwerk · 2009) - In Flagranti - "Business Acumen" (Kitsuné · 2009)
- LCD SoundsystemLCD SoundsystemLCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
- "Drunk GirlsDrunk Girls"Drunk Girls" is the first widely available single from LCD Soundsystem's critically acclaimed third album This Is Happening after the limited release single "Pow Pow". It was released on May 3, 2010...
(DFADFA RecordsDFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
· 2010) - MonarchyMonarchy (band)Monarchy are a British synthpop musical duo. They have released music through Neon Gold Records, Mercury Music, and Moda Music.In November 2009, the band featured as "Band of the Day" on Guardian.co.uk....
- "Love Get Out of My Way" (Mercury Music · 2010) - Mark RonsonMark RonsonMark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
& The Business Intl. - "Somebody to Love MeSomebody to Love Me (song)"Somebody to Love Me" is the third single taken from Record Collection, the third studio album by Mark Ronson, released under the moniker Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. The song features Boy George and Andrew Wyatt on vocals.-Music video:...
" (Columbia · 2010) - Black Van - "Moments of Excellence" (Permanent Vacation · 2011)