Ghost on TV weaves a mood of tension through bass and beats with ‘Drained’
Boston project of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Paul DePasquale strikes back against societal expectations on Friday, January 24
New album ‘Mister Silence’ set for release on February 21
Listen to November single ‘Daily Laws’
Photo Credit: Paul DePasquale
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BOSTON, Mass. [January 24, 2025] – Sometimes an artist creates a beat. And then sometimes that beat reflects the mood of not only an entire record, but society at large. That’s at the core of Ghost on TV’s riveting new single “Drained,” a swirling fit of claustrophobic tension and paranoia set to crash the streams on Friday, January 24.
With a hypnotic groove that takes hold within seconds, “Drained” is the sound of the mental walls closing in, its four-minute runtime acting like a countdown clock in a dystopian film where the listener stars in a lead role. It’s the follow-up to November single “Daily Laws,” and both will be included on Ghost TV’s forthcoming album, Mister Silence, due out February 21 via Swoom Records.
With both tracks, the genre-defying Boston-based project from Paul DePasquale – the multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer known around New England for his work in celebrated alt-rock band Vary Lumar – is creating a certain type of mood through bass-and-beat-driven music that’s reflective of our daily lives and how we not only go about them, but scratch and claw to survive to see another day.
But where the trip-hop-infused “Daily Laws” was all about the art of negotiating with ourselves, “Drained” casts a look outward at the stresses and tensions we grapple with simply to get by — and how those around us, as well as oppressive forces, conspire to keep us trapped in the Sisyphean game of life.
“‘Drained’ is about being exhausted from all the expectations we put on ourselves, as well as the expectations easily felt by society,” DePasquale says. “And it’s questionable how society gets placed with such a burden in the first place. It’s hard to not point the finger at the government, politics, corporations, and media that demand so much of our energy to keep up with the status quo. It’s the hamster wheel sort of life. The song is just my feeling about how there are so many vices we create to get through all the stresses we create or allow others to create for us. Eventually it takes a toll. Can you sit in a quiet room with nothing?”
Those who do just that with “Drained” or any of the seven tracks that illuminate Mister Silence might be granted a portal into understanding why we feel the ways we do in the first place. For DePasquale, who before launching Ghost on TV as a pandemic project found himself without a creative outlet for a few long years that followed the disbanding of Vary Lumar, the compositions featured here are therapeutic in nature, especially as he adjusts his musical alchemy and attempts to evolve rock music, and our stodgy notion of it, one trip-hop beat and sidewinding bassline at a time.
Like all of Mister Silence, “Drained” was recorded and mixed by longtime collaborator and co-conspirator Sean McLaughlin of 37’ Productions in Rockland, Massachusetts; and mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering in Boston with assistant mastering engineer Costanza Tinti.
Operating Ghost of TV as a “kinda, sorta” solo project, DePasquale’s inner circle these days is tight, though he anticipates this project will eventually become more of a collaborative affair. He soft-released debut album Appealing and debut EP Melt on Mild in late-2020 during the pandemic, emerging after he found himself without a band – or a familiar role as a songwriter – for the first time in nearly two decades. At that point, it had been roughly two years since he even penned a song, and Ghost on TV’s blank canvas was a welcome respite.
“I felt stuck creatively, fighting with myself between trying to always push the envelope or do what just felt natural,” DePasquale admits. “I had always put such pressure on myself to write songs and styles that were forced to be different. I no longer wanted to do that. I wanted to master the art of simplicity. I dove back into classic artists, musicians, and actors that made art from a simpler time. I found the art that impressed me the most was from artists that were unlikely I would enjoy, or so I thought. I finally felt like ‘I am done with trying to find things, just do what feels good.’”
That ethos is reflected across Mister Silence, and echoed across both “Drained” and “Daily Laws,” which balance simplicity with depth and spaciousness with density.
“Mister Silence is all about growing older, being a bit wiser, reminiscing and learning from your past, staying true to oneself, taking liberties, while not being so damn aggressive about anything,” DePasquale says. “We live in a world where most people will wear emotions or show everything up front, looking for validation, and sometimes it is best to just be calm, quiet, thoughtful and reflective. Be silent until it makes sense not to be.
Another revealing aspect of what DePasquale is aiming for with Ghost on TV – both with this new material and whatever comes after it – is derived from its moniker. With DePasquale himself going back to the classics to rekindle a love affair with music and the creation of it, he got to thinking about the role of art and how it endures long after our human bodies give way.
“The name Ghost On TV came from the idea that artists and their art live forever for us to enjoy for as long as we like,” he posits. “I find it pretty cool that I can be inspired by someone who is no longer of the living.”
And while DePasquale may have felt that way just a few years ago, Ghost on TV has revived and resurrected his passion for intricate songwriting, especially as he steers his creative vision into new and exciting directions.
“On Mister Silence, there are tracks where I freestyle, dive into trip-hop, and explore grooves that I have never done before,” DePasquale concludes. “I am trying to explore new areas while wrapping it in my comfort zones a little bit. Also the instrumentations, arrangements, and sonic approach to the material are all new areas for me.”
With “Drained,” DePasquale pulls back the curtain on Ghost on TV, showcasing a kinetic knack for groove and hooks, as disparate elements of styles and sounds are wrapped tightly around a rock music core. There’s a minimalist nature to these songs, but under the surface lies a starting depth as each piece falls into place. And here on “Drained,” it starts with a beat.
“I just love playing this drum beat,” DePasquale admits. “It is a bit raunchy and hypnotic and just has a groove to it. The bass part came together very naturally and played right into the hypnotic thing and gave an element of panic, almost claustrophobic in a way. I wanted this thing to be a rocker that had a guitar element which felt very wild and contained. The song was feeling like being spun around on a drunken night.”
And once the beat fell into place, the rest came together with ease.
“It was very early in the writing that the song felt exactly [like] what I should sing about,” he concludes. “It was being bounced around in the bass and drums that just kept on reminding me that this would be fun until I got exhausted from it. This normally is not how it works for me, but it did here.”
Media Contact: Please direct press inquiries to Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com,
and reach Paul DePasquale of Ghost on TV at paul.depasquale5@gmail.com.
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‘Drained’ production credits:
Written, produced and performed by Paul DePasquale
Recorded and mixed by Sean McLaughlin of 37’ Productions
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering in Boston, MA
Assistant Mastering Engineer: Costanza Tinti
Released on Swoom Records
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Ghost on TV short bio:
Ghost on TV is the new recording project from Boston-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Paul DePasquale (Vary Lumar). After soft-releasing debut album Appealing and debut EP Melt on Mild in 2020 during the pandemic, Ghost on TV returns with two new singles – “Daily Laws” in November 2024 and “Drained” in January 2025 – via Swoom Records. Both tracks will be featured on Ghost on TV’s new album Mister Silence, set for release in February 2025.
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‘Drained’ single artwork:
Designed by Paul DePasquale
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Media praise for Ghost on TV:
“A bass-booming trip-hop trip that hypnotizes and mesmerizes. Feverish vocals. Intriguing tune.”
_Turn Up The Volume
“[‘Daily Laws’] is driven by an irresistibly funky bassline and a swagger-filled groove that grabs attention from the first note. Blending the intensity of alternative rock with the heady atmospherics of trip hop, Ghost on TV’s ‘Daily Laws’ recalls the likes of Radiohead and Animal Collective.”
_Living Life Fearless
“‘Daily Laws’ from Ghost On TV is a hypnotic and mesmerizing beat and bass driven work of art.”
_The Whole Kameese
“What started off as a pandemic project is still going on with a new single, ‘Daily Laws’. This is an intriguing song that mixes alt-rock with electronic and singer-songwriter elements. The fuzz-heavy guitar swirls along with beats that sound programmed, giving the track a unique sound. It’s reminding me of early Self, Soul Coughing, and The Folk Implosion. ‘Daily Laws’ sounds like the bigger, fully fleshed out version of a bedroom recording, and has us excited to hear more from Ghost on TV.”
_If It’s Too Loud
“A cross between TV on the Radio and Soul Coughing yet not but also some ’90’s burgeoning Trip Hop and a little LCD Soundsystem thrown in for good measure, ‘Daily Laws’ is seemingly simple but reveals layer upon layer with each and every listen. [It] grows off a hypnotic bass line and thumping beats before [Paul] DePasquale’s soothing but also sexy voice delivers some low tones during the verses that directly leads into an impressive chorus to solidify the swag-infused song.”
_Rock And Roll Fables
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Media Contact: Michael O’Connor Marotta at michael@knyvet.com
Band Contact: Paul DePasquale at paul.depasquale5@gmail.com
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