Joe Cornwell aka GhostChant is a very different artist from when he dropped his first album ‘Sincerity’ for BBE back in 2015 (soon to be reissued in an expanded version for Tangential in 2022). He was younger and freer, had all the time in the world, and hungry to be a player in the post-Burial UK ‘future garage’ scene. His personal takes on ‘ambient bass music’ were majestically layered, emotional explorations in mood and atmosphere yet with real songwriting at their heart, grabbing the laser-eared attention of tastemakers such as Rob Da Bank en route. Time moves on though and seven years is a long time for any creator to stay in the same place. The last couple of years have seen a more relaxed, more spontaneous composer come to the fore, able to release his music into the world less tight-fitting and with more confidence. Melodies seem to come easier - in comes a laid-back swagger focussed more on his virtuosic guitar chops and less on the micro-editing of beats. There’s still that love of immersive sub bass frequencies and the collaged use of cut up vocals in his recent music but the inner city dread seems to have dissipated, a less dystopian artist has emerged. It’s been paying off as well with Joe joining the 1 million plus plays on Spotify ranks with a succession of well-received singles and remixes (receiving support from Gilles Peterson etc) since signing for Tangential in the last couple of years and there’s a lot more to come! GhostChant October 2022