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 Stewart Lane

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Stewart Lane Music

Composer  Performer  Cultural Activist

Radio Ghosts

Latest Album       Release: April 2022

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Notes

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Recorded at Orpheus Studios, London

Engineer Richard Campbell

Produced by David Ezra, Hilltop Studios

Words and Music by Stewart Lane

Vocals/keyboards/'Cello Stewart Lane

Guest vocalist on 'A Mouthful of Aqueducts'  Nina Kopparhed

Guest violin on 'Eclipsed' Vaughan Jones

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The chamber orchestra parts were performed and recorded by many musicians, a number of them friends, over a period of years, and to whom I am eternally grateful.

Notes

 

The concept behind Radio Ghosts is a profound exploration of human potential, belief, and the struggle to manifest our deepest aspirations amidst the noise of doubt and uncertainty. This project dives into the liminal space between possibility and reality, where dreams linger as disembodied "ghosts," waiting to be realized but hindered by the very fears and doubts we harbor. These Radio Ghosts symbolize our unexpressed hopes—ideas that could thrive if only we truly believed in them. Their existence relies on the faint whispers of encouragement they offer, a reminder of what could be if we only embraced our own potential.

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Originally started in 1999 as a follow-up to Arcanum, Radio Ghosts began with a similar structure, featuring chamber orchestra, SATB, and percussion. However, after six tracks were recorded, the project was abandoned for reasons forgotten with time. Years later, during the isolation of the lockdown, Stewart Lane revisited the old recordings, recognizing themes that were still meaningful to him—divergence, diversity, and belief. These are the core concepts that still define the project, but with a new focus on the concept of self-belief, or the lack thereof.

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The underlying theme of Radio Ghosts is belief—more specifically, the absence of belief in one’s own abilities. Lane reflects on the many people he's encountered in his life, all of whom hold various beliefs about the world, but few who truly believe in themselves. Each track in the project addresses different angles of this internal conflict, where the Radio Ghosts—the projections of our dreams—wait in the shadows, hoping for their chance at actualization, but always stifled by the doubts that cloud our minds.

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One of the central explorations within the album is the concept of identity—specifically, how people identify themselves in relation to the world. Radio Ghosts delves into the challenges of living with doubt and frustration, even when outwardly, one seems to fit into society’s conventions. It questions the divide between the "neuro-typical" and "neuro-divergent" mindsets, highlighting the lines we draw between them and the discomfort that arises when we don't know where we fall on that spectrum. In doing so, it reveals the struggle many face in defining who they truly are, even as they conform to societal expectations.

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The album also explores the idea of night—both literally and metaphorically. Night represents a space where the rules of the day no longer apply, a realm where one can question beliefs, shed the burdens of expectation, and inhabit a space of pure possibility. In the darkness, one can finally be free from the terrors of daylight and the consequences that govern the waking world. It is in the night that creativity often flourishes, as the constraints of societal norms are loosened. This is where the true self can emerge, if only for a brief moment, unencumbered by judgment and fear.

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The concept of Night Vertigo suggests that, in the quiet, shadowed hours, we are free to live and think differently—to stretch and distort our beliefs to make room for parts of ourselves we usually suppress. In these moments, we confront our duality—where we are often in constant opposition to ourselves, questioning our choices without questioning the questions themselves. We say "No" when we mean "Yes" and "Yes" when we mean "No," caught in a whirlwind of internal conflict that prevents us from realizing our full potential.

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Ultimately, Radio Ghosts is about the tension between possibility and the limitations we impose upon ourselves. It is a meditation on the importance of self-belief, a call to recognize the "ghosts" of our dreams, and a plea to allow them to materialize by embracing the power of belief and letting go of the fears that prevent us from fully stepping into our own truth.

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