If there’s one thing that’ll have our head turning faster than a 180BPM track it’s the mention of Skream, (or as we’ve coined him, ‘DJ Daddy’), so when Ghoulish, an emerging Manchester-based artist landed in our inbox, with an EP released exclusively through Skream’s new record label IFEEL, we knew our ears were about to strike pure electronic gold. If you haven’t already given the release a listen or caught Ghoulish live, we suggest slapping it on while you start reading all the nitty gritty details we dug out during our chat with Broke Magazine’s new favourite underground artist and upcoming prodigy in the scene…
Broke Magazine: How did you land on the name ‘Ghoulish’?
Ghoulish: To be honest, it was sort of something I stumbled upon, I really liked the ghosts in Pokemon, I think I searched “Synonyms for ghosts” and then Ghoulish came up. Did the classic search for the artist name and there wasn’t anyone using it, and yeah, dry as fuck story but that’s it from what I remember!
Broke Magazine: You’ve got a real ethereal edge to your artist identity, from the name to your new track ‘Spirits’ part of the EP. Where does this stem from?
Ghoulish: I remember since I started producing in like 2016, I looked up to artists with cool track titles and ever since 2020, I started compiling a list of words/phrases I have heard from like films, games or general conversation that prick my ears. Then when I finish a track I dive into the folder and choose either a single word or just mix match phrases and cobble together a track title.
Broke Magazine: You’re originally from Manchester, what’s the rave scene up there saying? Any venues/events you’d recommend?
Ghoulish: The rave scene is booming right now, I am a massive dubstep head so a lot of the raves I go to when I have time are usually dubstep-oriented lineups or lineups that you don’t usually see too often. My close mate Harvey (Lucian) runs Great Danes and that is one of my favourite parties, they always book the cutting edge of dance music and their whole ethos is just brilliant. I am a frequent goer of “The White Hotel” and “soup”, both venues boast a huge legacy for Manchester’s dance community and I think they always facilitate the best lineups which is why I always find myself in one of the two venues. My big thing going to raves is seeing artists that aren’t usually booked or hard to come by that push the boundaries with their performances and sound!
Broke Magazine: ‘Weekends Goodwill’ is the first release from another artist under Skream’s IFEEL label, How did you two come to connect?
Ghoulish: So I have been a fan of Skream since I was like 15/16, when I first stumbled onto dubstep. I remember one day Yanis (Dr.Dubplate) sent me a screenshot of Oli DMing the ec2a page asking for my dubplate “1999”, ended up chatting with Oli personally over DM’s and sending him a huge folder of tunes and he was blown away. Ever since he has supported me an incredible amount and really has helped me build a platform for myself, most notably he played WHP last year and played like 12/13 of my tunes back to back and the crowd was going mental! Now we keep in touch on the regular and just have chats about everything under the sun, it is surreal and I am super grateful for how much he has entrusted me with releases and what not!
Broke Magazine: What artists have you been listening to most over the past month?
Ghoulish: Electronic-wise I am finding myself absolutely hammering hard drum, baile funk, broken techno, UK Funky etc as I am finding it to be the freshest sound right now, so artists like Fearz, DJ Python, MJK, Florentino and then the Titans of dance like Joy O, Floating Points, Jacques Greene, Bonobo etc.
Broke Magazine: Natalya O’Flaherty, the poet in ‘Comedown Chorus’ has some incredibly powerful words about society, the system and our place in it. What made you want to send this message in ‘Weekends Goodwill’?
Ghoulish: I stumbled across her poem on the Late Late show and I just loved the message she conveyed, I really wish I could say there was a master plan to the whole track but the truth is I just loved the vibe of the poem and paired with the moodyish chords I wrote, it just really worked! The message I wanted to convey was more of feeling as opposed to the message at hand, I feel Natalya is the one who can answer this question.
Broke Magazine: Which DJs are in your DMs right now?
Ghoulish: There are a few people that I am surprised at, lots of American bass artists in my DMs like Tisoki, who just opened his end-of-year mix with one of my unreleased. Also have a load of the UK scene asking me for tunes or just saying how much they are loving the stuff I am sending out, loads to name but yeah, it’s awesome to hear how well-received the newer stuff is.
Broke Magazine: If you were to describe your music in an unconventional way, how would you?
Ghoulish: Pissed-up euphoria, the kind where you’re like 5 beers deep, get Dutch courage and start feeling a buzz.
Broke Magazine: What’s something that pisses you off about the state of the world right now?
Ghoulish: There is an awful lot, not too much of a political man myself, but I hate seeing how the UK is becoming such a bad place to live in terms of the rise of energy, food and general living costs, everyone is stressed and unhappy. The only silver lining that comes from it is how unified everyone has become.
Broke Magazine: We’ve gotta know, do you believe in ghosts?
Absolutely, I love watching really shit ghost hunters on Youtube!