Inside the Shadows: Ghostbells Reveal the Secrets of Catacouture
I step into the hidden world of ghostbells to uncover Catacouture, their debut EP of icy new-wave and dark electronic pulses. We talk ritual, instinct, and silence - the forces that bring their music fully into being, like a shadow emerging from the night.
I tend to keep to my own currents and few artists catch my attention in this way but ghostbells drew me in with a vision that feels both precise and shadowed. Their debut EP, Catacouture, was forged in silence, ritual, and instinct - a world that exists fully on its own terms. This is music meant to emerge complete, a nocturnal architecture of sound and mood. ghostbells were recently highlighted in Musicngear’s latest Dark Is A Music Genre roundup, asserting themselves across darkwave, dark dreampop, dark electro, and gothic pop with a presence that demands attention.
Skauss, Musicngear: Catacouture, your debut EP, fuses icy new-wave melodies, 90s EBM pulse, and modern electronic production into a hypnotic, nostalgic, yet sharply contemporary darkness. When crafting the EP, did the music emerge as a reflection, a ritual, or a call to inhabit that nocturnal space?
Jim here..
A bit of all three Id say.
The reflection being the musical influences. Music that you really love and connect with gets embedded in those deep, dark crevices of the subconscious, thus influencing the music you make.
“The ritual” - the love of showing up to do the work. I saw Sting in an interview describe the process as “showing up to the river to fish.”
You can’t catch anything if you’re not fishing.
“Nocturnal space” - something happens at night, the ideas flow in a different way, though we do a great deal of the work during “daytime,” it generally feels better to work vampire hours.
Musicngear: To craft the distinct darkness of Catacouture, which machines or tools act as essential conduits in the ghostbells ritual? Was there a particular piece of gear that shaped the atmosphere of the EP?
Machines/Tools:
Work happens a number of ways, but generally starts on the laptop in Ableton. Most times, I don’t even have a midi controller or anything connected to the laptop. I spend time free-flowing with different ideas. Might be a melody, beat, or chord sequence, or just a strange sound. It's different almost every time.
Gear:
Once I have an idea that feels good, it will be bounced out of Ableton and put into my main studio system, Pro Tools HDX. This is where the song gets arranged, additional production added, and the “atmosphere” of the track starts to come alive. I have quite a lot of outboard gear that I use in printing the sounds through. As parts are created, I generally print the sounds as I want to hear them in their final form. A few of these pieces are Rupert Neve MBP and MBT, Crane Song Hedd 192, Chandler Curve Bender eq, Gain Lab Governor, various vintage 1176s, 1178.
I'm mixing on ATC mains with matching ATC subs.
I use a ton of plugins as well.
Above all else, the room is tuned flat so I can really hear what is happening.
Musicngear: Your imagery is controlled, hypnotic, and emotionally distant. I often find that the eye leads the ear. Does the sound dictate the image, or is the visual the primary sigil through which the music is summoned?
The music comes first, always. But we definitely had the aesthetic in mind. The two really need to work together for a cohesive identity.
We feel very good about that with ghostbells.
Musicngear: In your universe, darkness is functional, not just an aesthetic. Which specific books, myths, or films first shaped your understanding of this darkness, and do those shadows still echo in your music?
Haha, every serial killer-based movie/documentary and true crime podcast.
Just pick one.
Much like many serial killers documented as seemingly “normal” on the surface. The music track itself might provide something normal to slightly beautiful on the surface, but what lies beneath (the lyrics) is darker. Jessica is an absolute weapon when it comes to delivering the shadows (lyrics).
Musicngear: You spent two years in total seclusion before a single note reached the world. Silence is often the best architect. How did this period of closed doors and silence shape the mythology and visual style of ghostbells?
This is absolutely true. For this two-year period, only 2-3 people were aware of the project and the music. Of those people, not sure any were fully aware of everything we were doing.
It gave us time to really explore how we felt about the songs and the visuals with no outside influence/opinion. We don't really let opinions influence us; we do what we love, that's it.
Musicngear: The path into darkness is often blocked by one’s own shadows. What has been the biggest obstacle in your journey, and what advice would you offer to artists trapped in the same loops?
To be totally honest, we just don’t allow things to block us. We set a time, do the work, repeat. Of course, some days are better than others, show up the next day and try again….
We make decisions quickly and purposefully and do not waste time overthinking.
My advice would be to stop overthinking; done is better than perfect any day. You will never achieve “perfect.” No one cares if your hi hat is 0.5 db too loud, haha..
Musicngear: Beyond the metrics of the modern world, streams, listeners, and follows, what does “success” look like in the ghostbells' inner sanctum? I suspect it is a deeper connection to the void, but is it something even harder to measure?
It's really several different things.
The music matters to us first. Are we making music that we love? Yes, we are. Next step.
It's called the music “business,” so yes, streams, followers, subs, all of those metrics are important to be aware of and involved in. We want as many people as possible to be exposed to ghostbells. To do this, you must have a plan. Plans don’t happen accidentally.
In this hierarchy, music is first, then comes the connection with people (no music, no connection), it is our common language and what we love.
Then business. The thing to understand is that all three must work together, in balance.
Musicngear: Which peers resonate with ghostbells on a spiritual level, and which artists do you feel called to collaborate with? Are there modern figures or manifestos you treat as sacred guides in your work?
ghostbells is very new, so I'm not sure what peers might resonate with us.
NIN, Till Lindemann, Jonathan Davis, Sidewalks & Skeletons, Pastel Ghost, the list is very long, haha.
No sacred guides, really.
Musicngear: You debuted live at Castle Party before releasing any music - an inverted birth. What did that first ritual reveal about ghostbells on stage, and which venues or festivals feel like the right altars for future performances?
Castle Party was amazing, the staff, the organization, everything was just incredible.
The live show is very energetic, for sure.
We want to perform at every festival possible. We have a number of them on the books for 2026.
All very exciting.
Musicngear: I have always viewed music as a form of devotion. If your music were a secret cult, who would be worthy of initiation, and what rites would they be forced to endure to prove their loyalty?
Every single person is welcome in our “cult family”. Sometimes we refer to our family as “ghosts”, the unseen, the lost, the unheard.
We see you, and you have a place with us.
Everyone, you are welcome and loved just as you are. Please be kind.
Connect with ghostbells
Instagram / Facebook / Website / YouTube / Bandcamp / Spotify
About SKAUSS
SKAUSS emerges from the shadows of contemporary music as a producer and composer exploring the boundaries of perception. Enigmatic and elusive, he nurtures a private circle, The Secret Community, for those attuned to his vision - a realm where his artistic currents intersect. His work fuses darkwave, industrial, and futuristic textures, weaving diverse genres into immersive soundscapes that hit with visceral intensity and linger in the listener’s consciousness long after the last note fades.
Contact SKAUSS at skauss@musicngear.com
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