Reigning as one of the most well-known and highly critically acclaimed experimental instrumental groups out there with a respected musical legacy spanning nearly 20 years, Irish four-piece GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT reached a career benchmark with the release of their critical acclaimed 10th studio album, “Ghost Tapes #10” in February 2021.
Today, GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT releases a magical music video for “Luminous Waves”, the album closer on “Ghost Tapes #10” . Musically and visually, the track portrays the beauty and calm of the ocean. A gentle melody is created by a binaural-like bass, a slow-paced acoustic guitar and an ambient electric guitar blur with the mellow sounds of featured cellist Jo Quail and atmospheric background tones, which draws its listeners down into dazing depths. “Luminous Waves” remains entirely without drums and adapts to its own natural rhythm, just as constantly pushing and pulling ocean waves, before it softly fades out into infinity.
Torsten Kinsella says about “Luminous Waves”: “The song “Luminous Waves” was inspired by the meditative feeling of the waves coming in from the Ocean. Jo Quail added a beautiful and inspiring Cello and also created the atmospheric sounds.”
Jo Quail adds: “Writing and recording the cello lines for “Luminous Waves” was a privilege. The depth, richness and meditative nature of this track implied a clear narrative to me, that I hoped to convey a little within the parts I created, working in and around the many moments of sonic and textural beauty created by GIAA.”
“Ghost Tapes #10” is certainly the most ferocious GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT full-length to date – it still retains all the rich musical and emotive elements the band is known for by wheeling around luminance, but offers harsh and deep reminiscences as well. Works of art like “Burial”, “In Flux” and “Barren Trees”, with additional guitars by Jimmy Scanlan, amongst others, are proof of these creations of sound. The album’s closer, the atmospheric “Luminous Waves”, captivates in a trance-like mindset – putting one deeply in touch with their inner self, drifting away to stirring tunes of guest cello virtuoso Jo Quail.
