JES x Elk Road Get Spooky with New Single "Ghost"

Electronic music mainstay JES returns with a reworked version of “Ghost” by Australian musician Elk Road, elevating the song to new highs.

“Ghost” begins with Elk Road’s scattershot beats and a pulsing bass synth, laying the groundwork before JES’s vocals pour in from above. The drums rise, as does the drama of the performance, and with a fed up “so leave me alone,” the song breaks into a dissonant blend of cawing synths and propulsive drums.

The blend of dark sonics and pop vocal approach is a time-tested approach to music, but what sets “Ghost” apart here is the translation of the darkness into a song that one can have just as much fun dancing to as being caught off guard with. It sounds like Elk Road is having fun with the palette of colors JES provides in her vocals, as shuttering edits flicker her delivery in and out of words at times, echoing the subject of the song itself.

“Ghost” certainly make the body yearn for the dancefloor, which would feel cruel in the current lockdown state of things if not for the fact that, with songs like this, even the living room seems like a good place to shake it out.