ON

Double LP version. Originally released in 2004 on the Les Disques Du Soliel Et De L'Acier label and now reissued by Type, this is the debut release by On -- the collaborative duo of Chicago-based percussionist Steven Hess (Haptic, Pan American) and French composer/producer Sylvain Chauveau. The concept behind Your Naked Ghost... is simple: the duo record an album in the studio, and then place it in the hands of a third party. The resulting work is then "remixed" (for want of a better word) and the album is complete. For this album, the three hours of delicate source material was handled by none other than Norwegian master of dark ambient Helge Sten aka Deathprod. Sten's characteristic smudged ambience is evident as he submerges Chauveau and Hess' compositions beneath a swamp of cavernous reverb and synthesized smoke. Hess' patented percussive drones are filtered into the distant buzz of an insect's wings, and Chauveau's prepared guitar becomes a tectonic rumble from another continent. At times it is difficult to discern where On stops and Deathprod begins, such is the mastery of Sten's production and the appropriateness of Chauveau and Hess' recordings. Like only the finest records in the dark ambient genre, Your Naked Ghost Comes Back At Night guides you to another world for its 60-minute duration. Haunted and trembling, these recordings (made in 2003) marked the conclusion of the Deathprod project as Helge Sten vowed never to record under the name again. It is easy to appreciate then, how special this album really is, and it is a work that should be savored accordingly.