Information/Write-up
THIS IS DARK... AND BEAUTIFUL!
GHOST PARTICLES began as a collaboration between Rude Van Steenes and Greg Fraser.
During the pandemic, and knowing his time was winding down, Rude Van Steenes continued creating. He joined forces with Greg Fraser to begin a project which they called GHOST PARTICLES. Rude’s introspective and romanticized poetry, inspired by the writings of Christopher Isherwood, Edgar Allan Poe and David Bowie, fused perfectly with Greg’s compositions.
Sadly, Rude passed away and couldn't finish what he'd started. Into this void, Greg with the blessing of Rude's widow, Michele O'Neail, invited Benjamin Russell who found himself mesmerized and inspired. Greg Fraser's lavish soundscapes provided a rich environment for Benjamin to build melodies and craft suitable vocals to put flesh to the words, messages which seem to come from "beyond".
The EP’s four songs present a moody, introspective vision of the complexities of life in a style best described as Cinematic Electro Pop.
INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE:
David Bowie
Leonard Cohen
Procul Harum
released May 22, 2024
Lyrics by Rude Van Steenes
Produced by Greg Fraser
Singing and melodies by Benjamin Russell
RAIN COLLAPSING is as hopeful as it is haunting.
Written by Rude Van Steenes, Greg Fraser, Benjamin Russell and Marcel LaFleur
FIND THE LIGHT
Written by Rude Van Steenes, Greg Fraser and Benjamin Russell
About the artists:
Benjamin Russell
A singer-songwriter, painter from Saskatoon, now living in Montreal, Benjamin Russell is known for his hit single, MIRACLE, for which he was nominated, "Most Promising Male Vocalist", in the 80s. He has released many albums, singles and videos, and has shown his paintings in exhibitions.
Greg Fraser
Greg Fraser studied drawing and painting at the Ontario College of Art, fine arts at the University of Guelph, and has exhibited his paintings in solo and juried group shows.
He studied classical piano in childhood, jazz composition and theory as a young adult. A veteran of the Toronto music scene he played in Toronto New Wave band, Kyro, and later with Electronic Dream Factory, a semi-industrial band.
In his recording studio, he composes and records songs and experimental electronic music, with a focus on modular synths.
Greg has another career as a gemstone carver, with goldsmith partner Mo Ying Chan, in Chan Fraser Design.
Greg's Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greg.fraser.90
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregfraser1773
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDH4xOJKmjKZQQvsjI7ZTOQ
Bandcamp: https://gregfraser.bandcamp.com/music
Rude Van Steenes, born on October 31, 1950 in The Hague, Holland, was always enthralled with pre-and-post World War II Europe, especially Berlin. Influenced by the writings of Christopher Isherwood, Edgar Allan Poe and his idol David Bowie, he wrote hundreds of songs and poems that are deeply romantic and moody.
Rude’s catalogue of work moves seamlessly from stark anthems that speak to his latent anger and disillusionment in the late 1970’s when he formed punk band ARSON, to the romanticized and introspective poetry that became the songs he performed with his bands Glamatron! and the 1986 Casby Award winning Vis A Vis. Assuming the identity of Matte Black in the 1990’s allowed him to expand on this theme with a spoken word piece “Til Death’s Side” recorded with EDF (Electronic Dream Factory) that hauntingly speaks of a love that transcends death. While taking a decade long break from performing before resurrecting both ARSON and Glamatron!, he continued to write and produced a prolific amount of material culminating in his last collaboration, Ghost Particles. Rude’s creative discipline gifted him insight that was far beyond average and his words take the listener along on his personal voyage to understand the complexities of the world along with his own.
To quote Rude Van Steenes from an interview with Chum FM: “I like to put emotion on paper.”
Glamatron: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/316244-glamatron-only-the-heart-beats-inside-the-silence
Vis-a-Vis: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/305853-vis-a-vis-heart-and-soul
Arson: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/265756-arson-white-folks
Marcel La Fleur
Marcel La Fleur’s career as a well respected guitarist, began via a chance meeting with Rude Van Steenes in Toronto in 1977. While co-founding punk band ARSON, the two musicians became lifelong friends and musical collaborators. Later on, while spending almost a decade in Vancouver, B.C, Marcel played with notable acts, The Spitfires and Midnight Dragon.
His eventual return to Toronto resulted in a new version of the band ARSON which mixed old and new songs with a more contemporary sound. Marcel produced the band’s CD “Not Always About You” and many live performances ensued at venues such as The Horseshoe, The Rivoli and The Phoenix nightclubs, to name a few. Marcel continues to play guitar in local Toronto bands.
Arson: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/265756-arson-white-folks
Michele O’Neail
Michele O’Neail, wife of the late Rude Van Steenes, is an internationally published writer of novels and short stories. After the untimely death of her husband, Michele became determinedly committed to seeing Rude’s last projects completed, as was his wish. Along with compiling the contents of over thirty-seven hand written journals, that will ultimately be released as the book of Rude’s poetry and lyrics they were jointly working on in 2020, Michele has joined forces with Greg Fraser and Benjamin Russell, to ensure that the ethereal and enigmatic Ghost Particles project also gets the attention it deserves. Michele has said that her husband would often blur entire lines out with ink and then replace the old words with new ones, in essence creating something more beautiful. It is her hope that the continued evolution of her husband’s last musical project, will do just that.
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