Holy Ghost! were an American

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

duo from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Founded in 2007, the duo consisted of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel.

History

Millhiser and Frankel both grew up on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

and attended Trevor Day School together. They were later part of a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group called Automato. Automato's debut album was produced by James Murphy and

Tim Goldsworthy Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist. Career Originally a musician/producer for Unkle with James Lavelle, he later worked with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and was formerly joint owner of DFA Records. Go ...

of DFA. According to Frankel, after the release of the album, Automato "kind of fell apart". Millhiser and Frankel kept working on music, their collaboration having already begun moving towards the

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the United States) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained worldwide exposure ...

genre. The name Holy Ghost! was selected just before the pressing of their debut single "Hold On" in November 2007. The single was described by ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

'' as "one of the dirtiest little Italo tunes you're likely to hear this year". The duo continued to work on various remixes for the likes of

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

Cut Copy Cut Copy (sometimes stylised as Cut/Copy) are an Australian synth-pop band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford (vocals, keyboards and guitar). Originally a home-recording project, the band now includes Tim Hoey (guitars), Ben Browning (bass guitar), ...

and

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

. Their second single, "I Will Come Back" was initially released in conjunction with

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage Bottler (company), bottlers Barney and A ...

's Green Label Sound record label. A video was made for the single that is a shot-for-shot remake of New Order's "

Confusion In psychology, confusion is the quality or emotional state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"

" video, including Arthur Baker reprising his role from the original. The song was later included on the ''Static on the Wire'' EP, released on the 18 May 2010. The duo also began to play live, starting with a tour with label mates

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

. The duo's self-titled debut album was released on April 2, 2011. Their second album, '' Dynamics'', was released on September 3, 2013. The duo's second extended play, '' Crime Cutz'', was released on April 29, 2016. Their third album, ''Work'', was released on June 21, 2019.

Discography

Albums

* '' Holy Ghost!'' (2011) * '' Dynamics'' (2013) * ''Work'' (2019)

Extended plays

* ''Static on the Wire'' (2010) * '' Crime Cutz'' (2016)

Mix albums

*''The Remixes Vol. 1'' (2009) *''Work for Hire'' (2015)

Singles

Remixes

*2007: "Goblin City" by Panthers *2007: "Spectacle Wins" by

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

*2007: " Hearts on Fire" by

*2008: "I Love to Move in Here" by

*2008: "Business Acumen" by In Flagranti *2008: "Moon Song" by They Came from the Stars I Saw Them *2008: "I Can See" by

Jazzanova Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group's music is characterized by nu j ...

featuring

Ben Westbeech Ben Westbeech (born 17 April 1981), also known as Breach as well as his collaborative project The Vision, is a British DJ and record producer originating from Hertfordshire who spent his formative musical years in Bristol. Trained as cellist ...

*2008: " Of Moons, Birds and Monsters" by

*2009: "Lisztomania" by Phoenix *2009: "The Deep End" by Curses! *2009: "The Pretender" by

Datarock Datarock is a Norwegian electronic rock band. The band, known for wearing red jumpsuits, formed in 2000. Original personnel were Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien, who soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, ...

*2009: "I Can See" by

*2010: "Drunk Girls" by

*2010: "Love Get Out of My Way" by

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

*2010: "Somebody to Love Me" by

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

and the Business Intl *2010: "The Deep End" by Curses! *2011: "Drop Me a Line" by Midnight Magic *2011: "Blue Moon" by

*2013: "Working the Midnight Shift" by

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

*2018: "Control (Secretly Sorry)" by JR JR

Members

* Nick Millhiser * Alex Frankel

Touring members

* Chris Maher – guitar, percussion, background vocals (2010–present) * Erik Tonnesen – synthesizers, background vocals (2010–present) * Sam Jones – synthesizers, percussion, background vocals (2011–present) * Chris Berry - drums (2014–present) * Jim Orso – drums, background vocals (2011–2014)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Alternative dance musical groups Musical duos from New York (state) DFA Records artists American electronic music duos Electronic music groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Brooklyn Nu-disco musicians American remixers American synth-pop groups 2007 establishments in New York City