Biography
Ghost Wave are an Auckland psychedelic rock outfit formed around 2009–2010 by Matthew Paul (guitar/vocals) and Eammon Logan (drums), who began collaborating after a shared interest in layered, groove-driven music. The pair self-recorded and released a self-titled EP in 2011, drawing on the jangly Flying Nun legacy of The Clean and The 3Ds while filtering it through house, krautrock, and 1960s psychedelia. Bassist Mike Ellis and guitarist Jamie Kennedy were later recruited to round out the live lineup.
Working under the studio aliases Dr Billy and Malcolm S, Paul and Logan recorded their debut full-length Ages (2013) with engineer Thomas Bell. Released on Arch Hill Recordings, the album was praised for its sunny, retro-inflected pop and confident melodic identity, blending 1960s garage-pop with post-punk rhythms and a distinctly New Zealand warmth. The band toured extensively behind the record and began developing a more ambitious studio approach, taking greater ownership of their production.
Ghost Wave have found a retro sweet spot and aren’t about to give ground on their debut. When they come together perfectly, effortlessly, there appears to be a very high ceiling for these guys.
For their second album Radio Norfolk (2016), Ghost Wave self-produced at their Grey Lynn jam space and Matt’s home studio, with mastering by Sonic Boom (of Spacemen 3) in the UK. The result was a significant artistic leap — a sprawling, atmospheric record that expanded their palette to include drone, krautrock, and extended psychedelic structures. Standout tracks like the nearly eight-minute \Spaceman\ — a deliberate nod to Spacemen 3’s legacy — showed a band willing to stretch well beyond the pop song. Radio Norfolk was released on Flying Nun Records.
An intoxicating, alluring trip through garage-psychedelia that not only builds from the jangly, catchy, lo-fi sound of their 2013 debut album Ages but expands on it.
In 2017 Ghost Wave released the Heaven mini EP, featuring a Sonic Boom mix and remixes by Shayne Carter, with all proceeds donated to a New Zealand youth suicide prevention organisation. A second mini EP, Reputation (2018), followed with remixes from Vacant Lots, Sonic Boom, and the duo of Frank Booker and Julien Dyne.
Members
- Mike Ellis (bass, Ghost Wave, Kosmetika, Magic Eye, No Aloha, Space Ventura, Surf City, The Insurgents)
- Jamie Kennedy (guitar, Ghost Wave, Surf City)
- Eammon Logan (drums, Ghost Wave, Team Cat Food)
- Matthew Paul (guitar / vocals, Ghost Wave)
Discography
- Ghost Wave [EP] (2011, self-released)
- Ages [Vinyl] (2013, Arch Hill Recordings, AHRLP054)
- Radio Norfolk [Vinyl] (2016, Flying Nun Records, FN561)
- Heaven [EP] (2017, self-released)
- Reputation [EP] (2018, self-released)