Ghostpoet

Ghostpoet is the recording name of Obaro Ejimiwe, a musician born in 1983 and associated with Coventry and Berlin. He is raised between London, Coventry, Nigeria and Dominica, and he is based in Berlin. His work is associated with electronic music, hip hop, alternative rock and pop, and he is also tagged with beats and abstract hip-hop.

Early releases and recognition

Ghostpoet first appears with the free EP The Sound of Strangers, which is issued in June 2010. That release leads to a feature in The Guardian’s New Band of the Day and a contract with Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings.

His debut single, Cash and Carry Me Home, follows in January 2011, and his first album, Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam, arrives soon after. The album receives a Mercury Prize nomination in 2011. He is described as a Mercury Music Prize nominee.

Albums and collaborations

In 2011 he releases the single Survive It, which is launched at Rough Trade East, and later that year Liiines appears with a remix by xxxy.

His second album, Some Say I So I Say Light, is previewed in February 2013 with the track MSI MUSMID on Gilles Peterson’s BBC 6Music show. The album is co-produced with Richard Formby, who has worked with Wild Beasts, Darkstar and Egyptian Hip-Hop, and it is released through Play It Again Sam in May 2013.

Off Peak Dreams is premiered in January 2015. His third album, Shedding Skin, is recorded with his touring band in a traditional live setup. The line-up includes Joe Newman on guitar, John Calvert on bass and John Blease on drums. The album is self-produced and includes guest vocals from Nadine Shah, Etta Bond, Melanie De Biasio, Lucy Rose and Paul Smith of Maxïmo Park.