The Stories of Comics and Stories: Part 7, "The Ballad of Ghost Point 5"

Tricia’s decision, first, to provide backing vocals on the recording, and then become a full-fledged member of the band, was the catalyst without which this album would never have been completed, because it would have been difficult to make it something more than a re-hash of Small Group Psychosis. “The Ballad of Ghost Point 5” is a prime example.

The real origins of this piece came with my decision to learn some ukulele chords, so I could have an acoustic instrument to play at “filking” circles at science fiction conventions. The chord sequence of “Ghost Point 5” came out of the blue, fully formed, at one such convention. It never sounded quite right played on keyboards, so the “all-electronic” sonic palette of Vostok Lake had to be expanded to include this very basic stringed instrument. When we play it live we run the uke through some tasty-sounding digital effects, so it fits in with everything else.

The theme of the song – and from the currently unfinished operetta which I have written around it – again comes from the works of Lawrence Miles, in particular the far-future civilisation of clones known as the Remote, from his novel Interference and the broader Faction Paradox mythos.