There are various explanations for the term ghost light in relation to the world around us. There is the supernatural narrative – that every theatre has a ghost, and that when the light isn t lit, the darkness provides a chance for the dead to haunt us. And then there is the Royal Wood version of GHOST LIGHT. The kind that lets someone truly shine from within– raw, honest and open…. and that s why he has named his new record after this mythical glow.
“This album for me was a full return to writing and recording simply for the joy of creation – like when I was a kid. A true letting go and allowing,” says Royal. “I jumped around from instrument to instrument in the studio; playing piano and guitar solos, bass, keys, percussion, anything and everything I could get my hands on.” In fact, Royal played on almost 90% of the record, with a few artists like Hannah Georgas and Felicity Williams (Bahamas) adding their special blend of talents along the way. It was recorded in both Los Angeles and Toronto, with Bill Lefler and Royal at the production helm.
The result is an album that exudes raw emotion and emanates a feel of the songwriters of the sixties and seventies. Without modern day studio trickery like auto-tuning and digital perfection, the album is warm, inviting and completely forthright. “I felt like on this album, I snuffed out the external Ghost Lights, and allowed my internal light to glow instead,” says Royal, “this allowed the spirits of my past, present and future into the room to guide me along my artistic path.” The first single Long Way Ouexemplifies this definitive focus of the record. Its gripping and melodic and screams with sincerity.