Ghosts & Robots – A Sonic Journey Beyond Boundaries by Majken Overgaard (curator and writer)

It has been eight years since Den Sorte Skole last released an album, but they have hardly been silent. The ever-explorative duo has expanded their musical universe through collaborations with theaters, symphony orchestras, and fellow artists. Their new album, Ghosts & Robots, is a culmination of these ventures—an immersive odyssey through sound that marks an important transformation in their approach to composition and production.

At its core, Ghosts & Robots is the duo!s most personal work to date. Spanning almost seventy minutes, the album weaves together the sonic imprints of their collaborations over the last eight years, retaining their signature curiosity and reverence for diverse musical traditions while reconstructing these influences in entirely new ways. The result is an ambitious, genre-defying work that challenges conventional notions of musical form.

Where Den Sorte Skole once functioned as musical archaeologists, unearthing rare sounds from across the globe, they now focus more on generating their own sonic landscapes. Sampling remains an integral part of their DNA, but the album also features original recordings and collaborations that push their sound into unexplored territory. This shift is reflected in their increasing use of electronic processing, from heavily autotuned vocals to futuristic synth textures that transport listeners into an otherworldly realm. Yet, despite the experimentation, their signature remains unmistakable.

Honoring Heroes, Staying Bold

The album both opens and closes with passages originating from Den Sorte Skole's tenure as resident composers with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra —an experience that reshaped their approach to music. At the heart of this chapter was their collaboration with composer Karsten Fundal, who became a bridge between their self-taught sampling ethos and the structured discipline of classical composition. Fundal!s open-minded perspective allowed them to see their work through a new lens, expanding their understanding of orchestration and composition. In typical Den Sorte Skole fashion, they paid homage to the classical world by reinterpreting it in their own distinctive style. They didn!t simply adopt traditional methods; instead, they made them their own, honoring while infusing it with their experimental spirit. This approach is one of both respect and playful subversion, creating something entirely new from the foundations they inherit.

Sounding In New Spaces

Beyond orchestration, the album also reflects Den Sorte Skole!s evolving understanding of sound as a storytelling device. Years of working with theater, dance, and performance art have deepened their awareness of how music interacts with movement, bodies, and space. Composing for these mediums required stripping sound down to its essence—considering its tactile impact beyond mainstream musicality. This shift is evident in their expanded use of modulation and effects processing, where sounds are not just curated but actively shaped and transformed through analog effect machines. The result is a sonic experience that feels alive—breathing, shifting, and evolving with each listen.

Another key influence on Ghosts & Robots is the duo’s engagement with religious and spiritual music. Throughout their career, they have repeatedly encountered sacred sounds that felt too culturally significant to be repurposed in a conventional sampling context. This led to REFRAKTO, an inter-religious audiovisual performance designed for sacred spaces, created in collaboration with visual artist collective Vertigo. Blending music, light scenography, and laser mapping, REFRAKTO explores the intersection of spirituality, history, and technology through samples of religious music from around the world. Performing in churches fundamentally altered their perception of music!s role in shaping human experience—how sound can create a sense of reverence, connection, and presence. This awareness permeates Ghosts & Robots, where every texture and harmony carries an intentionality that reaches beyond mere composition, embodying a deep respect for history, space, and the unseen forces that shape our world.

The Art of Listening

Ghosts & Robots is an album meant for deep, private listening. It is not background music. It demands attention, drawing the listener into a cinematic sonic world that oscillates between the unsettling and the hypnotic, the electronic and the organic, the alien and the deeply personal. It is a work that insists on being experienced in full—a rare demand in an era dominated by playlists and fragmented consumption.

Den Sorte Skole challenges us to listen—to truly listen. In a time when music is often reduced to a passive experience, they remind us that sound can still be transformative. They urge us to stop, to immerse ourselves, and to engage with music as an act of presence. Through Ghosts & Robots, they remind us yet again that music is not just something we hear—it is something we feel, something we move through, something that moves through us.

This is not just an album. It is an invitation to explore, to reflect, and to surrender to sound in its purest form.

Album credits

Ghosts & Robots was build from; our own recordings of synthesizers, drum-machines and effect-modules; vinyl samples from around the world; reworks of pieces by amazing artists Paul Jebanasam, PYUR, Nicolas Jaar, Paul Corley, Jon Hopkins and Aisha Deviand; and pieces co-composed with Karsten Fundal and recorded with Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra and Icelandic choir Staka.

Sampled vocal parts include Chorale Saint-Joseph de Medina de Dakar (Senegal, 1975), Bobby McFerrin (Spain, 2009), Fannie Lou Hamer (US, 1960), Polyphonies Mongo (Congo, 1971), Aisha Devi (Switzerland/Nepal, 2015), Ream Daranoi (Thailand, 1964) and Rara La Bel Fraicheur De L’Anglade (Haiti, 1997).

Our deepest gratitude to all the artists included. We sincerely hope that you find your musical pieces treated with appropriate respect and creativity. See full list below.

Mix by: Ossian Ryner, Tommy Kamp Vestergaard and Den Sorte Skole
Master by: Joel Krozer, Six Bit Deep
Artwork by: Christian Zander
Layout by: Søren Severin, Re-public

Sampled tracks:

• Birth BY The Residents ON Eskimo IN USA, 1979
• Inter-City 125 BY James Holden ON The Inheritors IN England, 2013
• Kolumbo BY Dick Hyman ON The Age of Electronicus IN USA, 1969
• Messe Carabane BY Chorale Saint-Joseph de Medina de Dakar IN Senegal, 1975
• Kavana BY Boubacar Traoré ON Kar Kar IN Mali, 1989
• Seefeel (Autechre Remix) BY Seefel ON Seefeel Autechre Remixes IN England, 2006
• Bodhran BY Glen Velez ON Internal Combustion IN USA, 1985
• Inside the Kidney Machine BY Mr. Oizo ON Analog Worms Attack IN France, 1999
• Fundamental Values BY Niels Frahm ON All Melody IN Germany, 2018
• Dialogue and Passing Judgement BY Paul Corley ON Disquet IN USA, 2012
• Winged Flux BY PYUR ON Oratorio For The Underworld IN Germany, 2019
• Killing Time BY Nicolas Jaar ON Sirens IN USA, 2016
• Céu BY Batida (Featuring Francois & The Atlas Mountains) ON Dios IN Angola/Portugal, 2016
• Possibly Maybe Esc BY Björk ON Post IN Iceland, 1995
• Personality Upload BY The Sprawl ON E.P.1 IN UK, 2015
• Stone Hatcher BY PYUR ON Oratorio For The Underworld IN Germany, 2019
• Calvary BY Mahalia Jackson ON Mahalia Jackson In Concert IN US, 1967
• Music for the Church of St. John the Baptist IV BY Paul Jebanasam IN Sri Lanka, 2011
• Walk With Me Lord BY Fannie Lou Hamer IN US, 1960-1966
• Legba Nan Baye-A BY Rara La Bel Fraicheur De L’Anglade IN Haiti, 1977
• Ekonda BY Polyphonies Mongo IN Polynesia, 1971
• Fai Yen BY Ream Daranoi IN Thailand, 1964-1975
• Fetal BY Rabit ON Communion IN USA, 2015
• Bravado (Mhysa Edit) BY Lotic ON Thot Fantasy IN USA, 2016
• Terrain BY Julia Kent ON Asperities IN Canada, 2015
• Tramontana BY Julia Kent ON Asperities IN Canada, 2015
• O Tu Suavissima Virga BY Hildegard Von Bingen ON Canticles Of Ecstasy IN Germany, 1994
• A Recording of A Thunderstorm BY Audiophile Records ON Echoes Of The Storm IN USA, 1956
• Aristeo Intento BY L’Arpeggiata & Christina Pluhar ON Orfeo Chamán IN France/Austria, 2016
• Endí Bé BY Cemíl Qocgírí ft. Dogan Munzuroglu ON Zalal IN Germany/Kurdistan, 2016
• Consumed BY The Haxan Cloak ON Excavation IN UK, 2013
• Sieve Stack BY FIS ON From Patterns To Details IN UK, 2016
• The Hunt BY Mickey Drum ON Planet Drum IN USA, 1991
• Rare Decay BY Ben Frost IN Iceland, 2015
• Bad Start BY Mr. Oizo ON Analog Worm Attack IN UK, 1999
• Rites IV BY Paul Jebanasam ON Rites IN Sri Lanka, 2013
• Parting Chant BY The Haxan Cloak ON The Haxan Cloak IN UK, 2011
• Rewend BY Aynur Dogan ON Rewend IN Turkey, 2010
• Thee Unexplored Teutonic Underground IN Germany, 1968
• Al Dhanab BY Roly Porter ON Aftertime IN UK, 2011
• Surumarssi Optaatus BY Karelia ON Suomi Pop 2 IN Finland, 1971
• Rites II BY Paul Jebanasam ON Rites IN Sri Lanka, 2013
• Fall BY The Haxan Cloak On The Haxan Cloak IN UK, 2011
• Moombasa BY PRP ON Upper Cuts Vol.IV IN Portugal, 2014
• In Flight BY Roly Porter ON Third Law IN US, 2016
• Hunter BY Björk ON Homeganic IN Iceland, 1997
• Snow BY Ash Koosha ON I AKA I IN Iran, 2016
• Maxoom BY Mahogany Rush ON Maxoom IN Canada, 1972
• Root Collars BY FIS ON From Patterns to Details IN New Zealand, 2016
• COSM BY Jon Hopkins ON Singularity IN US, 2018
• I Get Along Without You Very Well NY Nina Simone ON Nina Simone and Piano! IN USA, 1969
• Ablutions and Washing of Rhizomes during the Afternoon by M’Benga people ON Tradionnels Des Pygmees IN Congo, 1975
• Possibly Maybe Esc BY Björk ON Post IN Iceland, 1995
• Sabiamantis BY Chancha Via Circuito ON Amansara IN Argentina, 2014
• Improvisació 1 BY Bobby McFerrin ON Live in Barcelona: Palau De La Musica Catalana IN Spain, 2009
• Quatere BY Mario Batkovic ON Batkovic Solo IN Switzerland, 2017
• Killing Time BY Nicolas Jaar ON Sirens IN US, 2016
• Personality Upload BY The Sprawl ON The Ep1 IN UK, 2015
• Pendulu Casual BY Autechre ON elseq 5 IN UK, 2016
• Dialogue and Passing Judgement BY Paul Corley ON Disquiet IN US, 2011
• Jamming In The Fifth Dimension BY Dawda Jobarteh ON Transitional Times IN Denmark, 2016 • Mysterious Island BY Mickey Hart ON Planet Drum (25th Anniversary) IN US, 1991
• Space Choir BY Laraaji ON Flow Goes The Universe IN US, 1992
• Tetrispack BY Modeselektor ON Hello Mom! IN Germany, 2005
• Tipos Duros BY Tabletom ON Mezcalina IN 1980, Spain
• Arc Decents BY David Hykes ON Hearing Solar Winds IN France, 1983
• Physical Fraction BY Trentemøller ON Physical Fraction IN Denmark, 2005
• Bilak Uzuk BY Sirojiddin Juraev and Salar Nader ON Musical Encounters from the Lands of the Mughals IN Afghanistan, 2010
• Foetus BY Efterklang ON Tripper IN Denmark, 20024
• Urizen BY David Axelrod ON Song of Innocence IN US, 1968
• Aurat (Tool) BY Aisha Devi ON Of Matter and Spirit IN Switzerland, 2015
• Manimbon BY Choeur D’Hommes ON VA. Voices Of The World: An Anthology of Vocal Expression IN Indonesia, 1992
• The Mark (Interlude) BY Moderat ON Moderat II IN Germany, 2013
• Violent Men NY Anohni ON Hopelessness IN US, 2016
• Fog (Jamie XX Remix) BY Nosaj Thing ON Drift Remixed IN US, 2010
• Thievery BY Arca ON Xen IN Venezuela, 2014
• The Water Drum BY Baka Pygmies ON Cameroon: Baka Pygmy Music IN Cameroon, 1977 • Blind Power BY Aho SSan ON Simulacrum IN France, 2020
• Swastika Eyes (Chemical Brothers Remix) BY Primal Scream ON Swastika Eyes (Chemical Brothers Remix) IN UK 1999
• Advent BY Rabit ON Communion IN US, 2015
• Dedicated to Werner Braun BY Mythos ON Dreamlab IN Germany, 1975 • Donkey Kong BY San Holo ON Donkey Kong IN Holland, 2015