New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Rahim Quazi walked through an abandoned
Texas house as if he were slowly wading deeper in to ice water, yet he had not found what his imagination kept suggesting he would. So he stopped, because he realized that the house was just a house that only appeared to be haunted with it's old furniture and cobwebs. Suddenly, a sound barreled toward him; a loud agonizing scream coming from a woman in the same room.
Enamored by ghosts, living and dead, Rahim Quazi has come to see them as metaphors for the relationships we experience in our lives: those still living, those that have died, and those we have left in the past. Quazi met all three and converted them into timeless melodies during the formation of his third full-length album,
Ghost Hunting. In the album's early stages, Quazi was struck by adversity and
Ghost Hunting provided the fuel that allowed him to come to terms with the ghosts in his life: an impending divorce, the sudden passing of his mother and the process of starting his life over.
Once fully immersed at co-producer Rick G. Nelson's (The Afghan Whigs, The Polyphonic Spree) Marigny Recording Studio, Quazi began to make sense of these ghosts and to find resolution in each recorded track. Sixteen hour sessions were the norm; deeper and deeper they delved in that historic old dance hall turned studio in New Orleans.
The title track, "Ghost Hunting", is a righteous folk song that presents delicate slide guitar atop calming choral harmonies, and rim shots reminiscent of children's soft claps. "Ghost Hunting" also features the very same recording Quazi captured in that old haunted house after deciding to go there, armed with a tape recorder in hand. Yes! The scream that chased Quazi out of that east
Texas house is now a part of the song. "Relax / Believe" is Quazi's version of a playful, yet driven pop-song where a Mr. Blue Sky piano holds precedence --The message is clear and calls out to fellow healing travelers; Relax, believe, don't chase unreal things and appreciate what is home. "The Things We Do" admits, in between an array of framed piano chords, that we all have the ability to do questionable things, but in the end, the best thing we can do is forgive others that do the things we do." In this song, Quazi combines the honesty of simple warm piano, strings and naked vocals to create a song that may just change your life.
Ghost Hunting provides tracks for the lonesome people out there who need to find hope while dealing with a multitude of struggles including lost love, difficulties with forgiveness, and the roller coaster of life--providing comforting words of wisdom for the dark times we all face.
Quazi has been featured on Daytrotter and has received airplay from local Dallas/Fort Worth stations including NPR affiliate KKXT as well as Spotify and Pandora. Quazi is currently a member of indie band, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, and a former member of OHNO who supported The Strokes,
Dave Matthews Band, Sparklehorse and Duncan Sheik. For
Ghost Hunting, Quazi is backed by an arsenal of hand picked national level musicians including John Dufilho (The Deathray Davies, The Apples in Stereo) who finds the pop pocket on drums, Rick G.
Nelson who brings his musical versatility to the albums string arrangements, Cory Helms (The Polyphonic Spree) and Salim Nourallah on bass, and
Kelly Test (The Polyphonic Spree) on percussion.
Rahim Quazi puts melodies first and slowly adds layers of rich instruments and vocals.
Ghost Hunting says don't give up, live.
