Exclusive preview: Twin Flames – ‘Just Like a Ghost’

Twin Flames, the husband-and-wife duo Jaaji and Chelsey June, will release their brand-new album, Hugging the Cactus, on Oct. 18, and we’re stoked here at Roots Music Canada to get to share an exclusive little taste of it here today.

It’s their new single, “Just like a Ghost,” which comes out tomorrow — the final single to be released before the new album appears.

“In my dream. I cut my hand with a knife, touched a photograph on the wall – a photograph from a time in my life that I’ve tried to forget about,” Chelsey June said.

“Then I went through the photograph and had to relive that time. Back then, I wished so much for an apology, one that I would never get. Writing this song for me was the closure I guess I needed. It helped me to process what happened, the thing I tried to block out for so long. I realize now that I did not need an apology, and the best revenge I could have was to live a good life.”

“This song was such a fun one to record.” Chelsea June said.

“We experimented with different instruments from the Living collection at The NMC in Calgary … It was late at night, and we were just about to wrap for the day when our producer, Jake Jones, decided to try an old Novatron t550 (flight-cased mellotron). It has such a different sound, which is really prominent at the end of the track. It made me reflect on life and how fragile it is. Knowing that every voice recorded on that mellotron are people who are no longer alive was really special. They will live on through ‘Just like a Ghost.’”

On Hugging the Cactus, Twin Flames expand dramatically on their contemplative rock-tinged folk style and combat the misconception that their music, and Indigenous music in general, inhabits a stylistic box.

The album features eight songs, including previously released singles “Hearts on Fire” and “Bones,” and a stunning rendition of the classic “House of the Rising Sun.”