Sillyboy's Ghost Relatives In A Small Place

Sillyboy’s Ghost Relatives can proudly claim to be “Greek radio’s
favourite soft rock band”. The Athens-based quartet – fronted by basswielding
former TV commercial composer turned Balearic popster
Charalambos Kourtaras – are rising stars in their home country, with
listeners warming to their distinctive blend of atmospheric guitars,
retro-pop synths and head-in-the-clouds grooves.
So far, international stardom has passed them by, though their
distinctive songs have caught the ear of a range of DJs across the
globe. One was Claremont 56 founder Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy, who has
worked his magic on one of the band’s previously unreleased gems,
“In A Small Place”.
Perfectly capturing the claustrophobic reality of life in a small, remote
town or village where everyone knows everyone else’s business, the
song sees Sillyboy plan his escape over a mesmerizing backing track
rich in ghostly synthesizers, chunky bass guitar, spacey electronics
and a shuffling groove that sits somewhere between pitched-down dub
disco and early ‘80s West Coast AOR.
Murphy’s “Extended Version” allows the track room to breathe,
teasing out the clandestine and atmospheric instrumentation – eyesclosed
guitar solos included – before introducing Sillyboy’s rueful and
paranoid vocals. You’ll find the Greek band’s slimmed-down – and
arguably even more trippy – original version on the B-side, completing
a fittingly high quality musical package to kick-start Claremont 56’s
2019 release schedule.