To the Moon! by Ghost Funk Orchestra

The Feature Album this week on 2SER comes via Ghost Funk Orchestra and their superb fifth record, To the moon!

The NYC-based group, lead by multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum have been exploring a jazz-funk sound loosely sitting in the early 70s for a while now, via two excellent albums previously on Karma Chief records, Song For Paul (2019) and A New Kind of Love (2022).

On To the moon! they go further (or further out) in a  loving tribute to space-age film soundtracks and big bands, while drawing heavily on the worlds of psych, salsa, surf rock and jazz.

Although loosely based as a concept album centred around the forlorn lover of an astronaut on a deep space mission, you can miss all that detail and just take in the sights and sounds of what is a ride through what is an inherently fun record. Big horns, slamming drum breaks are interpolated with NASA mission audio clips and sensational vocal passages from Romi Hanoch. Imagine Bill Conti teaming up with the JB’s to score Star Trek.

Seth Applebaum dialled in from NYC last week to chat with 2SER Breakfast about all of the above and more

To the moon! is out now via Karma Chief Records on multi-coloured vinyl and digital