Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon
Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon are an Irish avant-folk/shoegaze band based in Galway. They are singer/songwriter Aaron Hurley and multi-instrumentalist/composer Scott McLaughlin. Contributions have been made to recordings by percussionist Barry Hurley, Loner Deluxe and accordion player/keyboardist Anne Marie Deacy (Mirakil Whip/Fuaim Bach). They were originally known as Snowmachine and formed in 2005 under that name in Galway, Ireland. An album in a light was released on Deserted Village the same year. It was described as 'perfect ghost radio music'[1] and as an 'introspective folk band sitting in a bed of electronic sighs, drones and ambiences'.
After discovering there was American alternative country band called Snow Machine,[2] they reverted to Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon. According to Aaron Hurley, the name came about "after watching the Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog with a full moon shining outside the window"[3] They released a four track e.p. in 2007 called Through a Forest Only on Irish record label Rusted Rail.[4] David Colohan (Agitated Radio Pilot) plays guitar on A Web Emerging From Fog. This time, the music was less reliant on electronics and veered more towards live instrumentation. It was also the first time drums were featured.
In 2010, 'The Trees, The Sea in Lunar Stream' was released by Rusted Rail in May 2010. The album features cello, glockenspiel, harpsichord, trumpet (played by Ben Isaacs), double bass, vibraphone, percussion, electronics, bass guitar, classical and electric guitars. The term folk-gaze was coined in reference to the album by Jeanette Leech in Shindig! Magazine.