Ghosts!

This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as... something.

The team: Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and myself with some help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.

We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.

The end result is a wildly varied body of music that we're able to present to the world in ways the confines of a major record label would never have allowed - from a 100% DRM-free, high-quality download, to the most luxurious physical package we've ever created.

More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future.

- Trent Reznor, March 2, 2008

Check out the Nine Inch Nails: Ghost I-IV website.

What an awesome new album by Nine Inch Nails! It's all instrumental, and they've really come up with some thought-provoking melodies! I bought the whole thing and I'm definitely not disappointed!

Not only was this album released exclusively on the web through the NIN website, but the first volume is free to download! Trent Reznor is finally free from the puppet strings of the record industry, and is celebrating by delivering a superior product to the fans in a new and conventional way. Who knows, he could be paving the way for the future!

The coolest aspect of this new release is the online community involvement. The NIN Ghosts Youtube group is dedicated to fan videos created around the melodies of the new tracks! Check it out:

To expand the idea of the "Ghosts" project, Nine Inch Nails is inviting anyone and everyone to create visuals to accompany the album's music. In a few months, we'll be gathering the entries we feel are particularly exceptional and highlighting them. There are no rules to this - be as creative as you like. Create a music video, or a short film, or something completely abstract. Use only one track from the album, or use multiple tracks.

Sweet! I'll post mine when/if it's finished!