Winnipeg’s own Black and White Rewrite are back, and they’re not here to fuck around. After a decade-long silence, this five-piece wrecking crew has clawed their way out of the shadows with “Tokyo Ghost” — and holy hell, it was worth the wait.
The story behind the song is just as intense as the music itself. Bassist Curtis had this wild experience flying into Japan years ago—their plane nearly got struck by lightning, and when they landed in the dead of night, the airport was a ghost town. Empty. Eerie. Liminal. That feeling of being totally alone in a place that’s usually packed to the gills? That’s the spark. And the band captured it perfectly.
Mikey (vocals) took that story and poured it into lyrics that hit hard without needing to spell everything out. You feel the anxiety, the isolation, the weird beauty of being stranded with one other person when you can’t even speak the language. It’s about more than Tokyo—it’s about any place that feels haunted because the life’s been drained out of it. And that desire for community is written all over this thing.
The production shows grit. Robin (guitar) cranked out the demo fast, and the final arrangement didn’t stray far—because when something works, it works. Curtis and Christian (guitar) laid down their parts at Robin’s home studio, but let’s talk about the drums for a second. Hannah tracked her parts in the basement of her 1960s house, turning that old space into a damn fortress of sound. With meticulous mic placement and pure skill, she made those drums roar like she was in a top-tier studio. That foundation gave the whole track its teeth.
Mikey did additional vocal tracking at his own spot and at Langside Studios in BC, where Richard Jensen mixed and mastered the whole beast into a polished, punchy monster.
“Tokyo Ghost” is the first single off their upcoming EP Copeful. Black and White Rewrite are back, and they’ve got unfinished business. Turn it up. Feel the anxiety. Let it haunt you. This one’s a ripper.
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