Barghest is the solo work of Jesse Ainslie, the son of a
blues guitarist and world famous energy healer. Ainslie was one of the
founding members of the Trekky Records collective as a member of the first Trekky
band, Straight No Chaser. In 2003, he relocated to New York City for school and
soon formed Friends Band with Dan Weber and Jeff Bailey. Furthermore, Ainslie became one of the few mainstays in the Castanets touring and
recording lineup, serving as Ray Raposa's right-hand-man on vocals and guitar as the band toured the world. Ainslie has also spent time backing Matthew
Houck of Phosphorescent both live and in the studio. After contributing vocals and guitar to the newest Castanets record, Mr. Ainslie
took a short break from New York to come back to Chapel Hill,
his hometown, and work on his own material, under the name Barghest. The sound is a vast
collage of the 60s/70s folk-country on which he was raised, the improvisational
techniques from his jazz guitar background and experiences in the unpredictable
Castanets live band, and exploration into guitar drone and
noise loops. Live, Ainslie performs solo or with backing from of a few of his
Trekky Records comrades. Barghest's first release on Trekky is an EP entitled "Thanateros".
The EP was recorded on a cassette deck in Ainslie's Brooklyn apartment and released by Trekky in short run handmade packaging. The EP is a lo-fi taste of the material to come on the Barghest LP, which will see release on Trekky Records in the future.
Thanateros is Barghest's first EP. Full of dark country, drone, sweet songs and a beard.
