THE HAUNTED GENERATION“The generalreactionfrom
the press seemstobesurprise,
but also that itmakes perfect
sense,”saysJim Jupp,co-
founderof Ghost BoxRecords.
“It certainly does tous. His
eclectic career takes inalot
of th eareas that arepart of
the Ghost Boxlandscape –
psychedelia,folk, electronica
–and moregeneral ly Ithink
it’sprobabl yfairtosay that
his work oftenre-explores
sounds andstyles fromthe past,
without thembeingstraightre-
enactments.It’sacentral idea
of th elabel’smanif esto. If we
had one,that is...”
He’s talkingabout one of
the mostunexpectedmusical
collaborations of 2020.And
someofushave barelytaken
the Christmas tree down. Ghost
Box, the home of haunted
electronica stalwarts Belbury
Poly,The FocusGroup andThe
AdvisoryCircle, have teamed
up with the Modfather himself.
Paul Weller’ sexperimentalEP
In AnotherRoom,releasedon
31 January, combinesabstract
sound collagewith adistinctly
melancholymusicality.Wistful
piano passagescollid ewith
mournful cellos,all infused with
the sounds of distantchurch
bells, summerybirdsong,and
judderingspirals of disquieting
radiophonica. Unsettlingly
pastoral, itevokes jumbled
memoriesof cracklyPercy
Grainger 78s,of Ivor Cutler’s
wheezing harmonium and the
shocked delight of hearing
TheBeatles’Revolution 9for
the first time. Itis the sound
of that latesummer’sevening
walk in thewoods, whenthe
darkness settles just that little
tooquicklyfor comfort.
“Welovedthe four tr acks he
put together,” says Jim.“They
connect directlytothe world
of vintageelectronicmusic,
musique concrèteand tape
music.But asyou’dexpect, they
addaverymusical sensibility,
shotthroughwithall kinds
of instrumentalpassages.
Sometimes justlittle sketches
or deadendsthat wrongfoot
the listener.Intalkingto
me andJulian [House,Jim’s
Ghost Boxco-founder], it
wasclear that he’sveryinto
early experimental electronics.
Amongstothers, ThirdEar Band
andTrevor Wishartcameupin
conversation.”
So howdid th ecollaboration
comeabout?
“Wedisco vere dthrough an
interview he did forShindig
magazine thathe wasafan
of the label,” explainsJim.
“And he mentioned to the
editor thathe’dliketodo
somethingforusatsome
point, so he put us intouch.We
were absolutel ythrilled and
honoured, asyoucan imagine.”
Thevinyl 7” isimmaculately
swathed in House’s trademark
artwork; gloriously ev ocativeof some strange, faded
textbookinadusty school
library .It’sabeautiful object
fromagentler,strangerera,
and Jim hintstantalisingly at
furthercollaborations.Inthe
meantime,In AnotherRoomis
available from ghostbox.co.uk.
Elsewhere,theprolific
boutique label SpunOut of
Control continues torelease
perfectly-crafted cassettesof
eerie electronica,often with
impressivelyhigh concepts.
Glasgow’s AlanSinclair –
recording as RepeatedViewing
–explainsthe genesisofhis
wonderfullysinister new
instrumentalalbumNatu re’s
Revenge:“Theinspiration came
to me whilstsitting upahill
in the middleofthe beautiful
Scottish wilderness,” he says.
“The rugged landscapesofmy
homeland provide unparalleled
moments ofawe, often mixed
withasenseof dread as the
inevitable foul weather moves
in. Is thereanunderlying
narrative?Perhapsapoorly-
plannedwoodlandwander
gonesour, creepyencounters
with strangeforest beings, or
ramblersfranticallyfleeing
theirunfortunate encounters
with the ‘hillfolk’...”
Meanwhile, Rupert Lally’s
albumTheProspectprovidesthe soundtracktohis own
short story,the taleof19th
cent urystagecoachrobber
Jack Delaney, whosebungled
heist inthe remoteCanadian
Rockiessparksaterrifying tale
of supernatural visitations and
blood sacrifice, all infusedwith
awoozy, drea mlogic thatbleeds
intohis epic, synth-drenched
compositions.And Ican’t
trumpetenough thetalents of
Spun OutofControl’sresident
sleeveartist EricAdrian Lee,
whose darklybeautifulartwork
is both tasteful and outré, the
meeting pointbetween vintage
Hammer Horror postersand
lurid 1970sprog-rocksleeves.
Visit spunoutofcontrol.
bandcamp.com/merch.
I’vealsobecomeentranced
byWrappersDelight,abook
compiledby TrunkRecords’
irrepressibleJonnyTrunk,
showcasingthe incredible,
house-filling collection of
sweet wrappers, crisp packets,
drinkscans, bubblegum
cards and other1960sand
1970s ephemeraamassedby
Stockport manJohnTownsend.
Over 500ofthemhave been
scanned and photographed, and
are–ahem–agiddy confection.
An overwhelmingreminderof
the dayswhen Anglia Shandy,
Count Dracula lollies and
Doctor Whosweet cigarettes
were producedbytinyfactories
in Brentford, Slough and
Cricklewood, it’s alsoliable
to gi ve youaninsatiable
hankering forthe tasteof a
Rowntree’sFingammy. After
asuccessfulcrowdfunding
campaign,itgoesongeneral
sale inFebruary, published
by FUEL.MoreaboutJohn
Townshend,and other people
with ‘interesting’ collections,
next issue...Visit theHaunted
Generationwebsite at
http://www.hauntedgeneration.
co.uk, send details of new
releases, or memoriesofthe
original “haunted” era to
hauntedgeneration@gmail.
com,or findmeonTwitter...@
bob_fischerBOB FISCHERROUNDS UPTHELATESTNEWSFROMTHEPARALLEL WORLDSOF POPULARHAUNTOLOGY...66 FT389