Ghost Box Records

The Haunted Generation is also a regular column in Fortean Times magazine, rounding up new releases and forthcoming events. From Issue 435, dated September 2023…

THE HAUNTED GENERATION

Bob Fischer rounds up the latest news from the parallel worlds of popular hauntology

“The Megalithic Transport Network,” begins Martyn Stonehouse, “is part of a larger national rail system which links historical sites throughout Derbyshire and neighbouring counties…”

The Megalithic Transport Network? That explains the sandwiches, chortle chortle. Suffice to say, if 1970s British Rail services had expanded to include dedicated branch lines to ancient stone circles, it would have given fresh impetus to a decade of jokes about “the buffet car”. Still, this delightful prospect has inspired Megalithic Transport Network Phases 1 & 2, a brace of excellent new albums from Chesterfield musician Martyn. Both collections employ towering modular synthesizers to depict the bustling platforms of busy stations at Bronze Age and Neolithic sites throughout the Peak District.

“The inspiration came after visiting places like Arbor Low and Nine Ladies Stone Circle in Derbyshire,” continues Martyn. “I started imagining what it would be like to arrive at these special places by rail, and how the governments of the 1970s might have approached this”. So does anyone fancy a daytrip to Minninglow Terminus, calling at Doll Tor and Barbrook Halt? Buy a ticket from martynstonehouse.bandcamp.com. Phase 3, meanwhile, is still at the proposal stage, with progress detailed on new single ‘Excavations On Harthill Moor’.

Embarking on a similarly strange journey is Newcastle-based Jayne Dent, recording as MeLostMe. Her stunning new album RPG is a “homage to worldbuilding”, from the mythical realms of ancient folklore to the pixellated landscapes of modern console games. The album combines striking electronic soundscapes with traditional folk instrumentation… and, of course, Jayne’s extraordinary singing voice. The highlight? Undoubtedly ‘The Oldest Tree Holds The Earth’, a beautiful folk round composed in a Danish forest, imagining “time stretched out between the branches of impossibly old beings”. Follow the acorns to upsettherhythm.bandcamp.com.

For thrills of a more urban nature, try The Hexagonal World of the Twelve Hour Foundation. A grin-inducing album of Radiophonic Workshop-inspired tunes commissioned to celebrate the Brutalist architecture of Reading, it’s the latest collection from Bristol-based Jez Butler and Polly Hulse. The duo create the finest feelgood melodies in the business, and their own utilitarian concrete shopping centre can be found at thetwelvehourfoundation.bandcamp.com.

Meanwhile, Gavin Brick and Phil Heeks are gazing at the stars. If their collaborative pseudonym Ardala seems vaguely familiar, she’s the undeniably glamorous – if somewhat untrustworthy – princess from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Brick and Heeks have poured their love of 1980s TV sci-fi into Halls of Antiquity, a glorious album of bombastic synthpop themes available from ardala.bandcamp.com. And looking even further back into sci-fi history is John D’Alex Seodah-Johnson… aka Sound Effects Of Death And Horror. John’s new album Rossum: Experimental Radio uses a 1937 radio adaptation of Karel Čapek’s 1920 play RUR as the foundation for an ambitious concept album about the uneasy relationship between humankind and its robotic creations. No AI at work here though, John’s album has a splendidly organic feel, weaving dub basslines around vintage analogue synths. Send your subservient automaton of choice to wormholeworld.bandcamp.com.

From the literary world, I very much enjoyed Bait. It’s a fun novella by Paul Childs, following the trials of two contemporary youngsters charged with protecting the mysterious Penlock Forest from a badger-hungry criminal gang. It somehow combines the feel of the Children’s Film Foundation with a splendid hint of Arthur Machen, and Paul’s own strange corner of the countryside is located at paulchilds.co.uk. I’m also very taken with A Strange Peace, the latest volume of photography by Ben Holton. A celebration of the “edgelands” between towns and their surrounding countryside, it finds curious beauty in overgrown sheds, discarded gloves and – chillingly – a hypodermic needle lodged in the slender trunk of a tree. It comes accompanied by a soothing CD of Ben’s own delightfully restorative folk-influenced tunes, and is available to order from digital.waysideandwoodland.com.

And how better to conclude than with a new release from Ghost Box Records? Label co-founder Jim Jupp has assembled a veritable supergroup for his latest album as Belbury Poly. With US narrator Justin Hopper summoning the spirit of The Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling, and guests including Midlake flautist Jesse Chandler, The Path is a semi-sequel to Jim’s 2020 album, The Gone Away. Both records concern themselves with the malevolent antics of Britain’s fairy population, but this new instalment feels more expansive. “It carries the idea of fairy folklore, with its constant themes of vanishing and disappearance, into a modern era,” explains Jim. “So fairy enchantments can manifest as alienation, mental health issues, environmental damage and the general weirdness of the British landscape.”

In an unexpected twist, the music itself takes inspiration from a legion of funky 1970s British crime flick soundtracks – and it sounds terrific. Grab a copy from ghostbox.co.uk and just imagine a pixie-led Michael Caine taking a British Rail train to… well, a Neolithic stone circle. What’s that? Buffet car all out of sandwiches? Try the fairy cakes instead.