Ghost Box

Listened to the new Belbury Poly Album 'From an Ancient Star' over the weekend about ten times and to my surprise theres no Ghost box thread. I slept on the label a bit as they seemed a bit too engaged with nostalgia and pastiche but there seems to be a real downcast joy to what I've heard. 'Open university italo' was the term getting thrown about when partying to this on saturday morning. Just picked up the advisory council record as well and looking forward to diving into the catologue over coming weeks

Huh, I was sure there was a thread on this as well. It is all very hauntology/memoradelia, which I guess irks some people (too studied, pseudo-intellectual?) but I love that stuff. And definitely a down-cast joy - the first track I *really* loved from any of the records was the title track from Hey, Let Loose Your Love by the Focus Group, and nothing on the label has surpassed that for me as such a simple sublime pop moment.

I suppose as a huge fan of Radiophonic Workshop/Raymond Scott I'm going to be the exact target demographic, aren't I? Ah well, preaching to the converted they may be, but I still say it's brilliant stuff.

Love it as well. Last year's Advisory Circle album is so great, and the new Bellbury Pole is awesome as well. I must check out that Focus Group album still.

thats exactly why i left it so long to listen to any of it, all the pseudo intellectual simon reynolds baiting stuff i read about the label really got on my wick. I read a review the other day (possibly petridish) harping on about how the label had hit upon some gesamkunstwerk because they have uniform packaging, make videos and the music featured has a similar ethos. Isnt every label ran by a graphic designer done in this way? sounds like standard degree show stuff. But now ive put that aside the music is really enjoyable, the Belbury album is worth it just for the disco tracks

downloaded the advisory circle because of its appearance in wire's rewind. Love the album. Just ordered it together with the belbury poly album after hearing its titletrack and the awesome Hidden Door.

sad, neglected thread

Thanx for reminding me i need to listen to this shit some more.

Friend of mine was just talking about this label the other day...

Not technically a Ghost Box release, but has anyone on here listened to Broadcast's collaboration with The Focus Group? It is available for download only right now through iTuens and whatnot.

I like it, although I wish it were a little more Broadcast and a little less Focus Group. I'm hoping to catch Broadcast at the Fun Fun Fun festival here in Austin next month - should be pretty great!

The Broadcast/Focus Group EP is good, and agree on the Focus Group part--probably my least favorite of the ghost box folkx but hard for me to complain as I'm pretty hard for Julian House's design/overall aesthetic which is at least 50% of Ghost Box's appeal (I think).

Want to hear the "Roj" record they just put out but not sure what I think based on samples. After freaking out about all of this stuff and then coming back a little saner a mo. or so later, I think the advisory circle records hold up the best

Took me forever to get into Ghost Box even though they push so many of my geek buttons- the whole "hauntology" discussion just turned me way the fuck off, had me thinking this was music made more to be discussed than listened to, etc. Then I took a gamble on the iTunes $5 comp album and wahey, it's really fucking great. Can't wait to catch Broadcast in Philly in about a week.

Don't let k punk and his ilk put you off, this is some really great stuff.

What's the name of that comp?

I always forget about this label for some reason

Ritual and Education, it's the best $5 you'll ever spend. On music. This year. From Ghost Box.

Has anyone heard the Roj album in full? I don't like listening to samples, but I've yet to purchase it. Is it comparable to the other GB artists?

I like this label. Everything I've heard from it sounds like it was made by a cult obsessed with Love American Style, daytime TV shows from the 70s -- 80s, and oddball field recordings.

I wish it were a little more Broadcast and a little less Focus Group

Hmm, in general I thought they had a good balance, but when I did find it skewed, I thought it was the other way round - I love both groups, but the vocal style is so distinctive it often overpowers the music.

Ritual and Education is a great comp. And that Roj disc just appeared on eMusic (something I was prompted to discover because of this thread; thank you, ILM).

I like love this label.

better

Roj album is good - well up to par if you like Ghost Box artists in general.

Reissue/revision of OOP early record by The Advisory Circle coming soon!

just got the belbury poly disc (from an ancient star). trippy!

http://jimjupp.blogspot.com/2010/05/ghost-box-study-series-singles.html

Just ordered the first two editions from the Ghost Box Study Series - a 7 inch singles club, it seems. Lovely.

I keep looking at these in the local record shop, thinking "a tenner for a seven inch???".

They're £4.95 each or £7.95 for two on the website. Which still sounds fairly expensive to me, but you don't often see new 7"s going for less than a fiver these days. Sigh.

great label - they deserve every penny they charge

Anyone on here heard the Moon Wiring Club stuff? I'm wondering if this is something I need to get.

Yeah, A Spare Tabby... is really good. Very much of the genre, and it maybe goes on a tad long, but the first half totally blew me away.

yep i just got the spare tabby today and love it immediately . plus all the graphic design is sublime. i assume he does all that website illustration stuff himself?? if so he is a man of parts.

those moon wiring club sleeves, all 4 of them, need to go on the album art thread.

just bought the broadcast addition to the Study Series. and don't like it (not a surprise, didn't really like the lp). think the others singles are better. (the digital downloads are cheap at boomkat).

Did you get the vinyl or cd version of the Moon Wiring Club album? They are doing a great of saying you should really get both.

Numbers 5 & 6 in the 7" Study Series now available (Johnny Trunk and Hintermass), along with vinyl reissues of Belbury Poly's The Willows and The Focus Group's Sketches and Spells...

http://ghostbox.greedbag.com/

and they are lovely. Spent the last hour listening to 1-6 and they're just great. As the sky was dimming the music sounded beautiful. The design of the covers / sexy heavy vinyl is ace also!

there was a boomkat / 14tracks compilation of this stuff recently. (14 tracks chosend by boomkat staff(?) for £6.86)

http://14tracks.com/selections/152-listening_at_home_with_ghost_box

The samples of the new Advisory Circle that are up on the ghost box site are really beautiful. I agree with everyone above saying that Other Channels is the best thing on the label, though emily is right about Hey, let loose (and about Spare Tabby being overlong).

nah, roj is the best

oh yeah? I never actually listened to that one--will correct that now.

any verdicts on the recent advisory circle & moon wiring club rekkids?

AC = still dope

MWC = still twee (i didn't like it, ymmv)

still think they peaked with "roj"

Advisory Circle record is very very good. Moon Wiring Club is good but I think works better with visuals etc. Was very good live w/video and his source materials are often drawn out of old tv/film so seeing it in that format makes more sense.

Advisory Circle - Learning Owl Reappears

Man, I want to write a horror film about owls just so that I can peg that onto the start of it.

Have been playing a lot of Ghost Box recently.

An odd one in that I can play the same tracks at different times and have quite extreme reactions around liking them/disliking them. The Advisory Circle sounded lovely tonight, driving through the Oxfordshire countryside. Ritual & Education is very good though I feel mildly tempted to re-edit it into my own "Best of Ghost Box".

Been listening to the Advisory Circle album a lot recently, after not paying attention for a while. "Wheel of the Year" is my jam.

great album. I should have seen it coming based on some of his mixes, but I was still surprised at how much he broadened his palette beyond the radiophonic synth stuff while still sounding totally like himself. those albums he put out under his own name were quite good as well.

Belbury Poly sounded right while putting clothes away this morning.

Love this stuff. Is there enough to do a lil' Ghost Box POV/POX??

Maybe once I've heard the latest from Belbury Poly. Speaking of which:
http://jimjupp.blogspot.com/2012/02/belbury-tales-and-radio-belbury.html

Excellent new Jon Brooks (Advisory Circle) album as Shapwick...

www.claypipemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/shapwick.html

Sadly sold out in a few hours (only 110 copies were made) but apparently a second edition on vinyl is forthcoming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FdfafGC-bBw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9KWTYhAs74&feature=related

Let me try that first Youtube link again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdfafGC-bBw

nag has a fair point; the new advisory circle is much lighter than the last one, which was the darkest one since other channels (which is hard to beat for darkness with those bloody murder screams N all).

I like the new one a lot tho, it sounds like zelda 2 music at times

i think a case could be made for ghost box taking the throne from the old overrated idm canon of yesterday; personally i'd rather listen to a new focus group than any old boards

Controp: Ghost Box is for people who won't admit to liking IDM unless it's coated in arch references to Sapphire & Steel and fucking Bagpuss ;-)

Mostly kidding BTW, and ibrealise that's way off the mark.

But I dunno, as well done as some of it is, and as terrific as the presentation often is (the early 80s software package referencing Outward Journies is just delicious) I can't find much enthusiasm for more Tangerine Dream or Radiophonic Workshop knock offs, despite being ostensibly in the target demographic.

Did really like the Soundcarriers album though.

It's not really Berlin school though, is it?

The Soundcarriers album on Ghost Box is great, as are their other albums. I wonder if they’re working on anything...

totally knew you were kidding and appreciated it Noel

soundcarriers absolutely KILL

Liking this new advisory a lot, love the minimal use of percussion - doesn't date it as much

Controp: Ghost Box is for people who won't admit to liking IDM unless it's coated in arch references to Sapphire & Steel and fucking Bagpuss

I'll admit this isn't exactly off the mark for me. I don't really care about the references, but Ghost Box has definitely been a big factor in making IDM palatable to me. There was a time when I ran away from IDM like the plague.

Piggybacking on the new Advisory Circle praise. Think it just might be the best on yet.

'Flight Capture' is a amazing.

So amazing

It’s like hold music from a distant star

Controp: Ghost Box is for people who won't admit to liking IDM unless it's coated in arch references to Sapphire & Steel and fucking Bagpuss

I'll admit this isn't exactly off the mark for me. I don't really care about the references, but Ghost Box has definitely been a big factor in making IDM palatable to me. There was a time when I ran away from IDM like the plague.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, May 29, 2018 5:24 AM (fourteen hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not a dig, but I genuinely do not get the mere mention of IDM in this thread, let alone Ghost Box making IDM more palatable. Unless you have a different understanding of IDM than I do (Aphex, BoC, Plaid, Black Dog etc), how is that even remotely close to Ghost Box's Olde English reveries and 'hauntology chic'?

Fair

Side note my original point was this form of electronic music is as vital and inspiring as any classic idm

I'd argue that there are pretty strong connections between Ghost Box artists like Advisory Circle and Boards of Canada in particular.

To make a little more sense of my comment, a lot of this comes down to my own personal biases against IDM, especially pre-2000s IDM. At the time, I was very wrapped up in techno, DnB, house, going to raves, dancing, etc. IDM came across as pretty nebulous and often haphazard, and I bristled at the fact that it claimed to be intelligent or dance music. Getting into Ghost Box lead to me being more willing to listen to non-dance oriented electronic music. I think I warmed to it because it came across as more intentional to me.

really liking the new advisory circle. it's fairly lonely sounding and not very sinister...also doesn't have as many samples from old hammer horror etc. which is a nice change.
it kinda has an aquatic feel over all, good for the summer i would guess

it's Balearic!

Indeed. It’s easily in my top 10 now

New Jacco Gardner isn't on Ghost Box, but it should be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjzdfTOCEhY

better artwork than their last few releases, too

Really enjoying the new Pye Corner Audio. The vocoder really threw me through a loop.

Not had a chance to process this yet but

Coming late Jan 2020, In Another Room is a four track 7″ EP by very special guest, Paul Weller. More on this and other 2020 releases here: https://t.co/ANmgyxZOEe pic.twitter.com/oHsFhgE3wa

— Ghost Box (@GhostBoxRecords) October 25, 2019

!!

In Another Room is a four track 7″ EP by very special guest, Paul Weller. On Ghost Box, Weller finds the perfect home to explore his interest in experimental tape music and early electronics. The four tracks here though are more than just experiments and build a subtly melancholic atmosphere from field recordings and melodic instrumental fragments.

o_O

to give him his due, this album cover was um, weller-head of the curve as far as retrospectral graphics go...

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81nmwXbjIDL._SX355_.jpg

hmmm maybe - but that's mostly just a homage to the BBC Sound Effects library discs cover art, no?

The better antecedent for the new EP, I'd have said, is tracks on Wake Up The Nation such as "7&3 Is The Strikers Name" or the Broadcast-y "In Amsterdam".

The Soundcarriers album is so good. I can't get enough of it.

Don't think I've listened to this one before

Kinda sucks:

Unfortunately for contractual reasons to do with our current digital distribution channels, we will soon be closing the Ghost Box Bandcamp store. If you haven't yet downloaded your purchase or you'd like to buy any of the other Ghost Box titles you have until 12th June.

Whoa, that's a bummer. Wonder that contract would require that move?

I'd like to know that!

New Belbury Poly is another winner.

New Beautify Junkyards album is luminous and wonderful and has luscious depths that are perhaps not typical of the GB catalogue - really satisfying

I saw this pop up today, excited to check it out

It’s fabulous.

I also didn't realize they had other releases besides The Beast Shouted Love. Guess I have a lot of catching up to do.

Was there ever any big announcement about why they shut down the Bandcamp page? I noticed that Soundcarriers just reissued their 2014 album on their own Bandcamp, with new cover art and everything.

Soundcarriers re-released under a new label, right? I noticed that.

The new Pye Corner Audio is phenomenal. I can’t stop playing it. It’s a little more… fun and aggressive than usual?

Yeah, Phosphonic, which must be their own label, since the only things listed on the label's Discogs page are their last two albums.

There's a whole Large Plants album now, I notice! I thought "La isla bonita" was a little bit brilliant that one time but... I guess we'll see.

Meanwhile, I think I at least vaguely approve of this Pneumatic Tubes thingy after one listen.

Kinda perplexed by what I've heard of Large Plants, it sounded like garden-variety psychedelic revivalism, there are dozens of similar bands knocking around.

^ 'Perplexing' captures it. Perhaps the first Ghost Box release where I'll concede that there's a 0.00% chance I'd be listening to a full LP of this without the GB stamp of approval. (Not that I'm even disliking it especially, and I did get ridiculous mileage out of the Madonna thing as a novelty item.)

New album from The Advisory Circle just landed. I haven't listened to more than a couple of tracks but it's lovely so far! Out on double 10" and CD.

I believe it's her first album release as Cate Brooks. Spotify still has her deadname :(

Even more exciting news from the label:

Next month Ghost Box embarks on a series of complete album re-issues on vinyl and CD. Starting with GBX001 Farmer’s Angle, the EP by Belbury Poly that launched the label back in January 2005. It'll be followed in November by The Focus Group's Sketches & Spells and The Willows by Belbury Poly in December, with another re-issue every other month thereafter. Some of the early releases have never been revisited since their print to order CD-R originals, so it'll be a chance to fill the gaps in your Ghost Box collection.

I hope The Advisory Circle's Mind How You Go gets a reissue soon. Such a moody little EP, but prices on Discogs have been ridiculous.

oh wow, have these ever been released on vinyl before? I'd love to own a vinyl copy of The Willows in particular.

I'm pretty sure the earliest releases were only CD or CD-R on demand so yep, first time on wax I believe!

Any chance they'll do that Broadcast & The Focus Group 7"?

would love a copy of sketches and spells in any format <3 awesome

Julian House's sleeve designs are so great that I'd want to get the reissues on vinyl, but I'm running out of space so will probably get the CDs :(

Just ordered four Ghost Box CDs including the new Advisory Circle, which is just so good. Lots of great 'BBC Radiophonic Workshop performs Kraftwerk' moments.

The new Belbury Poly is a nice change of pace, a full band affair plus poems by Justin Hopper, who was so great on the Chanctonbury Rings album. Ghost Box has really been on fire the last couple years.