Images that crossed my mind while listening to a few random Belbury Poly tracks: orchestras crammed into rocket ships that zoom around Jupiter, robots walking in slow motion across deserts, witches who live underwater, abandoned houses, a valley filled with old fashioned televisions that mostly show static but sometimes flash moments from black-and-white horror films.
Perhaps such a thought collage is precisely what Jim Jupp (a.k.a. Belbury Poly) seeks to evoke with his music. He pieces together bits of obscure sources such as forgotten soundtracks and library music until the sounds coalesce into something like a dreamscape, resonating from some bizarre netherworld beyond memory and imagination. Belbury Poly’s fourth LP, The Belbury Tales, will be available on vinyl and CD February 24 and will feature art by Julian House and liner notes by journalist/author Rob Young. A few preview tracks are included on the most recent Radio Belbury cloudcast on The Belbury Parish Magazine blog, and the album will be available for pre-order in late January.
• Belbury Poly: http://www.myspace.com/belburypoly
• Ghost Box: http://www.ghostbox.co.uk