Belbury Poly is the studio band of Ghost Box Records co-founder Jim Jupp. Jupp is the main composer and producer and also plays synth, keyboards and guitar. Other members are session musicians, that have included: Christopher Budd on bass and lead guitar, Jim Musgrave on drums, James Allen on drums, David Sharp on acoustic guitar and Cate Brooks on piano.

Belbury Poly
Background information
Genres
LabelsGhost Box
MembersJim Jupp
WebsiteBelbury Poly on Ghost Box

Sound

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Working with analogue electronics and wide range of unusual instrumentation and more recently supported by session players on drums and guitars, Belbury Poly's sound is characterised as a kind of upbeat, electronic and rustic prog rock. Influences, range from old library music and TV soundtracks to keyboard driven 1970s prog rock, folk and Krautock.[1][2][3]

Jupp has spoken about Belbury Poly and the other artists on Ghost Box as sounding like the misremembered past of a parallel world,[4][5][6][2] as well as acknowledging a debt to the author Arthur Machen.[6] The name references the fictional town of Belbury, created by the author C.S. Lewis[7] in his novel That Hideous Strength.

Biography

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Jim Jupp has released EPs, singles and six albums on Ghost Box under the name of Belbury Poly, and has released a dark ambient album for the label under the moniker Eric Zann. He is also a member of The Belbury Circle along with Cate Brooks (of The Advisory Circle) and occasional collaborator, John Foxx[8] In 2019 he co-wrote and produced the music and spoken word album Chanctonbury Rings with Justin Hopper and Sharron Kraus.[8] He has recorded library tracks for KPM, BMG and Lo-Editions. He has remixed tracks for several artists including John Foxx and Bill Ryder-Jones (The Coral). The track "The Willows" taken from the first Belbury Poly album of the same name was reworked by Paul Weller as "Earth Beat"[9] for his 2020 album On Sunset. The debut EP by Belbury Poly, Farmer’s Angle was included in an Electronic Sound magazine feature, A History of Electronic Music in 75 Records.[10]

Discography

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Albums and EPs

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Title Format Label Catalogue Number Year
Farmer's Angle 3" CD EP/DL Ghost Box GBX001 2004
The Willows CD/LP/DL Ghost Box GBX003 2005
The Owl's Map CD/DL Ghost Box GBX007 2006
From an Ancient Star CD/DL Ghost Box GBX011 2009
Farmer's Angle (Revised Edition) CD/10"/DL Ghost Box GBX014 2010
The Belbury Tales CD/LP/DL Ghost Box GBX016 2012
New Ways Out CD/LP/DL Ghost Box GBX024 2016
The Gone Away CD/LP/DL Ghost Box GBX035 2020

[11]

Singles

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As Title Format Catalogue Number Year
Belbury Poly and Moon Wiring Club Study Series 01: Youth and Recreation 7"/DL GBX701 2010
Belbury Poly and Mordant Music Study Series 03: Welcome to Godalming 7"/DL GBX703 2010
Belbury Poly and The Advisory Circle Study Series 08: Inversions 7"/DL GBX708 2012
Belbury Poly and Spacedog Study Series 10: Message and Method 7"/DL GBX710 2013
Pye Corner Audio with Belbury Poly Other Voices 05: Machines are Obsolete/Pathways 7"/DL GBX715 2015
Sharron Kraus with Belbury Poly Other Voices 10: Something out of Nothing 7"/DL GBX720 2018

[11]

Album Appearances

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Album Title Album Artist Label Catalogue Number Year
Ley Line[12] Justin Hopper Bandcamp self-released 2014
Shirley Inspired: A Tribute to Shirley Collins[13] Various Artists Earth EARTHLP003 2015
Folklore of Plants Volume 1[14] Various Artists Folklore Tapes 2017
Chanctonbury Rings[11] Justin Hopper, Sharron Kraus and Belbury Poly Ghost Box GBX033 2019
Intermission[11] Various Artists Ghost Box GBXD008 2020

Remixes

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Track Title Original Artist Album,Single,EP title Label Catalogue Number Year
Taxi Negro (Black Cab Mix) Tremolo Audio Visitas Mil Records MRCD009 2008
Ghost Office (Remixed by Belbury Poly) Xylitol Xylitol Music as played by Other People self-released 2010
Escape Hatch Bernard Fevre The Strange World of Bernard Fevre Remixes Universal NJ9048 2010
And The Cuckoo Comes To Belbury The Advisory Circle Mind How You Go (Revised Edition) Ghost Box GBX013 2010
Lights And Offerings (Belbury Poly Mix) Mirrors The White EP Skint SKINT216ID 2011
Summerland (Belbury Poly Mix) John Foxx and the Maths The Shape of Things Metamatic META29CD 2011
If... (Belbury Poly Mix) Bill Ryder-Jones If... Remixes Domino DS061 2012
Hobby Horse The Memory Band Further Navigations Static Caravan Van 272 2014
Broken Folk[15] Seatman and Powell Broken Folk KS Audio KSA 008 2018
Something Out of Nothing[16] Sharron Kraus Other Voices 10 Ghost Box GBX720 2018

The Belbury Circle (Belbury Poly and The Advisory Circle) Discography

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Title Format Label Catalogue Number Year
Empty Avenues 10" EP/CD EP/DL Ghost Box GBX019 2013
Outward Journeys CD/LP/DL Ghost Box GBX029 2017

[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Belbury Poly on ploughman's lunches, prog rock and avoiding "Clarkson/Wakeman territory"". Factmag.com. 1 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Label Profile: Ghost Box | Clash Music Exclusive General". 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Cardboard Cutout Sundown: Interview with Jim Jupp". Jameshoodillustration.blogspot.com. 20 December 2010.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Simon (15 October 2017). "Hauntology: Ghost Box label profile, Frieze magazine October 2005". Reynoldsretro.blogspot.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  5. ^ Society of the spectral Archived 23 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Wire no. 276, November 2006
  6. ^ a b "15 questions | Interview | Jim Jupp | Circle of Friends". 15questions.net. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  7. ^ "The art of noise refined-Arts & Entertainment-Music-TimesOnline". 1 April 2007. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Home - Ghost Box".
  9. ^ Stickler, Jon. "Paul Weller Shares New Song Earth Beat From Upcoming Album 'On Sunset' - Stereoboard". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Issue 65 Print Edition | Out Of Stock – Electronic Sound". electronicsound.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Catalogue Archive - Ghost Box".
  12. ^ "Ley Line, by Justin Hopper". Jackdaw Shivers Press.
  13. ^ "Shirley Inspired, by Shirley Inspired..." Shirley Inspired...
  14. ^ Tapes, Folklore. "The Folklore of Plants Vol.I". Folklore Tapes.
  15. ^ Seatman, Keith (12 November 2018). "Test Transmission all things Keith Seatman and more: Out Now. Broken Folk 10 inch EP and Digi Release".
  16. ^ "Sharron Kraus with Belbury Poly - Other Voices 10". Ghost Box.
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