Ghost Box is a record label which releases fuzzy and sometimes disconcerting electronica with nice artwork. It draws its inspiration from a parallel universe where standing stones and brutalist architecture mingle on the village green, where children’s minds are permanently marked by public information films transmitted in the dead of night. The capital of this universe is the made-up town of Belbury, and for one Sunday in March Belbury is coming to Digbeth.
We begin with a taste of Belbury TV, including a 1974 Play for Today called Penda’s Fen. Set in the Malverns, it’s the tale of a confused and passionate teenager whose supernatural visions are fuelled by Elgar and Anglo-Saxon mythology. (When writer David Rudkin presented the film at Flatpack a couple of years ago, it was clear that many in the audience had been carrying a vivid version of the film in their head ever since its first broadcast.) Also screening is Julian House’s Winter Sun Wavelength, a 20-minute film with a new score by the Focus Group and Belbury Poly.
Around 8pm it’s time to push back the chairs for an evening of psych, folk, soundtrack, radiophonics and cosmic disco. Live guests Moon Wiring Club provide squelchy synths and clattery breakbeats, with DJ support from the Focus Group and Belbury Poly and eye-popping loops and clips for the visually undernourished. Tucked away in the corner you will also find an exhibition of art and artefacts by Julian House.
