Sorcery is the ninth album for Jim Jupp, aka Belbury Poly. It grew from Jupp’s love of early to mid-80s electronic music and a rediscovery of how that music had soundtracked his childhood love of all things sci-fi and fantasy. It’s moody and melodramatic electronica rendered in bright and evocative 80s sounds. The not quite 80s tunes have Belbury Poly’s trademark earworm melodies and are ever so slightly tongue in cheek. Jupp returns to a simple line up for this album - it's a very electronic sound with fretless bass, guitars and e-bow provided by regular Belbury Poly collaborator, Christopher Budd.

At the outset of the project, Jupp assembled a palette of instruments and sounds which evoke a moment in musical history when digital studio technology just started to take over from analogue. Eschewing Belbury Poly’s earlier mid 70s obsessions, to focus on that period around 1983, when artists who could afford it started to experiment with samplers. It was a musical moment dominated by the sounds of Prophet 5, DX7 & PPG synthesizers, Fairlight & Synclavier music computers, TR808 drum machine & Simmons Drums (those ubiquitous hexagonal drum pads) and of course the much-maligned fretless bass.

It’s also an era that’s now seen as something of a golden age for fantasy and science-fiction books, comics, TV, movies and games (particularly in Britain where it was fuelled by a satirical post punk reaction to Thatcherism). In Jupp’s memory these things go hand in hand; as a child his nerdy fandom was soundtracked not as it was for most by Heavy Metal, but by the electronic pop of Bill Nelson, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Japan, and Frank Chickens. Also, by otherworldly TV soundtracks & production music of the era: Elizabeth Parker and Paddy Kingsland at the BBC, The Parry Music Library, Rod Argent’s new age library albums and even Clannad’s Robin of Sherwood score.

On colour vinyl, CD, download and streams. Album artwork is by fantasy artist Arik Roper with design by Jim Jupp. Some may notice the typographical nod to Mayflower Books' Michael Moorcock novels.


photo: Louise Mason www.sawn-off.co.uk