Weird Britain in exile: Ghost Box, hauntology and alternative heritage

This article interrogates some of the themes that have been noted in the critical receptionof the musical movement that has been dubbed “hauntology.” In particular, it focuses on aspecifically British strain of hauntology—largely concentrating on the record label Ghost Box—and explores the network of associations referenced by the artists involved. Theauthor argues that Ghost Box and related artists reflect on issues such as collecting and heritage, claiming that they are engaged in a form of alternative heritage. Further, heargues that they engage with the uncanny nature of media technologies, particularly thesense in which current digital technologies can be considered as haunted by their analoguecounterparts. Finally, he suggests that critics have tended to steer away from exploring issues such as nostalgia and pastiche within the work of such artists due to their rather negative connotations; yet these concepts are crucial to the strategies of many hauntological artists.