Compiled, edited and produced by Justin Chatburn and Ash International's Mike Harding, this massive tape archive, property of an organisation called the Parapsychic Acoustic Research Cooperative, is designed to bring the curious up to speed on the weird and vexing issue of ghost voices, disembodied speech and alien verbal communication. Using a high frequency radio receiver, some simple recording equipment and enough patient determination, it is possible to get in touch with a plethora of mysterious entities who, in time, will not only speak directly to you but also offer oblique, sometimes threatening comments about your current circumstances. Whether benign or just plain evil, these beings have exercised the minds and patience of several researchers over the years, most notably Constantine (sic) Raudive, whose 7" vinyl recording of spirit messages from the likes of Spanishphilosopher Ortega Y Gasset and Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was originally released in 1971 and is now available for the first time here in digital form.

Most of this amazing collection, however, is derived from the painstaking efforts of Raymond Cass, who has managed, over the years, to coax from the ether such dense spectral patter as "Put it on ice and I'll mend your feet" and "Elvis" and "Not enough there to copy".

The polyglot wordplay as the mysterious voices switch from English to German, Latvian and Russian during a single utterance has a raw phonetic appeal, however puzzling their origins might be. Are they speaking from beyond the grave, the far reaches of the galaxy or some cosmic dimension as yet undiscovered on this fleshly plain? Who can say? But it sure is fun to listen to. (Ken Hollings)

The Wire