released 27th November 2026
The Hotel is proud to present a first-time edition of London Orbital, Bruce Gilbert’s visionary sound work for the 2002 film, directed by Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair.
London Orbital is a film about the M25, the circular motorway that surrounds London in its outer edges. Commissioned by Channel 4, the film is loosely based on Iain Sinclair’s book published two years prior, which saw the author walk the entire length of the Orbital motorway over a two-year period.
Chris Petit took this concept further by electing to drive around the motorway, using nascent digital technology and CCTV footage to reveal the uncanny atmospherics, beauty and oddly terrifying nature of the endless motorway. The film masterfully deploys the outer-ring motorway as a metaphor for the liminal states of the mind. As Petit puts it, ‘driving as an exercise in forward projection’, or, ‘a quest for transcendental boredom’.
The Hotel presents London Orbital not as a soundtrack record, but as a sound film – with Bruce Gilbert’s rich tapestry of electronics, field recordings and guitar creating a listening experience that is just as if not more evocative than the theatrical viewing experience. The LP’s accompanying booklet offers extensive stills from the film alongside newly-commissioned essays by Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair.
credits
Music and sounds by Bruce Gilbert
Writings and voiceover by Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair
Edited for television by Emma Matthews
Edited for vinyl by Henry Cyer
Essays by Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair
Commissioned by The Hotel
Artwork by Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair
Design by Jon Wozencroft
Mastered by Kinn
Executive produced by Henry Cyer
Illuminations Television Ltd under exclusive licence to The Hotel
With the support of Arts Council England
Distribution by Cargo
Press by Zoe Miller
The Hotel
TH05, 2026