Mar 20, 2011

Sundaze 1112

Hello, a few weeks ago i was a little shocked when the news reached me that Trish Keenan had died after weeks on IC of pneumonia with pig flue complications. The suggestion was that she contracted this in high summer Australia after their tour there - freakish. Anyway, touring is tiresome sleeping en route in the bus, it's just not very healthy. Nor is the air in an airplane on a long haul flight back to the UK. I was somewhat personally touched as well as we chatted for 15 min. after a Broadcast show in my hometown sept 2003, alas a bandmember dragged her away towards that travelling bus, no chance/use to offer her decent facilities..it's always the next show that precedes. Today's dreamspace is Broadcast from heaven...

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Space-age pop collagists Broadcast formed in Birmingham, England, in 1995; comprised of vocalist Trish Keenan, guitarist Tim Felton, bassist James Cargill, keyboardist Roj Stevens, and drummer Steve Perkins The band's style is a mixture of electronic sounds and Keenan's 1960s-influenced vocals. It is heavily influenced by the 1960's American psychedelic group The United States of America, using many of the same electronic effects. It is also reminiscent of Stereolab. However, despite the similar musical pedigree, Broadcast's music often has a darker, edgier sound - with amorphous samples and analogue dissonance giving it a retro-futuristic sci-fi edge.

The band's first releases were singles released on Wurlitzer Jukebox Records ( "Accidentals" ) and Duophonic Records ("The Book Lovers") in the mid-1990s. "The Book Lovers" was also featured on the soundtrack of the film "Austin Powers." They attracted the attention of Warp Records, who compiled the singles in 1997 on Work and Non Work. All subsequent releases have been on Warp Records, or in the USA on Tommy Boy Records. Their song "Before We Begin" was used in the Season Four finale of the L Word. On their early singles and brilliant debut album, The Noise Made by People, Broadcast's commitment to crafting meticulously, ethereally beautiful atmospheres gave their music a detached quality that made them somewhat difficult to embrace fully.

Ever the studio perfectionists, fans had to wait until 2003 to hear any new material from the band, when the Pendulum EP arrived that spring and Haha Sound appeared that summer. While their music still sounds like it could've been crafted by ghosts in the machine, now Broadcast give it flesh and blood through more warmth and texture. Haha Sound's more human touch comes through in its looser, more intimate, and rougher sound. A big part of Haha Sound's expansive feel is Trish Keenan's increasingly expressive vocals; while she can still occasionally seem to be hovering slightly outside the songs, her delivery is much more vulnerable and emotive. The delicately spooky nursery rhyme "Colour Me In" begins the album with the wistful, childlike viewpoint that creeps into Haha Sound from time to time. "Pendulum" finds the band digging deeper into their psychedelic influences, with acid rock drumming and flashback-like washes of sound making it one of the most tense, driving tracks they've recorded. "Ominous Cloud," and "Winter Now" suggest that Broadcast could probably make dozens of immaculate pop songs like these if they wanted to.

In fall 2005, Broadcast -- pared down to the duo of Keenan and Cargill -- issued the America's Boy single and Tender Buttons full-length. 2006's Future Crayon collected the group's numerous rare tracks and B-sides. They are currently working on their fourth studio album. The 2009’s project, Broadcast and The Focus Group (renowned designer Julian House) Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age, which came over like a demonic film score, all candles and séances. A unique album pulling in both collaborators' unique sense of melody and love of library music and film scores. Trish sang at Warp Records’ 20th anniversary show, Warp20.


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Broadcast's first release on Warp is a collection of singles and other b-sides from their singles on Duophonic. The tracks are a homage to the underground pop sounds of the 60's, with Moogs buzzing around in the background while Trish Keenan half sings and half speaks to great effect. Though the songs sometimes sound a bit too rough, this is a hidden gem in Warp's discography.

Broadcast’s first album, Work and Non Work, is actually a compilation of early singles and EPs. It’s a wonderful introduction to the band and their unique sound. At once emotional and icily cool, the band’s combination of Trish Keenan’s high vocals and harpsichord-like synths becomes something beautiful and fractal.



Broadcast - Work Non Work   (97 205mb)

01 Accidentals 3:28
02 The Book Lovers 4:49
03 Message From Home 4:59
04 Phantom 3:31
05 We've Got Time 4:13
06 Living Room 3:26
07 According To No Plan 3:08
08 The World Backwards 4:00
09 Lights Out 4:32

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Broadcast - The Noise Made By People (00  246mb)

01 Long Was The Year 3:38
02 Unchanging Window 3:48
03 Come On Let's Go 3:17
04 Echo's Answer 3:12
05 Tower Of Our Tuning 4:30
06 Papercuts 4:32
07 You Can Fall 4:24
08 Look Outside 3:53
09 Until Then 3:51
10 City In Progress 3:37
11 Dead The Long Year 4:46

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Broadcast‘s Tender Buttons is both washed out yet central and commanding. Inspired by the minimalist drone of French library music, as diffused through haunted capacitors, this British group-now pared to the duo of Trish Keenan and James Cargill-casts autumnal, emotionally self-contained vignettes here. The Teutonic frostiness of The Velvet Underground and Nico hovers above ring-modulated modem handshaking trills, but this music is filtered a touch more through early ‘80s 8-bit workstations than ‘60s psyche-rock oscillators. With sparse clusters of drum machine and processed synths replacing live percussion, the sequences are scratchy and linear, sullen and frayed, while the breathy vocals are heavy-lidded folk.



Broadcast - Tender Buttons (05 211mb)

01 I Found The F 2:21
02 Black Cat 3:59
03 Tender Buttons 2:52
04 America's Boy 3:34
05 Tears In The Typing Pool 2:12
06 Corporeal 3:56
07 Bit 35 1:49
08 Arc Of A Journey 5:18
09 Michael A Grammar 3:57
10 Subject To The Ladder 3:14
11 Minus 3 0:47
12 Goodbye Girls 3:09
13 You And Me In Time 1:25
14 I Found The End 2:05

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elsewhere on this blog (Rhotation 28)

Broadcast - Haha Sound   (288mb)

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9 comments:

Unknown said...

well written blog!
broadcast came as a surprise to me, somehow never bothered to listen (singer/songwriter stuff is rarely on my radar)
Like it!, thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi Rho!

If it's possible and not too much trouble, could you please post a Flac version of Broadcast - The Noise Made By People?

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Hi Rho,

Please let me rephrase that last comment: Could you please re-up Broadcast - The Noise Made By People?

Thank you!

Rho said...

You might have checked as i believe i have re-upped Broadcast around that time you posted your repeated request, i usually re-up around the time i post a new list of re-ups later today. Anyway N'joy the wondeful Broadcast in flac here for the first time...

Unknown said...

Thank you for reloading the Broadcast in FLAC.
One link isn't working though - The Noise Made By People.
Could you reload it please?

Cheers
JB

Rho said...

Hello Jb, what can i say..forgot to enter the new link, have done now..N'Joy

Unknown said...

Perfect - thank you.

Cheers
JB

Anonymous said...

would love a re-up of work and non work. thanks in advance!

Anonymous said...

HI rho - please re-up Haha Sound, Tender Buttons, and The Noise Made By People. Merci.