Artist Biography
by Jason Ankeny
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 quintet came together out of a shared affection for the psychedelic cult band
the United States of America,
a primary influence on their subsequent work as a group. Debuting in
1996 with the Wurlitzer Jukebox label single "Accidentals,"
Broadcast immediately won favorable comparisons to
Stereolab for their sample-heavy, analog, synth-driven sound; the comparisons continued when they signed to
Stereolab's Duophonic Super 45s imprint for their next effort, "Living Room." After the icily atmospheric
Book Lovers EP, the group moved to Warp Records to release 1997's
Work and Non-Work, a compilation of their existing singles tracks. The much-anticipated full-length
The Noise Made by People finally appeared in early 2000 and the
Extended Play Two EP was issued that fall.
Ever the studio perfectionists,
Broadcast made fans wait until 2003 to hear any new material from the band, when the
Pendulum EP arrived that spring and
Haha Sound appeared that summer. In fall 2005,
Broadcast -- pared down to the duo of
Keenan and
Cargill -- issued the America's Boy single and
Tender Buttons full-length. Released in 2006,
Future Crayon collected the group's numerous rare tracks and B-sides. The band resurfaced in fall 2009 with
Broadcast & the Focus Group Investigate the Witch Cults of the Radio Age, a collaboration with the Focus Group's
Julian House
that took their sound in a spookier direction more overtly influenced
by their interest in library music. In support of the album,
Broadcast toured with
Atlas Sound and issued a tour-only EP, Mother Is the Milky Way.
Keenan passed away on January 14, 2011, due to complications from pneumonia. Two years later, the score to director
Peter Strickland's '70s giallo cinema homage Berberian Sound Studio -- which
Broadcast began working on before
Keenan's passing and featured some of her final vocals -- arrived.
Tracklist
| 1 |
The Book Lovers |
5:32
|
| 2 |
The World Backwards |
3:59
|
| 3 |
Message From Home |
4:47
|
| 4 |
According To No Plan |
3:08 |
