Months go by and I'm still not doing much ripping. It isn't for want of time or motivation, but simply that I'm that not in a situation at the moment in which I can devote the levels of energy and concentration to this hobby that are required to produce good results. Let's call it a lack of peace of mind. Still, 2019 is just around the corner and it may bring with it some positive developments... or not.
Anyway, in the meantime I've fixed the broken links on the blog and today I'm offering something which I haven't shared publicly before.
Here's a rip from 2015. I've noticed that Tender Buttons has been getting quite a few hits lately, so hopefully some of you will enjoy this too. My rig is modest (in the greater scheme of things) and maybe a little quirky but I like to think it punches above its weight. This rip pre-dates my current phono pre-amp and one or two other minor tweaks, but I think it sounds fine nonetheless.
"Hailing from the same industrial wasteland as Black Sabbath, Birmingham's Broadcast has gone the opposite route of Ozzy, Tony and company. Where the original Sabbath tried to capture the desolation of living in a such a gloomy place, Broadcast opted to create a stylized world revolving around the French Yeah Yeah movement, while also tying in pulsating Krautrock drones and a bit of Left Banke sophistication.
Pendulum has to be inducted into the rhythmic groove hall of fame. Seriously, the song produces the same propulsive madness as Can's Mother Sky only remade and remodeled via a Francoise Hardy inspired chanteuse, which makes it the perfect introduction into the wondrous world of Broadcast.
HaHa Sound lives up to the expectations established by their debut full-length, The Noise Made by People and squashes Broadcast's reputation as Stereolab Jr., seeing as the 'Lab has operated on auto-pilot since Dots and Loops. Taking tips instead from the Velvet Underground, the boys and girl of Broadcast have learned that sometimes rhythm can be as intoxicating as melody. The group's straggling of these two elemental pop ingredients is one of its most appealing aspects. A song like Man is Not a Bird slowly builds from a straight , 4/4 drumbeat and morphs into a marching band-infected seabed of reverberated poly-rhythms allowing for Trish Keenan's cooed and detached siren vocals and Roj Stevens' lulling keyboard parts to serve as the melodic fulcrum. This seems to be the common dynamic of HaHa though the ratio between melody and rhythm changes with every song, sometimes mid-stream.
Still, it's easy to see the common links between Broadcast, Stereolab, Laika and etc., and see where some could call foul with accusations of plagiarism. The not-so-recent reissues of the Neu! catalogue demonstrate that like blues music, fundamental ideas can be recycled without necessarily succumbing to redundancy. Is Broadcast such a group? Maybe. On paper, this seems somewhat easy, like an erector-set strategy to writing songs. What makes HaHa enjoyable, however, and what many of the band's contemporaries have forgotten is how to walk the tight rope between influence and irony. It seems that with HaHa Sound, Broadcast is subtly developing a personal aesthetic, assimilating all that comes across their path but rarely allowing the elements to overwhelm their on ideas. Hopefully, they can keep up the balancing act."
- 2003 Dusted Magazine review by Paul Burress
As for the vinyl, I think Warp did everything right when they reissued Broadcast's catalogue in that format in 2015. Mastered and manufactured at Optimal in Germany, this is a nice sounding pressing which (I'd be willing to bet) sounds as good as or better than the 2003 original. Sure, this is a digital recording but its presentation on vinyl perhaps adds a little analogue "warmth" while sidestepping the dynamic compression inflicted on the CD version. Besides, the LP packaging is absolutely gorgeous. The sleeve (adorned as ever with Julian House's distinctive artwork) is a heavyweight paste-on jacket, just like the housing of a 1960's American LP. Get one - you'll be extremely glad you did.
Anyway, in the meantime I've fixed the broken links on the blog and today I'm offering something which I haven't shared publicly before.
Here's a rip from 2015. I've noticed that Tender Buttons has been getting quite a few hits lately, so hopefully some of you will enjoy this too. My rig is modest (in the greater scheme of things) and maybe a little quirky but I like to think it punches above its weight. This rip pre-dates my current phono pre-amp and one or two other minor tweaks, but I think it sounds fine nonetheless.
"Hailing from the same industrial wasteland as Black Sabbath, Birmingham's Broadcast has gone the opposite route of Ozzy, Tony and company. Where the original Sabbath tried to capture the desolation of living in a such a gloomy place, Broadcast opted to create a stylized world revolving around the French Yeah Yeah movement, while also tying in pulsating Krautrock drones and a bit of Left Banke sophistication.
Pendulum has to be inducted into the rhythmic groove hall of fame. Seriously, the song produces the same propulsive madness as Can's Mother Sky only remade and remodeled via a Francoise Hardy inspired chanteuse, which makes it the perfect introduction into the wondrous world of Broadcast.
HaHa Sound lives up to the expectations established by their debut full-length, The Noise Made by People and squashes Broadcast's reputation as Stereolab Jr., seeing as the 'Lab has operated on auto-pilot since Dots and Loops. Taking tips instead from the Velvet Underground, the boys and girl of Broadcast have learned that sometimes rhythm can be as intoxicating as melody. The group's straggling of these two elemental pop ingredients is one of its most appealing aspects. A song like Man is Not a Bird slowly builds from a straight , 4/4 drumbeat and morphs into a marching band-infected seabed of reverberated poly-rhythms allowing for Trish Keenan's cooed and detached siren vocals and Roj Stevens' lulling keyboard parts to serve as the melodic fulcrum. This seems to be the common dynamic of HaHa though the ratio between melody and rhythm changes with every song, sometimes mid-stream.
Still, it's easy to see the common links between Broadcast, Stereolab, Laika and etc., and see where some could call foul with accusations of plagiarism. The not-so-recent reissues of the Neu! catalogue demonstrate that like blues music, fundamental ideas can be recycled without necessarily succumbing to redundancy. Is Broadcast such a group? Maybe. On paper, this seems somewhat easy, like an erector-set strategy to writing songs. What makes HaHa enjoyable, however, and what many of the band's contemporaries have forgotten is how to walk the tight rope between influence and irony. It seems that with HaHa Sound, Broadcast is subtly developing a personal aesthetic, assimilating all that comes across their path but rarely allowing the elements to overwhelm their on ideas. Hopefully, they can keep up the balancing act."
- 2003 Dusted Magazine review by Paul Burress
Three and a half years had passed between the release of Haha Sound in August 2003 and that of Broadcast's first album, The Noise Made By People, in 2000. During that time the band found themselves settling irrevocably into "cult artist" territory, despite glowing reviews. Running short of funds, they had given up their studio space at Birmingham's Custard Factory arts complex (where The Noise Made By People had been recorded) and decamped to more makeshift facilities at a band member's flat. There had been personal losses too. Their friend Rob Mitchell, the Warp Records co-founder who had signed them to the label, had passed away and their relationship with Warp would never be quite the same again. Drummer Steve Perkins had already quit to pursue other interests by the time The Noise Made By People had been released and he was followed during the recording of Haha Sound by keyboard player Roj Stevens. While synth/keyboard duties could be shared around (Broadcast morphed into the electronic duo of Trish Keenan and James Cargill by the time of their next album, 2005's Tender Buttons) the more acute problem of finding a suitable percussionist proved trickier to solve. After trying a few options, session man Neil Bullock was eventually recruited and he could hardly have been a better match for Broadcast in this most musically ornate phase of their career - whether playing a propulsive, motorik beat on Pendulum or the complex, jazz influenced rhythms of Man Is Not A Bird. Recording his drum parts in the aforementioned home studio environment didn't really work out though. In a moment of inspiration, the band hired a church hall across the road from their base. With a 60 ft. ceiling, wood panelling and wooden floor the space had just the sonorous acoustics they were seeking. Bullock toured extensively with Broadcast in support of the album.
As for the vinyl, I think Warp did everything right when they reissued Broadcast's catalogue in that format in 2015. Mastered and manufactured at Optimal in Germany, this is a nice sounding pressing which (I'd be willing to bet) sounds as good as or better than the 2003 original. Sure, this is a digital recording but its presentation on vinyl perhaps adds a little analogue "warmth" while sidestepping the dynamic compression inflicted on the CD version. Besides, the LP packaging is absolutely gorgeous. The sleeve (adorned as ever with Julian House's distinctive artwork) is a heavyweight paste-on jacket, just like the housing of a 1960's American LP. Get one - you'll be extremely glad you did.
Can you repost the link please thanks.
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