Trish Keenan’s perfectly curated dream festival
There are few bands like Broadcast. Taking cues from retro BBC Radiophonic Workshops, krautrock, and electronic instruments in their most immediate, cosmic, and primordial form, the band crafted a world full of mystery, longing, beauty, and ethereality. Trish Keenan was the band’s elusive leader, singing her gorgeous lyrics with an equally gorgeous voice, captivating a cult following in the process.
While the band aren’t as widely heralded as other acts from the time who were considerably more radio-friendly, Broadcast’s legacy can be felt in many modern artists, from Melody’s Echo Chamber to Clairo. No one has been able to accurately replicate the sound that Broadcast created, however, which is a testament to their innate singularity.
From tender tracks like ‘Tears in the Typing Pool’ to murky, hypnotic takes such as ‘Accidentals’, Broadcast’s discography is full of timeless tracks that are as indebted to the past as they are to the future. Yet, in 2011, Keenan tragically died after contracting pneumonia at the age of 42. Broadcast came to an end, although band member James Cargill worked hard to release the remaining material the band had recorded, including the soundtrack Berberian Sound Studio and various demo compilations.
Keenan’s demos reveal someone with endless ideas, creativity, and sensitivity. When you listen to them, it’s as though you can feel Keenan’s deep love for singing and making music, which reflects an innate understanding of life and art. She had an extraordinary knowledge of music, loving many obscure and cult artists and many well-known musicians who are more widely praised for their contributions.
From ‘60s pop to folk and early electronica, Keenan and her bandmates took from these influences and crafted their own sound. With every Broadcast album, it is immediately apparent that crafting complex and well-produced instrumentals were of utmost importance to the band. Layers of space-inspired synths are layered with repetitive rhythms, or maybe a gentle guitar, creating the perfect backdrop for Keenan’s otherworldly vocals.
It makes sense, then, that when asked to curate her dream All Tomorrow’s Parties-style festival lineup, she selected producers, believing that having a “producers weekend” would be a good idea. Talking to Chick Factor Zine, Keenan revealed that the musicians she’d choose to be on her lineup are now dead, but in an ideal world, she’d first choose Joe Meek.
“I’ve love for Joe Meek to play. I’d do a Joe Meek night, so you’ve got Glenda Collins and The Tornados and what have you.” This is hardly a surprising pick considering that Meek helped to pioneer that space-age sound that you can hear in much of Broadcast’s work. He was the writer and producer behind the popular hit ‘Telstar’ by The Tornados, too, which Keenan would seemingly love to hear at her dream festival.
Keenan also added, “A Phil Spector night. They should do a producers weekend—that’s what I’d like. Three, four nights of just one thing.” She continued, explaining her interest in producers from back in the day. “In the ’50s and ’60s when producers were the new phenomenon, they had one sound and they weren’t worried about what the bands wanted and how they wanted to sound, which is what the producers nowadays seem to be more concerned with—they want the band to be happy, which is good.”
“Back then, you came as a musician or vocalist to fit in with the producer’s sound. That’s what made it so interesting, that’s what made it one thing.”
