The 60s inspired psychedelic & electronica duo, Broadcast, is set to release their final batch of demos in tribute to lead singer Trish Keenan on what would have been her 56th birthday.
Broadcast, a spellbinding and haunting group who saw the future with their early electronica combined with 60s psychedelic synth and nostalgic, soul-stirring vocals. In 1995 the birth of what should have been one of the biggest bands of the world was created. Founding members, Trish Keenan and partner James Cargill, who she met at 60s psychedelic revival club in Birmingham, bonded over similar interests and created Broadcast.
For those who aren’t familiar with Broadcast, their distinct sound can be compared to Stereolabs chiming synth and airy guitar combined with lead vocalist of Beach House, Victoria Legrand’s mysterious figure. Although Trish Keenan’s stage presence has a more open approach and tends to stay somewhat out of the shadows, her inexplicable ambiance still leaves viewers wanting more.
Other members such as guitarist Tim Felton, keyboardist Roj Stevens and drummer Steve Perkins joined in 1996, a year after the band was formed. The groups debut studio album, “The Noise Made By The People” released in 2000 and is notably one of the most spirited albums of theirs with “Come On Let’s Go”, which is the first song I ever heard of by Broadcast. The playful lingering keys, choppy vibrating guitar, buzzing hums, dominating yet soft controlled voice, the catchy drum fills, and the unconventional anti-conformity of it all is intriguing.
In 2005, “Tender Buttons” captured the true purpose and style of Broadcast with “I Found The F” and “Black Cat”. At this point all additional members left Broadcast leaving the founding duo. Trish Keenan possesses this mysterious spirit that can be translated through her monotonic vocals while James Cargill shows his experimentation with the synth in this album with his simple yet mesmerizing electronica. Broadcast’s studio works are bewitching but simply do not compare to their live performances.
Although their studio work is entrancing enough, their live performances are truly hypnotizing. There aren’t a ton of videos of Broadcast out there but one of the most energy capturing videos I have seen is from Paris 2005, a crowd member capturing “I Found The F” from the audience. The fuzzy black and white vhs tape and slightly sensitive audio perfectly captures Broadcast’s spark. Zoomed into Trish Keenan’s focused nature, her perfervid passion radiates even when she doesnt show it on her face. Keenan has this strange persona to her where she seems very mysterious but emits this feeling of love and light.
Late 2010 before Christmas, Broadcast played their first ever Australia tour dates. The duo’s last show ever, played in Melbourne at HiFi Bar, the crowd screamed and cheered for one more. The show was known as one of the most memorable performances from crowd members. Due to the way the show was structured, there were no more songs to play, but Trish Keenan emerges from backstage by herself and sings one more in acapella. A big turning point, Keenan soon fell extremely ill due to contracting swine flu from the tour. After fighting for two weeks, she was hospitalized battling pneumonia.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:00am, Keenans beautiful soul passed away due to complications from pneumonia. Her tragic departure left her following in disbelief and great grief. Although her eternal rest resulted in the end of Broadcast, her legacy lives on through her music.
Twelve years later, Broadcast is still greatly mourned but their cult following is beginning to wake up again. Breaking the 18 year silence, May 3, 2024 “Spell Blanket- Collected Demos 2006-2009” was released containing over thirty-six demos. As if that wasn’t enough, come September 28, 2024, what would have been Trish Keenan’s 56th birthday, a batch of fourteen more uncovered demos from the duo titled “Distant Call-Collected Demos 2000-2006” will be released, making this Broadcast’s last and final release ever. Despite the fact their presence as a band was cut too short, what they left for their loving cult following will be remembered for eternity and Trish Keenan’s spirit will carry on for eternity through what she loved the most, Broadcast.
I am a Dallas-based photographer. I am social media manager and photographer for indie-rock band Laredo Two as well as writer and photographer for Prosper's online newspaper, Eagle Nation Online. I have always had a passion for anything music from playing shows myself (I play bass and guitar) to music photography. When I am not taking pictures or at a concert, I run a small jewelry business and work at a local guitar shop!
