Consistently intriguing Birmingham-based post-rockers BROADCAST continue to push the envelope with their excellent new six-track EP "Pendulum" for the Aphex Twin-sanctioned Warp label. Eager to find out more, Whisperin' & Hollerin' caught up with guitarist TIM FELTON at home in Birmingham while the band are rehearsing for their soon-come UK live dates.
Tim's affable and an all-round good bloke, basically. He's also more than happy to fill in the details surrounding the new "Pendulum" EP. We kick off on a slightly technical tip, with Tim telling me a little about the band's current recording process - which means staying at home, really...
"After the last album ("The Noise Made By People") we shut down the studio we used to have, called The Custard Factory," says Tim, in his warm West Midlands burr.
"We have a new venue now, which is actually Trish (Keenan - vocals) and James' (Cargill - bass/ instruments) place...well, everything on the EP was recorded there except for the drums...they were laid down in a church hall."
Presumably the process is a lot more relaxed in a home studio atmosphere?
"Yeah, well time's money in a commercial studio, obviously," Tim muses.
"But the problem with a home studio environment is that you can easily go the other way and take too much time labouring over something if you're away from imposed deadlines. It can be a double-edged sword."
"Pendulum" itself kicks off the new EP. It hits a great groove that kinda zooms off into its' own headspace. Did it all come together from jamming or are the songs usually layered?
"The process varies, to be honest," Tim replies.
"Generally, Trish will write something, then we'll do an arrangement, or someone will write something specific. In "Pendulum"s case, James came up with the bassline, which really kicked it off. Plus the drums were so strong. It just evolved from there into what it is now."
There's quite an array of moods on the EP, and I'm pretty struck by the two instrumental tracks, "One Hour Empire" and "Violent Playground." Will there be more like these on the forthcoming album?
"Yeah, definitely," confirms Tim. "There's more to come in that vein. On the album there'll be the instrumental things linking the songs again. It's an effective device we also use live."
Talking of which, you have a string of dates coming up. How important is the live aspect of the business to BROADCAST? As you are often referred to as a "post-rock" outfit, there is a tendency to pigeonhole you as a studio band. Plus, for a while you did only do occasional gigs, if memory serves?
"Yeah, well the biggest problem for us is that we do spend a lot of time in the studio," admits Tim.
"So that means a lot of additional rehearsing to get everything right for the live show. But we really DO enjoy playing live. We always get a good response and we don't worry what anyone might think about us, because we know we can always pull it off when we go out gigging."
Right. Besides, this writer feels there's a warmer, more human element to Broadcast than bands like (for example) Stereolab, who might superficially be seen as something like kindred spirits.
What do you feel, Tim?
"Hmm, the reality of recording, production values and the method is an art form in itself," considers Tim.
"To get a satisfactory end result you've really gotta know what you want yourself and I don't think a producer usually knows actually. There's a lot of blackguarding goes on, so we like to be pretty independent."
"I mean, one thing we've learnt," he continues, "is that the fundamental sound you're making in the room must be right first, because the process of transferring it onto record is littered with mistakes. So there's a lot of personal input from us, maybe that's why we sound human!"
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Meanwhile, the final track on "Pendulum" is the startling "Minus Two." You collaborated with Birmingham University's Electro-Acoustic Sound Theatre to create this remarkable patchwork of snippets, but how did the collaboration come together and what did they bring to the table?
"Well, we worked mostly with a guy called Richard Whitelaw from B.E.A.S.T, the course at the university. We got to know him through a mutual friend and we liked the idea of it because we're always looking for new possibilities and ways to push things forward."
"We were really excited to find out that such a course actually existed in Birmingham," Tim continues.
"So we met up with Richard and got chatting and found we had mutual ground. The great thing is that we really didn't know how it would come out. We gave Richard the sound files and gave him carte blanche. He put it together himself and it's great. It's also a really great taster for the tracks on the new album."
While we're on the subject, is Birmingham currently a creative scene for music in general, Tim?
"Yeah, live music certainly still exists and the promoters are good," says Tim, positively.
"There are certainly underground, garage-y bands out there. Actually, something I really want to do now is get out and see new bands. I miss not being out there, but we get a bit closed off when we make records."
"I think we probably do have contemporaries out there," he continues, after a pause, "although I don't think we're ever doing the same as everyone else. But then you're always much closer to the heart of your own thing, so you don't have the same public perception."
Certainly press-wise, the scene's very American-dominated at present. know you're off to the States after the UK dates, but does the whole garage-rock explosion impinge on you at all?
"Not really, because I've always been into garage/ psychedelia anyway. It's not a fad for me," says Tim.
"The US form of it and the revivalist stuff can be interesting, though maybe the down side is that there are a spate of bands and record companies who push anything that they think conforms to a "garage rock" sound. I mean, the real thing's not that artless."
Before we sign off, Tim, I also wanted to ask you about Warp Records. Are you with them on a long-term basis? They're seen as such a pioneering label, but do they actually bother with the business side of things like contracts?
"Oh yeah, we've got a very good contract," laughs Tim.
"They are arguably the biggest current UK underground label. I mean, Warp do have to conform to a degree, however pioneering they are - and they are! But, I mean, for someone as big as Aphex Twin not to have a contract would be impossible."
"I mean, being independent is great," he finishes sagely, "but who wants to end up like Factory Records did. There are definitely lessons to be learnt there."
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