4. BroadcastThe Noise Made By People

There was a CD in the sale with really unusual cover art, obviously by Julian House. It was ‘Echo’s Answer’, the single for 50p. I bought it, and had no context for it at all. Trish Keenan had a really unique tone, a sprechgesang thing that wasn’t conventional singing, but not talking either. I wanted to use my voice in something, but I’d never heard a voice in this sort of music. 

I played it and played it, and bought the album, The Noise Made By People. But even though I’d listened to unusual music before, like Neubauten, there’s something about The Noise Made By People that really foxed me. I kept listening, had a break and came back to it and just got it. I found I could see myself doing something that combined electronic sounds with vocals.

By the time Trish died, I’d seen Broadcast more than any other band. I met her briefly when they played Shunt. I gave her a Baraclough CD, and she talked to me, with this surprising Brummy accent, and was so lovely. I said her music was inspiring, as it’d been tough to get an album out. She said, ‘oh it’s always tough getting an album out’, and gave me some other advice I wrote down somewhere. I remember exactly where I was when I found out she had died. It still feels sad. I can’t listen to them much anymore.