What are you Listening to?

[QuantumSync]

[QuantumSync]

[costa_oscura]

Stuff I've been listening to in the car on my way to and from work... Broadcast, Spell Blanket and Distant Call; Nick Cave, Carnage and Ghosteen (what I have in my car right now); Emma Anderson, Pearlies.

Stuff I've been listening to on my computer... Miki Berenyi Trio (mb3) new tracks, "Vertigo," "8th Deadly Sin"... can't wait for their debut album Tripla, out in April.

[Lisnaholic]

^ Welcome to SCD, costa-oscura ! I hope you enjoy yourself here.

Of the music you mentioned, Nick Cave was the only name I recognised, so out of curiosity, I looked for your first album, which was a real lo-fi surprise:-

Nice !

[costa_oscura]

^ Welcome to SCD, costa-oscura ! I hope you enjoy yourself here.

Of the music you mentioned, Nick Cave was the only name I recognised, so out of curiosity, I looked for your first album, which was a real lo-fi surprise:-
Nice !

Thanks.  Glad you like Broadcast.  They're no longer around any more since, sadly, Trish Keenan passed away from pneumonia contracted through bird flu while the band were on tour in Australia in 2011.  Spell Blanket is one of the final releases from the band, a collection of demos put together by Trish's partner and Broadcast member, James Cargill, in 2024.  These are songs that didn't show up on any Broadcast albums.  Cargill also released the Distant Call compilation a few months later, a collection of demos that were on Broadcast albums.  This is Broadcast's final release.

The band was active from the late '90s to 2010, releasing 3 studio albums (The Noise Made By People; Haha Sound; Tender Buttons), compilations (Work & Non-Work; the Future Crayon), soundtrack work (Berberian Sound Studio), and collaborated with The Focus Group, which is musician and Ghost Box Records owner Julian House, on the Witch Cults of the Radio Age album.

Broadcast were often compared to Stereolab, although there are obvious differences.  Broadcast delved deeper into hauntology and library music, soundtracks, etc.  They were one of my favorite bands and I was gutted when Trish passed, as were all Broadcast fans.  We were ecstatic to see the demos collections released last year after so many years without any Broadcast music.

My favorite Broadcast album over all is Haha Sound, but my favorite track is from Tender Buttons.  Lets see if I can post a link...
 

Here's another favorite from the Future Crayon compilation, a fan-made video...

[Marie Monday]

Broadcast!!! love them. when I heard them for the first time I cried

[costa_oscura]

Broadcast!!! love them. when I heard them for the first time I cried

I was so fortunate I got to see them live once in L.A. in 2000, opening for Wire.  They were selling the Extended Play 2 EP at their merch table, so I picked it up and listened to it continuously, fell in love.

If you haven't heard of them yet, you might want to check out Sonoda, a little indie band from L.A., releasing things only digitally so far on Bandcamp.  They're heavily influenced by Broadcast and have covered "Tears In the Typing Pool" on Bandcamp.  The band consists of Lisa Sonoda and her partner Adrian Garcia, plus other friends they met in college.  Lisa describes their sound as "meditative pop," which is pretty accurate.  Here's a favorite live performance on UCLA radio from a few years back...

[Lisnaholic]

Thanks for posting your Broadcast favourites, costa. I like both those tracks and will have a listen to HaHa Sound. I'm hoping Broadcast might be a bit more adventurous than Stereolab, who kind of stuck to one vibe for almost everything they did, as far as I can tell.

Anyway, here's what I'm listening to this morning:-

[costa_oscura]

Thanks for posting your Broadcast favourites, costa. I like both those tracks and will have a listen to HaHa Sound. I'm hoping Broadcast might be a bit more adventurous than Stereolab, who kind of stuck to one vibe for almost everything they did, as far as I can tell.

Stereolab has a lot of variety in their sound.  It's changed a lot over the years.  Compare Emperor Tomato Ketchup to Dots & Loops.  Their 1999 album, Cobra & Phases Group, is a whole other vibe, as is 2001's Sound Dust.  I'm a big 'Lab fan and love pretty much everything they've done from 1995 on.  Here's a favorite, live...

[Lexi Darling]

Agreed, Stereolab had distinctive hallmarks of course but they had plenty of different sides to them, and they evolved a lot just over the course of the 90s alone. Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops are my favorites, for pretty different reasons. A lot of the stuff on the Aluminum Tunes compilation is great too, and for their later work I really liked Chemical Chords from '08.

[costa_oscura]

Agreed, Stereolab had distinctive hallmarks of course but they had plenty of different sides to them, and they evolved a lot just over the course of the 90s alone. Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops are my favorites, for pretty different reasons. A lot of the stuff on the Aluminum Tunes compilation is great too, and for their later work I really liked Chemical Chords from '08.

I like Margerine Eclipse better than Chemical Chords, although I was afraid to listen to it for a while since it was their first album without Mary.  Once I got into it, though, I loved it.  I saw them live on the Chem Chords tour, though, and they were fantastic.  Really loved how the songs translated live.  It was an extra special show since Monade opened, so we got a double dose of Laetitia.

My favorites are Dots & Loops, Cobra & Phases, Sound Dust (although sometimes those 2 switch places), ETK, Marge, and MAQ.  Love the Microbe Hunters EP/mini album, too, and Refried Ectoplasm for this track alone...

[Buckeye Randy]

Brand new and born from the spirit that gave us the New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks.

[Lexi Darling]

I like Margerine Eclipse better than Chemical Chords, although I was afraid to listen to it for a while since it was their first album without Mary.  Once I got into it, though, I loved it.  I saw them live on the Chem Chords tour, though, and they were fantastic.  Really loved how the songs translated live.  It was an extra special show since Monade opened, so we got a double dose of Laetitia.

My favorites are Dots & Loops, Cobra & Phases, Sound Dust (although sometimes those 2 switch places), ETK, Marge, and MAQ.  Love the Microbe Hunters EP/mini album, too, and Refried Ectoplasm for this track alone...

That's awesome! I've seen some live footage from that era and they definitely sounded super tight. I love the analog synth jam in this performance.

[Lisnaholic]

OK, costa and Lexi: if you both say that Stereolab have a varied body of work, I imagine you are right. I probably shouldn't have based my comment on the rather limited collection of "best tracks" that I have in my mp3 files, which range from the Super Electric EP (1991) to Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996).

...and congrats on seeing them live, costa !

[costa_oscura]

OK, costa and Lexi: if you both say that Stereolab have a varied body of work, I imagine you are right. I probably shouldn't have based my comment on the rather limited collection of "best tracks" that I have in my mp3 files, which range from the Super Electric EP (1991) to Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996).

...and congrats on seeing them live, costa !

Thanks.  I'm fortunate to have seen them live a few times.  The first was in 1993 when they were touring with Unrest.  Great show, both bands.  Stereolab hadn't yet developed all the techno wizardry they'd bring to later shows, but it was still great to see them live.

If you want to learn more about Stereolab, check out the Serene Velocity compilation (2006), which is a pretty good introduction.  If you're willing to spend the money, 2005's Oscillons From the Anti-Sun 3-album box set is also good.  It compiles 8 Stereolab EPs into one place.  Good way to get to know all their different phases.