Back in 2008, musician/producer Broadcaster took samples from the award-winning 1960s BBC Radio Ballads series and gave them a radical makeover on his debut EP Primary Transmission. By blurring musical genres, Broadcaster jumped through time to bring this music to a fresh set of ears and Primary Transmission was played on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. The single ‘England’ immediately became Colin Murray’s Record of the Week on his BBC Radio 1 show.
Now Broadcaster’s back, pushing the boundaries once again with his first full-length album. Folksploitation was released on Red Grape Records in July 2012 and was shortlisted for an Association of Independent Music Award. Featuring the unlikely juxtaposition of the vocals of folk icon Peggy Seeger and Broadcaster’s dub, hip hop, funk and techno beats, it turns the highly improbable into the possible, the traditional into the experimental and a conundrum into artistry.
The lead single, First Time Ever, saw Broadcaster working his magic on one of the best-known songs of all time, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. And the twist? The song was written by Ewan MacColl for the 21-year-old Peggy herself. The second single, Bad Bad Girl, was released in November 2012 and combines Peggy’s haunting vocal of a woman scorned with Broadcaster’s contemporary beats. Now in her late-70s, Peggy was delighted to subject herself to the Broadcaster treatment.