'Inform, Educate, Entertain': Public Service Broadcasting interview

Dating back as far as WWII, Public Service Broadcasting films advised viewers on what to do in a varying degree of situations. Ever wanted to know what to do in the event of a nuclear attack? There’s a video for that. And no one knows this better than London based experimental duo Public Service Broadcasting, named after their subject, they sample archive footage set against a background of propulsive, futuristic music.

Jasmine Phull talks to Public Service Broadcasting about upcycling vintage material in a completely aural sphere.

Sampling is nothing new but you guys have managed to find a relatively untapped source to sample. When working on the tracks do you like to have the visuals on play for inspiration?
Perhaps surprisingly, not really – I tend to watch the footage after having some kind of basic musical idea (I can only emphasise the word ‘basic’ here), and get a feel for a few lines I might use or excerpts that are definitely going in, and then I tend to leave it for a while really. I’ll get the song to about 60-70% completed and then maybe play them both at the same time, but that’s not really for inspiration, more to check that it’s sitting well and that when they do finally come together it won’t be a hideous car crash. Except for Signal 30, of course, when that was more literally the effect I was after!

You’ve previously noted how long it takes you to make each track. Do you start off with a premise and then go from there or do you simply sit yourself down in front of the TV and wait until a scene or line grabs you?
Yeah I normally have some small melody or idea for the feel of how a song will sit. With one song off the new album I knew I wanted to have a particular rhythm (inspired by Running Up That Hill) and a train-like tempo and lilt to it but it was only then that I went searching for good footage or subject matter to match it to. And then when I watched Night Mail again (having seen it a long time ago, as most people have – it’s pretty famous!) I realised that was it, that was the chap. And that’s when the real work starts.

Where do you find your archive footage and public information films?
A lot of the early stuff I used came from the Prelinger Archives but then we struck up our very fruitful relationship with the BFI, which came about simply by phoning them up and telling them what we do and what we’d like to do with some of their footage. After some initial confusion (quite understandably) they looked at some of our earlier material and gave us the thumbs up. Since then they’ve been incredibly helpful, answering our queries and really getting behind us. I can’t speak highly enough of them. They also put us in touch with StudioCanal when we wanted to licence The Conquest of Everest. So it’s a mixture of lots of different sources really, but the BFI in particular are a fantastic organisation.

With a titular that tips its hat to the very films you sample, can you ever evolve without the public broadcast sampling? Would that be when you know it’s time to bring the act to an end?
I think you might have a point if we’d called ourselves something a bit narrower like Public Information Films, or something similar, but the definition of Public Service Broadcasting is so broad and so debatable that really we could take it anywhere. In theory just performing interesting music of any sort is a kind of public service, if you will – providing you take Lord Reith’s mantra to heart and seek to inform, educate and entertain. But I think it’d take a fairly catastrophic failure of imagination on our part not to be able to take what we do in lots of different, interesting and evolving directions for a fair while to come, frankly. We’re not ones to stand still – we’re always moving, always adding things in to the live show, always trying to make it more fun for us and more fun for the crowd, so I don’t think we’re likely to get stuck in a rut. I think running out of interesting music and half-decent melodies is likely to be a much bigger challenge!

There are many elements that create each track; as well as the samples, there are also the instruments including string and electronic. Having played track Everest live with a backing band is this something you’ll delve deeper into at your shows?
Where budget permits! We’re self-releasing and although we’ve had great support from our physical and digital distributors in putting out the new record things are still a bit tight, so we’ll have to work our way up to that. My dream show though would be live at the Royal Festival Hall or Royal Albert Hall and having every instrument performed live, including three or four actors to speak the lines. So it’s something to work towards, and on special occasions!

Visuals are quite an important part of your live show, has this aspect grown since we saw you last? What can we expect at the show?
The visuals, like everything really, have evolved over time. From just being the Old Faithful TV set, to adding projectors in, now for the album show we’ll have a third member dedicated solely to the visual side of things. He’ll be running projection mapping as well as the main visual feed, so things are getting bigger and better on that front.

Where did you grow up and did location have an influence on your musical digestion?
London, and I don’t think the answer to the second half of that question could ever be ‘no’! I think growing up in London helps you to have a fairly broad outlook and be pretty open to different cultures and ideas, as well as to pursue some fairly odd ones of your own. Not that that doesn’t happen elsewhere, just that in a big city you’re more likely to be able to find like-minded individuals, even if you do have an unnatural penchant for corduroy, for example. Especially recently, as my tastes have broadened, I just love being somewhere where so many different genres and people mix. It keeps things interesting.

You’ve released two EPs and are currently working on your LP Inform - Educate – Entertain. What was the process behind choosing the songs for the album? Was it a calculated or more organic a method?
I think the most calculated it got was deciding which songs, if any, off The War Room would make it on. I was keen to let that live as a separate EP as it was very much written as one but at the same time Spitfire can and does stand on its own, so we decided that would be the only one that would make it on. And as far as being calculating, I gave it a lot of thought in terms of sequencing – primarily to make sure that it didn’t get too wearing or formulaic. So there are a couple of things on there that help to tie it together as an album rather than as a collection of disparate songs. And I made sure it’s not too long, too. I think you need a very good reason (eg. you’re The Beatles) to cross the 45 minute barrier on an album.

The last song you listened to?
Just finished listening to Nik Kershaw’s ‘One of our Fruit Machines is Missing’. I highly recommend it.

The first album you bought?
I’m not sure I can remember. It might’ve been Nik Kershaw too! He’s something of a hero of mine, I have to say. It could’ve been that or the KLF.

Since your creations are as visual as they are aural, what is your favourite movie?
A tough one that. I’d either go with 2001 (or almost everything Kubrick did, except for Eyes Wide Shut), or at the other end of the scale, The Big Lebowski. I find it funnier every time I watch it.

What’s up next?
We’re playing a lot (a lot!) of dates leading up to and after the album, then onto quite a few festivals – it’s all very exciting (and busy!) at the moment really. I’m sitting next to Wrigglesworth in the van right now actually and he’s going on about starting an eco-haulage business. I’ve tried to tell him it’s impractical and will be too expensive, but he’s getting a bit shirty so I think I’ll just leave him to it. Typical creative differences, I suppose.

Interview: Jasmine Phull

Catch Public Service Broadcasting live on the following dates and festivals:

March 14th, Preston, 53 Degrees
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May 7th , Edinburgh, The Caves
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May 15th, Liverpool, Kazimier
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May 20th, Southampton, RoXX
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12th - 14th July, Leefest
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26th - 27th July, Wickerman
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See all upcoming Public Service Broadcasting live dates

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