aaamusic | On 29, Feb 2012

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) is a very exciting multi-instrumental project, combining the nostalgia of historical audio samples with contemporary electronica, and lacing it with some original guitar (and banjo!) work. PSB is, essentially, the vehicle for London-based geography teacher J. Willgoose, Esq. (as he is known on the stage) and his inventive productions, which he splices with snippets of audio from old public information films. For PSB’s live show, Willgoose has partnered up with a live drummer called Wrigglesworth, and an AV show in the form of an oldschool 60s TV playing synchronized public announcement clips. This is a show that got gushing reviews for its weeklong run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010, and has recently started popping up around London. ‘ROYGBIV’ is Public Service Broadcasting’s debut single, and is about the colour spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet – as in the colours of the rainbow), featuring audio about the historical emergence of colour TV. Musically, it is ambient electronica of the lounge variety, featuring refined acoustic guitar strums and segments of lively banjo. There are subtle synths towards the end, which progress in a chillout, IDM way – Think Four Tet playing summer music. This mishmash of downtempo electronic music and acoustic instrumentation – along with the voice-over samples – makes ‘ROYGBIV’ sound very, very reminiscent of the elusive Lemon Jelly. But since Lemon Jelly are MIA, I have no real problem with the similarities between them and PSB. In fact, this kind of feel-good, lounge electronia has been missing from the UK dance and easy listening scenes for too long. A suitably impressive debut single for such an imaginative combination of sounds.

 

Clive Rozario