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Sep 28, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Broadcast have announced a new demo collection, Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009, today, on what would have been singer Trish Keenan’s 55th birthday. It was announced via a Facebook post and is due out in early 2024 via Warp. Further details, such as the exact release date or tracklist, are still forthcoming, but above is the cover artwork.

Keenan unexpectedly died in January 2011 from complications with pneumonia after contracting swine flu virus H1N1 while touring Australia. At the time of her passing Broadcast was a duo with James Cargill, also her romantic partner. In 2017, in honor of what would’ve been Keenan’s 49th birthday, Cargill shared the previously unreleased demo, “Tunnel View.” In 2020, in honor of her 52nd birthday, the previously unreleased four-track demo, “Where Are You?,” was shared.

Here’s the full statement from Facebook:

“Happy Birthday Trish.

Since Trish’s untimely passing in 2011, James has continued to remember her by sharing unreleased Broadcast demos each year on her birthday, September 28th.

In the spirit of those birthday demos Broadcast present ‘Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009’

The collection comprises songs and sketches drawn from Trish’s extensive archive of 4-track tapes and minidiscs. The recordings lay the groundwork for what would have been Broadcast’s fifth album, offering an intimate window into the creative process of Trish and James during this period post Tender Buttons.

‘Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009’ will be released via Warp Records in early 2024.”

In an exclusive interview with Under the Radar in November 2011, Cargill told us he was working on a new Broadcast album with vocals and music worked on before Keenan’s passing. “Trish left a lot of tapes, four-tracks and stuff, and I’ve been going through those,” Cargill said. “It’s difficult, and I’m connected to it at the same time. It’s wonderful, but I’m also feeling a sense of loss.” The album has yet to surface, but perhaps this demo collection is being released instead?

Read our 2003 interview with Broadcast, all the way back in our fifth print issue.

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