Tim Hughes talks to Audioscope headliner J Willgoose Esq of Public Service Broadcasting, whose new project is literally out of this world

He made his name with musical tributes to the majesty of the Spitfire, the efficiency of the Night Mail train, the resilient spirit of wartime London, and the conquest of Everest, but for his latest project, J WIllgoose Esq is looking further afield. About as far as it is possible to go: Space.

For the man behind sample-loving electro-rock act Public Service Broadcasting, ‘the final frontier’ is the logical next step.

“It’s something I’ve had my mind on for quite a while,” he says. “It’s one of the most impressive things we’ve done as a species, and because of the enormity of the subject, it means we can try lots of things.”

The result of his own quest for galactic knowledge is album The Race For Space, which explores the period when the USA and USSR fought to gain the upper hand in their race for cosmic domination – with songs about Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, the moon landings and the now largely-forgotten follow up Apollo missions.

“It focuses on the golden age of space exploration, from 1957 to 1972,” he explains. “It’s not contemporary, but as we are making modern music we are still bringing it into the modern age and not keeping as it some historical thing.”

J and drummer Wrigglesworth (both take a refreshingly antiquated approach to fame – reflected in their preference for corduroy, tweed, bow ties and old-fashioned spectacles) touch down in Oxford on Saturday, November 8, to headline the city’s Audioscope all-dayer at the Jericho Tavern.

The show, which tops off an 11-act bill of avant garde, electronic and experimental music, will raise money for the homelessness charity Shelter.

Over the past 14 years Audioscope has already raised more than £27,000. PSB join such illustrious names as space-rockers Silver Apples; dark folk star Matt Elliott; Wrangler, featuring Cabaret Voltaire founder Stephen Mallinder; and synth outfit Circle Traps.

“It’s great to contribute to such a good cause,” says J. “Audioscope does fantastic work and it’s a fantastic thing to be a part of.”

The show will feature tunes from their acclaimed The War Room EP – featuring the single Spitfire – and full-length debut Inform-Educate-Entertain, all performed by J on guitar, banjo, keys and samples, to Wrigglesworth’s driving live drums – accompanied by archive footage mined from the vaults of the British Film Institute.

Fans will have to wait a little longer to hear the new material live, however.

“I am still engaged in the not inconsiderable task of trying to work out how to play these songs with as little use of backing track as possible,” he says. “There’s a lot of time spent unpicking and putting these songs back together.”

Indeed, he admits it nearly didn’t happen at all: “I didn’t even think it would go on to become an album until we came across a load of Russian footage we thought would be hard to find. As soon as I heard and saw that though, I knew what I wanted to do."

But, he insists, despite the period nature of the events depicted, the music is bang up to date. “We have tried to steer clear of what other people would expect us to sound like – which is camp sci-fi!

“I wanted to keep it recognisably us, but challenge perceptions of what people would think we’d do. So there’s no theremin! Having said that, there are a few sci-fi tropes in there, but hopefully they are done in an interesting way.”

He adds: “We don’t make albums for what people may think of them. But I do like different writing challenges that stretch me as a songwriter.

“Before we did The War Room, I never had a huge interest in World War II. I just found great material. But space is a bit different. It holds my attention a lot more. There are so many aspects to it that are terrifying and challenging to get across on a nine-track album.”

Oxford Mail:

Saturday’s show follows what has already been an exceptional year for the band, with appearances at Glastonbury and Bestival, a support slot for Arcade Fire in Hyde Park, a tour with the Manic Street Preachers, and a residency at the RAF Museum in Hendon.

It comes ahead of their biggest tour yet, which starts in Australia and New Zealand, and goes on to North America before returning to Europe. Then there is the small matter of an arena tour with the Kaiser Chiefs and a two consecutive shows, suitably enough, at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

Our chat came in a bad week for space exploration, with the unmanned US rocket Antares exploding during launch off the coast of Virginia a few days earlier, and news of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashing in California coming later that day.

J admits some of the romance of space has died. “It is sad to see how the public lost interest in the later Apollo missions still going to the moon,” he says. “There was a feeling of ‘we’ve been there... what’s next?’ And, due to cost, we have since largely stuck to satellites and orbital stuff, which is more boring.

“It does show some sign of heating up though, with India and China competing as two new super powers, along with crazy private investors with mad-cap schemes.

“I don’t think we are going to live through a race to Mars, though.”

And does J have any ambitions to get his music into space?

He laughs. “If anyone on the International Space Station feels like taking a copy up and playing it, that would be very nice. But I think the only way we are going to get our music up there is with a very big catapult!”

CHECK IT OUT
Public Service Broadcasting play Audioscope at The Jericho Tavern, Oxford on Saturday. Tickets have sold out. The Race For Space is out early next year on Test Card Recordings.

* Dark, experimental and avant-garde: stars line up for Audioscope. Click here for more on one of Oxford's best nights of new music

 

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