20/06/2012

Peggy Seeger + Broadcaster = Folksploitation

This is sublime, experimental dance music producer Broadcaster and Peggy Seeger have collaborated on a new album 'Folksploitation' due for release in August. The first single from the album is the song ‘First Time Ever’ originally written by Ewan MacColl for the 20 year-old Peggy in the early days of their courtship. The dub groove that Broadcaster has laid under Peggy's lends the symbolism of the song greater poignancy, being sung by Seeger all these years down the road.

The video is also a tribute to Seeger, she seems to be singing to us from the end of time itself, this gives me goosebumps each time I watch it...

Originally called The first time I saw your face, McColl wrote it in 1957. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else. It is a wonderful expression of love and has been covered by numerous artists including Roberta Flack and Stereophonics. I'd challenge anyone not to be moved at these words:

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the endless skies, my love

And the first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hand
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love

And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last till the end of time, my love

Broadcaster has never been afraid to break musical boundaries or cross genres, as witnessed by his remarkable 2008 debut ‘Primary Transmission’, in which he took samples from the legendary 1960s BBC Radio Ballads series and gave them a radical dance makeover. Played on BBC Radios 1,2,3,4 and 6Music the album received universal praise across the media.

Other tracks on the album include traditional songs from early last century that tackle the still contemporary topics of inner city violence and drugs. Still others are just great danceable tracks that make one smile. All are given the Broadcaster treatment that takes them into a different realm.

Broadcaster https://www.facebook.com/BroadcasterUK
Peggy Seeger http://www.peggyseeger.com