Broadcast’s James Cargill, and frequent collaborators Roj Stevens and Julian House (Ghost Box Records, The Focus Group) present the debut album of their collaborative project Children Of Alice, originally realised over a series of compilations and a split cassette for the Folklore Tapes imprint, here made widely available for the very first time.
Named as an act of tribute to the late Trish Keenan, for whom Alice in Wonderland and in particular Jonathan Miller’s summerhazy '60s idyll of an adaptation, was a presiding inspiration. The name invokes her abiding spirit and also creates a sense of continuity with the evolving Broadcast soundworld, which became more concentrated and individual as it refined itself and adapted to new configurations.
The record combines a narrative of country life rooted psychedelia with a strong soundtrack feel that perfectly fits and continues the lineage of the three members' individual projects. Children Of Alice plays out like a long lost library soundtrack, complete with all of the trademarks of the trio's collective consciousness, filtered through a gauze of Czech new wave cinema soundtracks, 1970s cult children's TV shows such as The Owl Service & Children Of The Stones and then shot through the record collections of Julian Cope, Bo Hansson, David Chatton Barker & Ian Humberstone.
A truly engrossing listen from start to finish, Children Of Alice is a spellbinding journey down the rabbit hole, that for those willing to take the trip there is much to discover. An album that excavates a dreamlike sound of wonder.
