Public Service Broadcasting - ‘Electra'
English quartet Public Service Broadcasting pay tribute to aviation legend Amelia Earhart in their electrifying new single, ‘Electra’.
“Electra” comes as an intentional feminist message from Public Service Broadcasting, celebrating the bravery and pioneering spirit of world record-setting pilot Amelia Earhart who mysteriously vanished overseas in 1937, and serves as a preparation in advance of their forthcoming album The Last Flight, entirely based on the legacy Earhart left. “I wanted to do a woman-focused story, because most of the archive we have access to is overwhelmingly male,” says frontman J. Willgoose, Esq. in support of honouring daring, trailblazing historical women.
Named after the model of Earhart’s aircraft, the song is a sparkling synthwave and EDM gem with nods to the likes of The Postal Service and Kraftwerk. Beginning with a juxtaposed drum pattern by Wrigglesworth and rippling percussion and synthesiser effects from J. Willgoose, Esq., the musical intensity deepens as it pushes “Electra” into uncharted territory – akin to the spirit of an adventurer, crossing into new horizons. Bright, glittering synthesiser strings and stabbing bass from JFAbraham overlap with the shining vocals provided by Berlin-based artist EERA and also backing vocals by Hannah Peel, along with richly-toned synthesiser pads, creating a masterpiece of electronic wonder with beaming vocals.
Collaboration and voice work were key components in the making of this single. Studio guest artists were comprised of voice actors Kate Graham, Mark Meadows, and Niamh Perry, giving Earhart’s legacy a trio of new voices. “Electra” also includes samples from vintage films and Soviet space engineer Sergei Korolev; phrases like “The future of flying is the ‘Electra’” and “I could write poetry about this plane” cleverly weave words about Earhart’s story into the music, adding another layer of sharp brilliance to this production. All these clips stitched together create an interesting mixture where older recordings are remodelled with fresh 21st-century technology.
“Electra” is almost a tribute to technological advancements in audio recording, as well, not just to Earhart’s global influence as a feminist aviation icon. The grittiness of recordings from decades ago compared to the cleaner, more precise qualities of today’s recordings – as heard in the vocals, for example – forms an unusual contrasting dynamic in the vocal presence throughout the song. It shows how far we have evolved in our audio recording processes and techniques, and how much further we can go, in the spirit of Earhart.
With this new single, Public Service Broadcasting have embodied the feeling of movement and flying off into space, utilising music as their chosen output to document Earhart’s achievements with a variety of unique synthesiser textures and diverse arrangements. I appreciate their use of old recordings, too; it creates a comforting nostalgia in listeners. I look forward to hearing more from Public Service Broadcasting with The Last Flight this fall.
Words by Sydney Kaster
