The ground breaking Radio Ballads series - created by Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and Peggy Seeger for the BBC during the 1950s and 1960s - were masterpieces of broadcasting, weaving the voices of those living in everyday Britain with songs written from, and about, their experiences. Broadcaster takes these voices from the past and sets them against a new musical backdrop, breathing fresh life into their stories. Primary Transmission maintains the integrity and humour of the original recordings and, with a nod to Fatboy Slim and Moby, offers a unique interpretation that is moving and haunting and very addictive...

Primary Transmission fuses the sounds of '50 and '60s England with techno and dance beats and the result is both hilarious and compulsive listening.

The samples on Primary Transmission are taken from The Radio Ballads - a set of radio programmes that transformed documentary-making and popularised songs now regarded as folk standards. Broadcast on the BBC Home Service between 1958 and 1964, the eight programmes mixed the voices of railwaymen, fishermen, Gypsies and boxers with songs by Ewan MacColl, performed by an impressive cast of folk musicians directed by Peggy Seeger.

Originally hailing from Yorkshire, I really enjoyed the first track, 'England', which features several Yorkshire accents. But, while I originally found this to be a bit of a p*ss take of the way people in England used to speak, and their oh, so funny opinions, I soon couldn't help tapping my feet and nodding my head - I was seconds away from getting up and shaking my booty across the office... until I remembered I'm nearly 40 and don't do "that dancing stuff" any more... nor do I use terms like "shaking my booty".

Out of the six tracks here (there are ten songs in total, but four are radio edits of the original six tracks) I have to say that 'Loneliness' was by far my favourite. Not only is some of the dialogue quite sad, but the music is also rather melancholic.

Whether you buy this to laugh yourself into a coma, or to dance to the techno music, one thing is certain... you'll love it.

9

Darren Rea