John Foxx has been highly prolific of late and this month sees the release of two tasteful artefacts which has the electronic pioneer revisiting his past while continuing to look forward simultaneously.
Both also showcase the platform he has given in particular to rising female musicians within a synth scene so notoriously noted in the past for its boys with their toys stance. But now, the girls are allowed to play with those toys too!
The first of these is ‘Rhapsody’, 10 tracks recorded live at London’s MemeTune Studios in late 2011 shortly after the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS ‘Interplay’ tour. This series of shows was noted in particular for the addition of Hannah Peel’s screeching electric violin on material from Foxx’s ‘Metamatic’ and early ULTRAVOX! phases.
Featuring also Serafina Steer on bass and synths plus Foxx’s Mathematical sidekick Benge on electronic percussion and synths, the wide scope of the material is given a thematic core by this highly competent quartet, each bringing in their individual skills for a sum greater than its parts.
Foxx’s collaborations with Louis Gordon may have revitalised his musical aspirations, but what the Benge partnership did was provide a depth of humanity which perhaps had not shown itself in Foxx’s work since his ULTRAVOX! days. The addition of younger players such as Peel and Steer plus vital, energetic new material such as ‘Catwalk’ contributed to what was possibly Foxx’s best ever live show, not a bad achievement considering the former Dennis Leigh is now in his fourth decade in the music industry.
Like Foxx’s recording of ‘The Omnidelic Exotour’ from 1997, ‘Rhapsody’ is a closed set live recording with no audience. The beautiful instrumental take of ‘The Good Shadow’ with its pulsing sequences and eerie violin will have some recalling the intro of Gary Numan’s ‘Cry The Clock Said’.
Meanwhile the reworking of ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ retains the serene quality of the original with elements such as the sax are replaced by synth and Benge compliments percussively with Simmons thuds. The highlights though inevitably are ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’, ‘Just For A Moment’ and ‘He’s A Liquid’ where the violin of Hannah Peel wails to an enjoyable pitch bent frenzy!
Of course, a lot ‘Metamatic’ era material actually featured bass guitar so Steer’s fluid four string, while not quite putting the funk into proceedings, gives a closer representation of the period’s mechanised groove on songs like ‘Burning Car’. Peel and Steer’s elements combined with Benge’s synthetic drums interestingly beg the thought of how ULTRAVOX might have sounded had Messrs Foxx, Currie, Cross, Cann and Simon stayed together to record ‘Metamatic’? ‘Rhapsody’ is a great souvenir of the ‘Interplay’ tour although it could have done with being slightly longer; ‘Plaza’ and ‘Watching A Bulding On Fire’ would have been worthy inclusions but it’s probably best to have the audience wanting more.
Meanwhile, on the ‘Exponentialism’ EP, two songstresses, who have supported JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ live shows and contributed to latest album ‘Evidence’, are given an opportunity to glow in the darkness as I SPEAK MACHINE and GAZELLE TWIN premiere their vivid interpretations of Foxx’s back catalogue. Both hit soprano ranges in their vocal capability and that automatically allows them to put their own stamp on some iconic work. GAZELLE TWIN told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2012: “I prefer covering songs written or sung by men. Perhaps because it instantly allows me to create a new perspective on it.”
So with I SPEAK MACHINE, the new electronic vehicle for American musician Tara Busch, she assumes the role of predatory female and her aggressive take on ‘My Sex’ is the complete opposite to Foxx’s original detached tone of resignation. Unsettling and eerie, the new arrangement is tremendous. Meanwhile, ‘I Want To Be Machine’ is virtually rewritten by Busch with the Ballardian lyrics now accompanied by abstract synthetics and robotics that are well away from the early Bowie-esque folkisms of the ‘Ultravox!’ album’s longest track. It’s as if the roles in ‘Demon Seed’ have been reversed!
Hauntingly sedate, GAZELLE TWIN, the alias of Brighton based Elizabeth Walling, gives a stripped down rendition of ‘Never Let Me Go’ with a neo-acappella intro before it oozes into a collage of choral beauty reminiscent of Foxx’ own ‘Cathedral Oceans’ trilogy. Appropriately sounding like she’s drowning, GAZELLE TWIN’s choice of ‘He’s A Liquid’ as her second cover reflects the metaphysical fascinations of her own compositions like ‘I Am Shell I Am Bone’ and ‘I Turn My Arm’. Sung from the female perspective, it highlights an ambiguous sexual angle to one of the highlights from ‘Metamatic’.
There was once an ‘In The City’ fanzine special about the Foxx-led ULTRAVOX! entitled ‘Past, Present and Future’. Both ‘Rhapsody’ and ‘Exponentialism’ show that more than 30 years after that publication, JOHN FOXX still very much represents the past, present and future of independently minded electronic music.
‘Rhapsody’ and ‘Exponentialism’ are released by Metamatic Records and both available as CDs or downloads from http://johnfoxx.tmstor.es/
JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS play a headline show at Brighton’s Concorde 2 on 7th June 2013 with support from VILE ELECTRODES
JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS have released their third album in 18 months entitled ‘Evidence’.
The 15 tracks include collaborations with Matthew Dear on a version of ‘Talk’ which previously appeared on ‘The Shape Of Things’, US duo XENO & OAKLANDER on ‘That Sudden Switch’ and TARA BUSCH with her own ‘I Speak Machine’ mix of ‘Talk’. Dubwisely surreal, the title track’s collaboration with North American post-apocalyptic trio THE SOFT MOON sees many of the starker, dystopian flavours that Foxx is best known for.
Following the enjoyable flirtation with synthpop on JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ debut album ‘Interplay’, this is much more post-punk psychedelia like Gary Numan meeting Syd Barrett! The album sees available for the first time in physical format, Foxx and Benge’s brilliant minimal electro cover of PINK FLOYD’s ‘Have A Cigar’ (where the infamous “which one’s Pink?” line is changed to “which one’s Maths?”) while also included are Brighton songstress GAZELLE TWIN’s chilling remix of ‘A Falling Star’ and JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ reworking of her wonderfully emotive but unsettling single ‘Changelings’.
Regular live band member Hannah Peel adds eerie violin to instrumental ‘Neon Vertigo’ and the more angrily percussive ‘My Town’ although overall, the album takes on an atmospheric pace around more downtempo rhythmic constructions smothered in echoes.
JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS release a 16 track single CD version of The Shape Of Things which was first available as a 2CD deluxe set on their most recent UK tour.
The collection features starker, reflective material that didn’t fit into the overall pop concept of ‘Interplay’ recorded by Mr Foxx and his erstwhile partner-in-crime Ben Edwards aka Benge. Lyrically, the subject matter centres around feelings of loss over opportunities and lovers missed. Artistically interluded by several instrumental collages with titles such as ‘Modreno’, ‘Psytron’, ‘Astoria’ and ‘Buddwing’, the album is cinematic but in an understated way.
Following the short HASSELL/ENO-esque Possible Musics of ‘Spirus’, ‘Rear-View Mirror’ sunbursts through, the pulsing synthetics of yesterday’s tomorrow combined with reverbed Linn Drum and a strong but swimmy riff. Meanwhile, ‘Talk’ is reminiscent of Benge’s own ‘Twenty Systems’, vaguely minimal with Foxx’s echoing breathy vocals dominating. Matthew Dear’s remix which comes as a bonus track, adds a more industrialised, extended treatment and a deeper, menacing drawl.
The lovely ‘September Town’, originally the B-side of the first JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS single ‘Destination’, sees the sequences and string machines making their mark despite the more stripped down feel. Benge’s intricate craft of working with the limitations of his vintage electronics shines through.
Photo by Ed Fielding
‘Falling Away’ is the big surprise featuring a distorted burst of guitar alongside the sparse rhythm machine accompaniment. ‘Unrecognised’ is perhaps one of the most immediate of the tracks with its pulsing hypnotics sweetened by some emotive synth and piano touches. With more abstract leanings, ‘Invisible Ray’ dovetails treated vocal washes and ambient sweeps while ‘Vapour Trails’ is lively, all subtle claptraps and Compurhythm building.
Fantastically motorik, ‘Tides’ is like an electronic NEU! while the main act closer ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’ rolls with 6/8 rhythms punctuating the magical overtones of vibrato like a more dystopian take on DEPECHE MODE.
As a final treat, the final bonus track ‘Where You End & I Begin’ featuring kooky Moogstress TARA BUSCH captures the influence of GAZELLE TWIN’s ‘The Entire City’, Foxx’s own favourite album of 2011. Making her presence felt, Busch takes on more witchy tones rather than the Patti Page in space persona of her more recent ‘Rocket Wife’ as it leans to more sinister rumblings.
‘The Shape Of Things’ is very much a grower of an album; much more personal than any of JOHN FOXX’s previous work, it gets progressively satisfying with further, conscientious listens. For many of his followers, this could even turn out to become one of their favourite albums…
With thanks to Steve Malins at Random PR
JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS ‘The Shape Of Things’ is released as a single CD by Metamatic Records on 19th March 2012.
Hannah Peel will be known to synthpop fans as one of the musicians with JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS.
However, she first became known to the synth world via her debut EP ‘Re-Box’ released on Static Caravan in 2010. It featured musicbox covers of ‘Tainted Love’ which was made famous by SOFT CELL, NEW ORDER’s ‘Blue Monday’, OMD’s ‘Electricity’ and COCTEAU TWINS’ ‘Sugar Hiccup’. An edition of 300 were pressed onto 7 inch vinyl and promptly sold out.
A first class honours graduate from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Hannah Peel curated The Audio Vision Festival at the 3LD Art and Technology Centre as part of Liverpool’s celebrations as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
Later, she worked as a session musician for Nitin Sawhney as well as writing songs for her debut album ‘The Broken Wave’. As was usual with the MySpace generation of artists, Hannah streamed her material online. Having been brought to his attention by her cover of ‘Electricity’, OMD’s Andy McCluskey asked to sample her composition ‘Organ Song’ for a possible album track. The end result was ‘Bondage Of Fate’, a haunting waltz ballad which featured her vocals and keyboards prominently on the finished recording. It was included on OMD’s comeback album ‘History Of Modern’ in 2010.
Although her own 2011 debut album ‘The Broken Wave’ was more traditional and influenced by her Irish and Yorkshire roots, it was while she was recording with producer Mike Lindsay at his Play Studios that she met co-owner Ben Edwards aka Benge, synth collector extraordinaire and collaborative partner in the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS project. As a result, she was invited to become part of the live set-up for the Interplay tour in Benge’s artistic vision of a Shoreditch Exploding Plastic Inevitable.
Proficient on both piano and violin, she did her Maths homework and adapted extremely well to the electronic sound of the former ULTRAVOX front man. Handling a Micro-Korg and Roland JX3P while twiddling a pink Ibanez AD80 delay, she authentically recreated a plethora of futuristic sounds that warbled off and on. But it was her eerie bowed embellishments to the ‘Metamatic’ material that drew her most praise, drawing comparisons with ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie, the godfather of synth playing electric violinists!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK met Hannah Peel after the final XOYO show in London and later chatted to her about her burgeoning career and electro-friendly development.
How did the idea for your ‘Re-Box’ EP come about?
I discovered the programmable music box when scoring some music for a theatre show in Liverpool. It wasn’t until afterwards when I thought; this box could work really well with singing. As a bit of a joke, I made the remix of ‘Tainted Love’ instantly recognisable and the riff works really well on the box. I played it live at gig one night for a friend and the reaction was pretty incredible! So I decided to create a few more remixes, put them on a CD and give out to a few people who I knew would like it, calling it ‘Re-Box’.
The CD made its way into the hands of Geoff Dolman at Static Caravan who then released it as a limited 7 inch vinyl. What makes the covers attractive, even though they are programmed, is the contrast to the rigid tempos of the original tracks programming. The music box strips away all that as it is hand wound and leaves you with the bare minimal melodies and structures of the songs, which are quite beautiful and classic.
Where did you first hear these synth classics?
I think as an 80s child, ‘Blue Monday’, ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘Electricity’ are without a doubt, ingrained into my brain somewhere. However, it wasn’t until I had played with Laura Groves from BLUE ROSES, who noted that I have hiccups everyday, that ‘Sugar Hiccup’ by COCTEAU TWINS would be a perfect remix.
Is using the musicbox a bit like programming an antique sequencer in a way then?
Yes, in that you are using a punch card type of system, resembling early computer techniques when having to give digital instructions. Much like MIDI really. I’m not sure how they made the card, but for me all the notes on the music box are made using a hole puncher and can take me sometimes a solid 12-18 hours to complete.
I remember OMD’s Paul Humphreys enthusing to me about your work. Was your cover of ‘Electricity’ how they first got to hear about you?
Yes, I sent Andy McCluskey a copy of the CD when I had finished, I lived in Liverpool at the time so knew of his studio there.
How did you feel when they wanted to sample ‘Organ Song’ for their track ‘Bondage Of Fate’ on ‘History Of Modern’?
Really flattered. I had written a lot of music previously for theatre and short films, but ‘Organ Song’ at the time was one of the first songs I had embarked on and recorded myself.
What did you think of the end result?
I think it works really well. Mainly because, it works really well in contrast to the others. It has a more organic, emotional atmosphere around it. But I would say that though wouldn’t I!?
So what’s actually happened to ‘Organ Song’ itself? Will it turn up on your next album?
Well, actually it has been released on my first album ‘The Broken Wave’ as ‘Today Is Not So Far Away’. I took the original to Mike Lindsay the producer, and we re-worked it – so much so, there is now no resemblance to the original!
Your own music and debut long player ‘The Broken Wave’ appear to be perhaps more from a folk tradition? What is your own musical background and influences?
Although I was born in Ireland, we moved to Yorkshire at an early age… my family are very much into singing, playing and dancing – I was constantly being made to go to folk sessions that I am now glad they did! However, I was also in a competition brass band on the trombone right up until I left for university, so traditional elements have always played a part rather than just folk music.
I listen a lot to film, classical music and a lot of 60s / 70s music, mainly because I love the melodies, arrangements and emotional connections. These are very important for me and I suppose I’ve been labelled with folk because of this connection to rawness. I feel like a lot of modern music lacks these elements and is just noise to fill the ever increasing void in modern life, rather than being there for a reason and to say something important. I won’t ever put something in my music, whether it is lyrics, sounds or instruments unless they have a reason to be there.
What got you more involved with synthesizers?
I get a lot of satisfaction from playing analogue synths. They feel real and tangible and enable a sense of control but also experimentation and fun in exploring what you can create but I honestly did not know much about them until I came to London to make my record with Mike Lindsay. His studio was run by Benge, so you can probably guess how much my eyes exploded from finding this completely new world.
So how did you end up being part of JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS?
John and Benge were making Interplay next door as I was making ‘The Broken Wave’. I’d spoken to John a few times, mainly when our paths crossed but Benge had seen me play and knew what I was like musically. So I suppose when they were looking at putting a band together and needed a singer/keys player and violinist – I fitted the bill.
Benge has got quite synth collection hasn’t he? What would be your favourite synths, past and present?
I am in no way an expert on these things! However, yes Benge has got a unique and brilliant collection. I have been in the studio a lot working over the last year and I still don’t know half of what is in there, but so far my favourite vintage ones are the ARP synths. The ARP Omni, which we used on tour (played by Serafina Steer) and the Odyssey, which we couldn’t take unfortunately as it is just too valuable. I just bought the new Korg MicroTribe which we used on tour for the track ‘Interplay’, that’s very good and analogue too.
What did you think of John Foxx’s work when you were first introduced to it because you weren’t born when ‘Metamatic’ or ‘The Garden’ were released?
It has a clear distinctive sound. One that sets him apart from other acts of his earlier career, and I still feel he maintains and pushes his sound and boundaries even further now. I started playing with him with no preconceptions and fresh ears for the new record, and hopefully that came across in the live performances.
As a trained musician, what things have you observed about John Foxx’s compositional and arrangement style?
He approaches his music like a true artist. Parts and sounds seem to be created as if they were from a visual image, placed with a delicate awareness and added to make a picture whole. It’s not just about a huge vocal part or a massive synth riff, each instrument and part is there to create the bigger picture. For me, this makes the tracks more interesting and certainly when playing on tour, you never become tired of your part.
His fans have been particularly positive about your contribution to the live sound, especially with the violin. How did you find adapting to a quite different style of music to your own?
That’s very nice indeed! We actually had a very intense rehearsal period. There was a lot to learn and all the tracks had to be adapted with the right synth programming for us three to play behind John’s vocals. You will have noticed Sefa and me playing two completely different parts at once and singing on top. It took a lot of co-ordination and concentration for all 18 songs and so I never had the time to consider the different style of music until we were on stage!
Which of his songs did you particularly enjoy playing live?
Ah there are so many, but the ones featuring the violin felt the most satisfying to play live, mainly because of the effects on the violin pedal board, lots of distortion, delay and extra octaves. To quote Benge, “Like an animal being murdered”! ‘Burning Car’, ‘He’s A Liquid’ and ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’ are all amazing songs and great fun live.
Are there any other Synth Britannia or contemporary electronic acts you would like to work with?
Yes certainly, at the height of the time, I wish I’d been there! So much incredible sounds and acts were allowed to come through into the music industry. But to work alongside someone now, who has retained their open-minded enthusiasm and perspectives and credibility as an artist, I am very happy to be working alongside John. Current acts, THE KNIFE. I love their live shows and sound, and also Karin Dreijer Andersson’s solo project FEVER RAY. I met them once with Benge in Shoreditch for a drink just after I moved from Liverpool to London last year.
Is further electronic experimentation likely in your future work? Perhaps in a wonky pop folktronica hybrid?
Yes, I’ve already started work creating new tracks with Benge and John for a different album. I’m very much hooked. Although, for my own songs, I won’t intend for them to be pinned as folktronica, that term makes me feel funny somehow. Working with synths certainly brings out the more cinematic side of my writing.
So what’s next few you?
THE MAGNETIC NORTH – I’ve made a record with the singer Erland Cooper (from the psych / folk band ERLAND & THE CARNIVAL) and VERVE / BLUR / GORILLAZ guitarist Simon Tong. Called ‘Symphony of The Magnetic North’, the album is based on the Orkney Islands and is inspired by a 1930s travelogue journal. It will be out next year and is quite a mix of darkened stories from the Islands with strings / brass / guitars / a local Island choir / port and ship samples and our vocals. Benge has just finished mixing it too!
I’m also working on my next album too, based on the book ‘Invisible Cities’ by Italo Calvino.
ELECTRICTYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Hannah Peel
Special thanks to Colin Wallace
‘Re-Box’ and ‘The Broken Wave’ are available now on Static Caravan
John Foxx’s first concert tour for several years captured the hearts of loyal electro heads and the curious alike.
Featuring the album ‘Interplay’, his most accessible and critically acclaimed body of work since ‘Metamatic’, the show delivered a mechanised charm while simultaneously adding a humanic warmth.
Ably assisted by Chief Mathematician Ben Edwards aka Benge with stylish synth girls Serafina Steer and Hannah Peel, classic and new songs were combined as the welcome live return of ‘A New Kind of Man’ and ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ blended in perfectly with the Trans-European dystopia of ‘Watching A Building On Fire’ and the futuristic folk of ‘Evergreen’.
John Foxx means different things to different people, so longtime followers stood side-by-side with the newly-converted. Tapio Normall remembers discovering the one-time Dennis Leigh as an impressionable teenager in Finland: “It is actually a small wonder that I started to like John Foxx. Radio didn’t play his songs, Finnish music magazines didn’t write about him and where I lived, there were no English music papers available. My friend’s sister had a compilation album called Modern Dance. It had ‘Europe After The Rain’ that was where I heard a John Foxx song the first time. A few months later I saw the ‘Dancing Like A Gun’ video on TV and after that I was sure this is my thing”.
Thirty years on, Tapio says: “Today I like John Foxx more than ever and I’ve been lucky to meet him few times”. Although arrays of vintage equipment were present during previous one-off shows at The Roundhouse and The Troxy, mobilisation for a European tour dictated a more practical rather than wholly artistic approach.
Foxx was leading his young crew from behind his Roland PC300 controller like a veteran ship’s captain while in the engine room, Benge primarily played the distinctive Simmons SDS5 hexagonal pads over various Roland CR78/TR808 and LinnDrum patterns while occasionally turning to a variety of other devices.
The marvellous ARP Omni MkI string machine was delicately handled by Serafina Steer who also had an Alesis Micron at her disposal. It was April 2010 when PULP’s Jarvis Cocker said her album ‘Change Is Good Change Is Good’ was “Probably my favourite album of the year so far”. Since then, she has become a mainstay of John Foxx’s band. Stage left, new addition Hannah Peel had that ubiquitous female friendly modelling synth in the MicroKorg plus a Roland JX3P.
Martin Swan is a member of newish combo VILE ELECTRODES; an analogue synth expert who was part of the project team who curated the Oramics To Electronica exhibition at the Science Museum, he gave some interesting thoughts while at one of the London XOYO shows: “They’ve obviously slimmed down the set-up from before and I think they’ve made some very astute decisions about what it’s important to take. It was interesting to see they’re using virtual analogues onstage – the MicroKorg and Serafina’s Alesis Micron – they were presumably picked specifically because they were small…”
He also added: “Most importantly however, it didn’t seem to make a big difference sonically: Sound wise I don’t think it affected the quality, although I think Benge was playing some stuff off his laptop… cheat haha! They were obviously using some live pedals and grungy effects which always helps a lot to take the digital edge off modern synths”
He also has some thoughts about the transportation logistics: “In terms of touring with some of the older stuff, the JX3P that Hannah Peel used is a fairly sturdy beast. My main hope is that they have a decent flight case for the ARP Omni!” That particular antique is rumoured to be of at least 1976 vintage so would be expected to have a degree of fragility but according to Martin: “Maybe surprisingly, old kit often stands up to tours very well because it’s made of wood and metal, rather than plastic! I’m not sure that some of the synths being made today will be on the road in 30 years time. I’m glad I’m not their roadie though…”
So this jaunt was a much more streamlined set-up with no film projections and focussing as a playing unit. Organic tensions were provided by Serafina Steer’s bass guitar and the VU-like bowed embellishments of Hannah Peel. A solo artist in her own right, in 2010 she released the Rebox EP on Static Caravan which included musicbox covers of synth laden classics such as ‘Tainted Love’, ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Electricity’. With her own ‘Organ Song’ being sampled by OMD for ‘Bondage of Fate’ and her inclusion in the band line-up, Peel’s reputation has certainly been enhanced by the endorsement of such Synth Britannia luminaries.
The live components came together like a fusion of LADYTRON and ULTRAVOX with Peel and Steer also providing Mira and Helen styled backing vox to compliment Foxx’s own distinct tones. Meanwhile, Benge’s analogue percussive snaps, Steer’s bass and Peel’s violin (particularly on the ‘Metamatic’-era material such as ‘Plaza’, ‘He’s A Liquid’ and ‘Burning Car’) indicated how these songs could have sounded had Foxx not parted ways with Messrs Cann, Cross and Currie back in 1979.
London’s XOYO in Shoreditch played host to two shows presented by Artrocker magazine with different support acts on each night.
On the first date, Tara Busch, described by John Foxx himself as a cross between “Karen Carpenter, Nico and Doris Day on a Moog” did exactly that as Richard Price found out: “She started her set with THE CARPENTERS cover Rainy Days & Sundays, it came across as nice and soft on gently played out synth”.
Her set, which also included her marvellous Bob Moog Foundation charity single ‘The Rocket Wife’, impressed Tapio Normall: “I liked Tara Busch and her one woman show. Her gig reminded me of how Thomas Dolby started and look where he is now; in Suffolk. No really… Tara Busch’s small scale live show was engaging thing to hear and see”.
Meanwhile Brighton’s GAZELLE TWIN aka Elizabeth Walling was a different kettle of fish altogether: “Wow, what can I say? Just dark but done well” said Richard Price, “she sings really well in an almost operatic style. The band had these finger LED lights on which worked very well in the almost total darkness of the act”. Tapio Normall, who has just about seen it all on his musical travels, commented “she was maybe the strangest thing I have seen and I’ve seen some quite odd stuff! GAZELLE TWIN’s most unusual look and haunting songs are something else. You don’t confuse them with your average rock ‘n’ pop act”!
The second London gig featured the acclaimed XENO & OAKLANDER who have just released their third album ‘Sets & Lights’. They were particularly impressive, literally fighting on stage to keep their array of vintage and virtual gear operating in unison. Tapio Normall remarked “they were a very appropriate support band. A friend of mine said they sound like early BERLIN. Is that true? I wouldn’t know but my impression of XENO & OAKLANDER was positive”.
VILE ELECTRODES lead singer Anais Neon noticed the platform Foxx had given female electronic musicians to perform, both in his band and as support: “In the past, girls in electronic music were often just a pretty face fronting someone else’s music, so it’s great seeing women on stage manning the synths (no pun intended) and being multi-instrumentalists just as well as their male counterparts”.
So have music fans finally cottoned onto the idea of female friendly synthesis? Anais certainly thinks the genre has been slow to respond: “For such a futuristic and forward thinking style of music, popular electronic music has really lagged behind guitar driven music in terms of girls being properly at the helm. Although women have long had a lead role in avant garde electronic music: think Daphne Oram, Laurie Anderson, Delia Derbyshire etc but, for some reason, popular electro missed the boat. More women and more synths, I say!”
And at the final London show, the tremendous reaction from the audience rose to being particularly ecstatic at the end. One thing that must be celebrated is how respectful and knowledgeable fans of John Foxx are. No inappropriate whooping during quiet sections of the show, chit-chat during the more esoteric material or lack of appreciation of the imperial, pioneering back catalogue. When the fanbases of several Synth Britannia-era acts are reduced to nostalgia freaks whose only interests are drunken singalongs to greatest hits and the lead singer’s trouser content, John Foxx is proof of how the elder statesman’s role can be carried forward with dignity.
At the height of his powers by delivering possibly his best ever live set and new material that is equal to his most regarded work, John Foxx is in an enviable position. And as one of electronic music’s father figures, rather than dismissing the new breed of synthesizer based artists for their apparent lack of integrity as some of his peers have done, Foxx has actually had them share the stage with him or become part of his band.
One thing that is not normally talked about with John Foxx is his humanity; “He’s a man with a very expressive face, you might say he’s one of those people who has grown more distinguished as he’s grown older. As a photographer I find this fascinating” said Mike Cooper, “Foxx was massively influential on electronic music’s development, up there and in fact in earlier than some of the other Synth Britannia pioneers such as THE HUMAN LEAGUE, Gary Numan and THE NORMAL – ‘Metamatic’ had sounds, songs, and an aesthetic that would be influential on synthpop, minimal wave, EBM, industrial, and eventually techno…”
Continuing his ever prolific creative spurt of the last decade, available on this tour was the new JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS album ‘The Shape Of Things’ which features starker, reflective material that didn’t fit into the overall pop concept of ‘Interplay’. On it, ‘Rear View Mirror’ and ‘Unrecognised’ are perhaps the most immediate tracks with their pulsing hypnotics.
The deluxe edition includes a bonus CD of remixes with two highlights being Andy Gray’s superb reworks of ‘Watching A Building On Fire’ and ‘Interplay’. Also worthy of mention are XENO & OAKLANDER’s take on ‘Evergreen’ and ‘Where You End & I Begin’, a collaboration with TARA BUSCH. So as this tour of JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS proves, the link between past, present and future in electronic music is the healthiest it has ever been.
Special thanks to Steve Malins at Random and all who contributed their valued recollections of the tour.
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