Photos by Mike Cooper.
Courtesy of Unsound Festival.
If you attended the Sinners Day Concert last week, you can come and see John Foxx And The Maths for free on 25 February 2012. This is due to John having to cancel his planned appearance at the Sinners Festival at the last minute due to a head injury. For more information please visit HERE
GARY NUMAN: ‘I was a big fan of John Foxx when he was in Ultravox in the late 70s. Ultravox were like the blueprint for what I was trying to do in the early years and John Foxx was my hero. I thought he was a fantastic, enigmatic front man. I really loved what he did. To see him still going strong today, and putting out great music is good to see. John was a true pioneer and seems as passionate today as he was then about his music. I have a huge amount of respect for him.’
JUNIOR BOYS: ‘Even though it was made by a guy much older than me, and from a different country, I have never felt that there was a music that reached into my unconscious quite like John Foxx’s.’
JORI HULKKONEN: ‘Metamatic is one of the best albums ever recorded.’
PAUL DALEY (LEFTFIELD): ‘John Foxx was an idea for vocals I had for the second Leftfield album but this never happened. I’ve always respected and liked his approach and attitude – the quietman from another dimension bending sounds from the 23rd century underneath cinematic sci fi future vocals while keeping his distance from the brashness of pop culture and celebrity. Afrika Bambaataa is a big fan too.’
ALESSANDRO ADRIANI: ‘Mannequin Records identity is paying surely an homage to Metamatic, the first album from John Foxx after the split with Ultravox. We are in the greatest realm of the minimal electronic music: a Roland CR 78 drum machine, an Arp Odyssey and an Elka Rhapsody string machine. A man and the machines. Fluidity of human relationships and a Japanese horror film are creating the file rouge of this superb track. Pure pleasure for my heart (beat).’
VINCENT GALLO (ACTOR) ‘I connected so deeply with early Ultravox, everything changed for me. There’s Lennon and Dylan, but John Foxx is my favourite lyricist of all-time.’
MARK GATISS – LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN, SCREENWRITER FOR SHERLOCK & DOCTOR WHO ‘While other 80’s chart busters are reforming and playing their old stuff, John Foxx continues to be an innovative and interesting artist. I still keep the torch burning. Last time I was star-struck? When I met John Foxx for tea!’
PHIL OAKEY (THE HUMAN LEAGUE): ‘John Foxx’s Metamatic is one of the few essential albums of the movement I call the Alienated Synthesists. And I like his newer material a lot.’
MIRA AROYO (LADYTRON): ‘Working with John and Benge on the Interplay album was really fun. I gave them a few riffs to choose from, they built a song around one of them and I went in to record vocals. I was pretty blown away by the studio. I hadn’t heard about it, though I think I might have seen it on TV, but not realized. It is a total treasure trove! I felt like I was in Charlie and the Synth Factory.
Both John and Benge were really mellow and nice to work with. I loved how organic everything was recorded, from synths to vocal effects. I think that is quite rare in electronic music nowadays and you can definitely hear it in the finished record. I met John quite a few years ago. I was a fan of his first solo record Metamatic and was asked by a magazine to interview him about his favourite sound. We got on and kept on bumping into each other here and there over the years. It was a real honour and a pleasure to collaborate with both of them. I look forward to working with them again.’
KLAXONS: ‘John Foxx’s Metamatic is an amazing, visionary album.’
CLINT MANSELL (COMPOSER OF BLACK SWAN, THE WRESTLER AND MOON SOUNDTRACKS): ‘John’s music, both with Ultravox and solo, is built for the Internet. It’s technology manipulated by man. Man & machine in perfect harmony! Consistent quality output. The new album Interplay is a great record. Vibrant.’
DAVE CLARKE (TECHNO DJ): ‘The whole Metamatic album blew me away. It’s an amazing album.’
JIM KERR (SIMPLE MINDS): ‘People are discovering John Foxx now in 2011 because ultimately he is far too good to be ignored.’
LONELADY: ‘I live in a high-rise right next to a dual carriageway, so John Foxx’s music makes a lot of sense to me. I find his dystopias exciting and at times full of longing and romance. At first merely functional, the surfaces of the city become exotic, seductive.’
JOHN TAYLOR (DURAN DURAN): ‘John Foxx? Class cannot be erased.’
NICK RHODES (DURAN DURAN): ‘Everyone should own the first three Ultravox albums with John Foxx.’
GAZELLE TWIN: ‘I love his track ‘Never Let Me Go’ from 2006. It’s a mirage of maternal comfort in a toxic world.’
XENO & OAKLANDER: ‘I love the unexpected violence of Foxx’s ‘Burning Car’. Very urban, contemporary and apocalyptic. Metamatic is so fundamental as an influence on so much – from synthpop, New Romantic, industrial dance, EBM, et al – its consequences are far reaching and still being felt.’
ALEX PROYAS, DIRECTOR OF THE MOVIES – I, ROBOT, THE CROW AND DARK CITY: ‘I think apart from his incredibly cinematic lyrics, John’s music has always conjured entire movies in my head when I listen to it. I think it’s his mastery of atmosphere that has stayed with me through the years. If I could only make a movie as textured and evocative as John’s music I would be a happy man.’
THE SOFT MOON: ‘No-One Driving is my favourite John Foxx track. It has everything I love in a song. From an emotional standpoint it’s dark, moody and yet somehow optimistic. From a musical standpoint it’s beautifully structured with melodic verses, a catchy chorus and I would still like to get that arpeggiated phaser synth sound.’
ALEX PATERSON (THE ORB): ‘I love ‘;Just For A Moment’. A thrilling song of pure genius. Thank you.’
REVIEWS FOR JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS INTERPLAY ALBUM, 2011
‘One of the finest electronic records you’ll hear in 2011.’ THE QUIETUS
‘Meeting of synth-fetishists is a triumph.’ **** MOJO
‘Foxx has released an album which equals the high points of his rich back catalogue.’ BBC.CO.UK
‘One of the most enlightened synth records in years.’ **** THE STOOL PIGEON
‘Foxx is still sounding relevant.’ **** ARTROCKER
‘Fresh and powerful’ **** CLASH MAGAZINE
‘A masterclass’ **** NEWS OF THE WORLD
‘A great album.’ **** RECORD COLLECTOR
‘Interplay is a consistently strong piece of work.’ **** MUSIC OMH
‘Like all the best electro, the mood is stark and eerie. Age has afforded Foxx an unsettling gravitas.’ **** THE PINK PAPER
‘Forceful, stripped-down music that sounds as new as it is old; as imaginative as it is familiar.’ UNCUT
‘Robo-pop bliss.’ CLASSIC ROCK
‘The Maths turn out to be a superb foil for Foxx.’ THE WIRE
You must be logged in to post a comment.