John
Foxx – 21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City (Metamatic Records)
CD
/ DL
Out
Now
8
/ 10
Electronic pioneer releases a new compilation.
Gary Numan cites John Foxx as a hero, that’s
quite some compliment. To many the name
of John Foxx is either unknown or held with limited knowledge, to others he is
a regarded as a pioneer of electronica.
Born in Chorley Lancashire, Foxx formed his
first group Tiger Lily in 1973. Lasting
just a few years and after several name changes, including The Zips and
(interestingly) The Damned (not *that* one), the band settled on the name
Ultravox! in 1976. Ultravox would later
drop the exclamation mark from their name and were also dropped from their
record label in 1979. After a self-financed
tour of America, Foxx left the band.
Ironically, success soon followed for the band without
Foxx who had small hits with Underpass, No-One Driving and Burning Car from his
debut album Metamatic. Probably best
known commercially for his singles Dancing Like A Gun and Europe After The Rain
(both lifted from 1981s The Garden album), Foxx has continued to produce
synthesizer music with forays into ambient barring a self-induced absence from
music between 1985 and 1997.
21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A
City represents his output from 2000 to 2015 and contains an impressive
seventeen tracks over those sixteen years.
Collaborations with The Maths, The Belbury Circle and Jori Hulkkonen to
name a few and two previously unreleased remixes by OMD and ADULT make an album
that is inspiring to say the least.
Perhaps the most notable thing about Foxx is
that his sound has rarely changed. As a
compliment and not an insult, his sound is firmly fixed in early 80s
electronica but is unmistakably his work.
The sound is pure synthesizers with soft vocals and choruses which rise
and remain like gorgeous clouds on summer days.
Foxx is indeed a musical inspiration.
Beginning chronologically, the album opens with
his comeback A Funny Thing (with Louis Gordon) from The Pleasures Of
Electricity album. A house influenced
track it is sparse and stunning in its light and airy feel. Never Let Go confirms his ability to
willingness to experiment.
When Foxx teamed up with Ben Edwards and formed
The Maths, Foxx seemed to come home. The
delightful Evergreen begins with a sound not dissimilar to the openings of OMDs
Enola Gay and Interplay and Catwalk further display some of his most commercial
work to date. The former in particular,
is a song so well constructed and executed that it questions why it failed to
reach widespread acceptance.
A Man And A Woman features the haunting voice
of Hannah Peel. A member of The Maths
and more latterly The Magnetic North, Peel adds an almost angelic side to the
proceedings. The album closes with collaborations
with Robin Guthrie on the beautiful Estrellita and Gazelle Twin, and remixes
from OMD (their unmistakable sound on The Good Shadow) and ADULT, but it is the
teaming with Gary Numan on the remade Talk – now renamed Talk (Are You Listening
To Me?) that ends the collection on a beefy note.
Numan adds his trademark bassline and Replicas
synth lines to make the mutual appreciation of two artists a fitting overture
to a timely and well assembled compilation.
Links
Metamatic Records
John Foxx on Twitter
John Foxx on Facebook
Gary Numan on hiapop
OMD on hiapop
The Magnetic North on hiapop
Published on Louder Than War 06/06/16 - here
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