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John Foxx and the Maths | |
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Origin | London, England |
Genres | Electronic |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | Metamatic Records |
Members | John Foxx Benge Robin Simon Hannah Peel |
Website | John Foxx and the Maths blog |
John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based project working from Benge's studio in Shoreditch, London but has also engaged in live work.
Although it had been mentioned on Foxx's official Myspace blog in March 2009 that he "had been doing some recording with Benge", it was not until December of that year that the official John Foxx website Metamatic officially announced Foxx's new musical project. Benge had also already broken the news on his own blog in November calling The Maths "a new album project". An initial single "Destination"/"September Town" was released in December 2009 as download only from Townsend Recordsand later via iTunes. The duo continued to work in Benge's studio in Shoreditch throughout 2010 and some new tracks were previewed at the Short Circuit electronic music festival held at The Roundhouse in London on 5 June 2010. [1] The performances were later released on the Analogue Circuit live album in 2012.
An album entitled Interplay was announced in January 2011 and released on 21 March. The album gained much critical acclaim, with The Quietus calling it "one of the finest electronic records you will hear in 2011." [2] This album features Mira Aroyo of Ladytron on vocals and synthesizers.
Another live event featuring John Foxx and the Maths originally scheduled for December 2010 was held in April 2011. 'Back to the Phuture' was billed as a special electronic music event – featuring live sets from John Foxx, Gary Numan, Mirrors and Motor – plus a DJ set by Mute Records founder Daniel Miller.
A cover version of the Pink Floyd track "Have a Cigar" was recorded for a tribute CD issued by Mojo magazine with their October 2011 issue. It was announced shortly afterwards that the version on the CD was not the completed version and a free download of the finished version was offered via the Mojo website.
A nine date UK tour by John Foxx and the Maths was announced in July 2011, plus live performances in Poland and Belgium. The setlist comprised mostly tracks from Interplay as well as tracks from Foxx's career with Ultravox and from his seminal electronic solo album Metamatic . The group was augmented by Serafina Steer on keyboards and bass and Hannah Peel on keyboards and violin.
On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the final UK date in Holmfirth and the performance at the Sinners Day Festival in Belgium had to be cancelled as Foxx had suffered a fall and minor accident.
A second album The Shape of Things was also announced prior to the tour and was initially only on available for purchase at tour venues. The Shape of Things was issued as a limited edition special package, and described as being "a lot rougher around the edges and more experimental than “Interplay” – with songs and stark, minimal sketches..mixed in with some instrumental interludes". The release was preceded by a preview of the track "Talk" on YouTube in September 2011.
The album also comprises a second disc of remixes of selected Interplay tracks, and a brand new track, "Where You End And I Begin" featuring American producer/musician/remixer and score composer Tara Busch who had been photographed and filmed working in Benge's studio, and who supported The Maths on some of their live shows. The track was previewed on SoundCloud before the official release. [3]
When released via Townsend Records on 31 October 2011, the album was described as "though not overtly auto-biographical, there is a sense of looking back over a life and exploring feelings of loss over opportunities and lovers missed, and possible futures that will remain unlived".
Online music site The Quietus placed The Shape of Things at no. 48 in their 100 Albums of the Year for 2012. [4]
Following further writing and recording by John Foxx and Benge as well as live performances in the summer of 2012, a third album Evidence was released via Metamatic Records on 24 September 2012. The album brings together various new collaborations with contemporary artists such as The Soft Moon, Gazelle Twin, Xeno & Oaklander, Tara Busch and Matthew Dear. The cover version of Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar", previously released by Mojo magazine, also featured.
On 15 October 2012, a DVD and double CD package entitled Analogue Circuit was released through Metamatic Records. Analogue Circuit: Live At The Roundhouse features the first ever live John Foxx DVD, plus a double audio album of the show, filmed during the performance at the Short Circuit event at the London venue on 5 June 2010. [5] The discs feature tracks from John Foxx's years with Ultravox, his solo career and a preview of then still unreleased new tracks by John Foxx and the Maths. Personnel include former Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon, Benge, Jean-Gabriel Becker, Jori Hulkkonen, Serafina Steer, Steve D'Agostino and Liam Hutton. Tracks performed during the show with Louis Gordon were deemed unsuitable for release because of technical issues during the recording and filming.
In January 2013, it was announced that John Foxx and the Maths would once more be playing live as support to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on their forthcoming UK tour to promote their new album English Electric , in April and May of the same year. It was further confirmed that Hannah Peel would be joining John Foxx and Benge for the live performances.
The Evidence album was released worldwide on 25 February 2013.
In early April 2013, it was announced that the band would be releasing a new album, Rhapsody on 26 April 2013, which was to coincide with the band taking to the road again to support Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on their English Electric tour. The 13 date tour ran from 28 April to 14 May 2013. The three-piece band performed nine songs from both Foxx's solo and The Maths repertoires and were generally positively received by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark fans. In a further collaboration with OMD, a John Foxx and the Maths remix of the OMD track "Dresden" was issued as part of the single release package. [6]
The release of Rhapsody was delayed due to production problems and was not available on the tour. It was finally released on 10 May.
The band's only headlined live show for 2013 was held on 7 June at the Brighton Concorde 2.
In November, new videos for the track Evidence and Talk were published on official video channels, promoted via Foxx's official Facebook page and Twitter account. The videos, described as being 'Tokyo noir', were filmed and directed by Macoto Tezka in Tokyo, Japan 2013. [7]
At the end of 2015, the York Theatre Royal announced a new production of E.M. Forster's short story The Machine Stops featuring a brand new soundtrack composed by John Foxx and Benge. T Foxx said The Machine Stops “I’d read it in 1964 when I was at school and it had fascinated me then,” adding that his love of Yorkshire, where he lived as a lecturer at Leeds College of Art, was a further reason for his interest in the collaboration. [8] The soundtrack was finalised in May 2016 [9] and a one-off performance by Foxx and Benge called "The Bunker Experience", followed by a Q&A session was held in the York Cold War Bunker on 9 May. [10] A digital-only EP of six tracks based on the soundtrack were made available on Bandcamp on 28 June, with the note that "A studio album by JF&TM of the complete soundtrack will be released by Metamatic Recordings in the next 12 months" [11] In December 2016, it was announced that the finished album is to be released on 10 February 2017. [12]
A seventeen track compilation of John Foxx's work from 2000 - 2015 titled 21st Century: A Man, a Woman and a City was issued on 29 April 2016. The compilation featured several previously available tracks by John Foxx and the Maths as well as two brand new John Foxx and the Maths tracks, "A Many Splendoured Thing" and "A Man and a Woman", a new re-working of "Talk" featuring Gary Numan and two previously unreleased John Foxx and the Maths remixes by OMD and ADULT. The deluxe edition also included a DVD consisting of 11 films created by Macoto Tezka with music by John Foxx and the Maths. A digital download of three previously unreleased John Foxx and the Maths live recordings featuring Foxx, Benge and Hannah Peel at MemeTune Studios were also available from the online store as part of the deluxe package. [13]
In February 2020, news was published of a brand new John Foxx and the Maths album titled Howl, due out on 15 May. The album was delayed and eventually released on 24 July. The title track was made available on selected streaming sites and for download, also as a edited version. [14] The album and lead single, features former Foxx-era Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon, joining Benge and Hannah Peel as part of The Maths after previously guesting with them at their debut Roundhouse show in 2010. [15]
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Ultravox were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".
John Foxx is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a solo career in 1980 with the album Metamatic.
Metamatic is the debut solo album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo project following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the mix of synthesizers and conventional rock instrumentation on that band's work, Metamatic was purely electronic in sound. The name 'Metamatic' comes from a painting machine by kinetic artist Jean Tinguely, first exhibited at the Paris Biennial in 1959. The album peaked at #18 on the UK Albums Chart.
The Golden Section is a 1983 album by English musician John Foxx. A progression from the sound of The Garden (1981), Foxx called The Golden Section "a roots check: Beatles, Church music, Psychedelia, The Shadows, The Floyd, The Velvets, Roy Orbison, Kraftwerk, and cheap pre-electro Europop". The album was Foxx's first work with a producer since his final Ultravox album, Systems of Romance, in 1978; The Golden Section was co-produced by Zeus B. Held, well known in the Krautrock scene of the 1970s. In addition to Foxx's wide array of synthesizers, the production made extensive use of vocoder effects and sampling, along with traditional rock guitar.
Systems of Romance, released on 8 September 1978, is the third album by British new wave band Ultravox. It was the final recording for the group with original lead singer, lyricist and co-composer John Foxx, and their first album without guitarist Stevie Shears, who had left the band. Shears was replaced by Robin Simon, making his first and only appearance on an Ultravox album. Though not a commercial success, Systems of Romance had a significant influence on the electropop music that came after it.
"Burning Car" is a song by John Foxx, released as a single in 1980. It was his third solo single, following "Underpass" and "No-One Driving" earlier in the year. The track was not included on Foxx's debut solo album Metamatic, post-dating its January 1980 release, but has been included as a bonus track on the 2001 and 2007 CD reissues. It was Foxx's last 1980s record in a hard-edged electronica style.
"Miles Away" is a song by John Foxx, released as a single in October 1980. It was his fourth solo single, following "Burning Car" in July that year. The track was not included on any original album, falling roughly midway between the release of Foxx's debut LP Metamatic in January 1980 and his second album The Garden in September 1981.
Serafina Steer is an English harpist, and songwriter based in London. She is best known as a regular collaborator with Jarvis Cocker. In addition to harp, she plays keyboards, bass guitar and has composed for theatre and TV.
Robin Simon is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage.
"Young Savage" is the second single by Ultravox!. It was released as a single by Island Records on 28 May 1977, during a time of experimentation to define a new sound for the band, in advance of their second album.
Retro was the only EP (7") by Ultravox, then Ultravox!, released on 10 February 1978. It was the last recording released by the band as Ultravox!. Also this was the last disc featuring original guitarist Stevie Shears, who left the band after its release.
Metatronic is a retrospective compilation of recorded audio and visual material by British musician and recording artist John Foxx. It was released in 2010 by Edsel Records to mark the 30th anniversary of Foxx's debut solo album Metamatic and the start of his solo career. The idea for the compilation was first mentioned in the Ultravox fanzine Extreme Voice back in 1999.
Benjamin David Edwards, known professionally as Benge, is an English musician and record producer based in Cornwall, England. The main focus of his work is within the experimental electronic music field.
In Trance 95 is a Greek electronic music band from Athens.
"No-One Driving" is a 1980 song by UK artist John Foxx, and was released as a single in March 1980. It was the second single release from the Metamatic album, after "Underpass". The song is typical of Foxx's musical output of the time, featuring a Ballardian dystopian scenario involving an automobile in the lyrics, with music produced using electronic instruments only.
Hannah Mary Peel is a Northern Irish Ivor Novello award winning composer, producer and broadcaster. Her solo music is primarily electronic, synthesiser-based and often includes classical scoring and sound design, with references to the links between science, nature and music. She has scored music for television, film, theatre and dance. Including her Emmy nominated score to Game of Thrones: The Last Watch and the British science fiction TV series on Sky Max The Midwich Cuckoos which won Peel an Ivor Novello award in 2023.
This is a complete discography of the British recording artist John Foxx.
"Underpass" is a song by UK artist John Foxx, and was released as a single in January 1980. It was the artist's first solo single release after leaving the band Ultravox and the first single release from the Metamatic album, which was released shortly after.
"Europe After The Rain" is a song by John Foxx, released as a single in August 1981, and included on The Garden album released later the same year.
"Dancing Like A Gun" is the title of a John Foxx song, released as a single in October 1981, taken from The Garden album released a month previously.