‘The duo came about after playing live in 2005 and this spontaneity is reflected in Foxx’s largely improvised vocals; Guthrie’s gossamer guitars provide the perfect counterpoint . . . breathtakingly beautiful.’
NME
‘Foxx and Guthrie present music of echoing grandeur . . . as guitars shiver and shake and Foxx’s improvised chants roll over the music. Effective and forward thinking.’
The Word
‘Full of myriad charms, John Foxx and Robin Guthrie’s marriage of musical convenience encompasses the best of both of their recent works; Foxx’s epic, sepulchral grandstanding and Guthrie’s intricate, filmic soundscaping.’
Q Magazine
‘Mirrorball is the work of two of pop’s supreme sound engineers, fusing the dreamy guitar pop of the Cocteaus with Foxx’s sonorous vocals, sung in an invented language, an approach not dissimilar to that of Liz Fraser in the early Cocteaus.’
Mojo
‘Textured, lush and becalming . . . Mirrorball has space; spaces where Guthrie’s guitars ripple like holes in time, where the sound has weathered away. You can float to this. Let it wash over you and unshiver any coating of mossy cynicism you may have accumulated.’
Plan B
‘The nine tracks are simply superb . . . the music builds upon Guthrie’s shimmering frost of Cocteau Twins soundscapes, offering a perfect cathedral for Foxx’s Gregorian voice.’
Record Collector
‘This resonates as a Robin Guthrie record with Foxx a ghostly presence floating over his sonic textures. With spooky choral arrangements it’s tempting to call this post-modern gothic. Pretentious but lovely.’
The Scotsman
‘Ambient masterpiece or tedious background hum? How you view this album will depend on how fond you are, say, of David Bowie’s Low-period instrumentals. This is the sort of thoughtful, atmospheric confection people either embrace with the enthusiasm of a mother cradling her newborn or bustle hurriedly from the room at the very thought of. So, if layers of shimmering guitars, treated keyboards and occasional vocals improvised as much for their ghostly effect as, um, literal meaning are likely to massage your senses, then hasten forth.’
Classic Rock
‘Meeting at a Harold Budd gig in 2005, Foxx and Guthrie’s love of experimental soundscapes made an album inevitable. Foxx provides the improvised vocals, just the right side of the divide between enigmatic and pretentious, as Guthrie’s playing remains as hypnotic and utterly foreign as it ever did. Concentrate hard enough, and you may not return to the real world.’
Teletext
‘This is music that harks back to Brian Eno’s way of thinking - beatless meditations that feature thick reverberation, slowly moving guitar loops and vocals that work well in the heat of the moment. There’s a clear chemistry between John Foxx, his improvised vocals and subtle electronic dressing, and Guthrie, whose studied guitar work nonetheless feels free of constraints. Something different - but keeping the fire of 1970s ambience burning strong.’
Musicomh.com
‘Blessed out in a Cafe Del Mar vibe, this would have been massive if it had been released at the same time as the Cocteaus were in full power.’
Art Rocker
METAMATIC RECORDS - APRIL 2009:
JOHN FOXX & ROBIN GUTHRIE - MIRRORBALL
01. Mirrorball
02. My Life As An Echo
03. The Perfect Line
04. Spectroscope
05. Estrellita
06. Luminous
07. Sunshower
08. Ultramarine
09. Empire Skyline
Like John Foxx's recent A Secret Life album with Steve Jansen, his collaboration with Robin Guthrie was an idea that began when the pair performed at a Harold Budd concert in May 2005. Layers of echoes and reverberations are explored on Mirrorball, so that Guthrie's unique playing merges with abstract, often improvised vocals.
Catalogue Number : META23CD
Release Date : 4th of May, 2009
Label : Metamatic Records
METAMATIC RECORDS - FEB 2009:
D'AGOSTINO/FOXX/JANSEN - A SECRET LIFE
01. A Secret Life (Part 1)
02. A Secret Life (Part 2)
03. A Secret Life (Part 3)
04. A Secret Life (Part 4)
05. A Secret Life (Part 5)
06. A Secret Life (Part 6)
Having met during their live performances in Brighton with Harold Budd in May 2005, John Foxx invited Steve Jansen to record tam-tams (gongs) for a potential collaborative release. The dark tones of the tam-tams created a bed for atmospherics and acoustic piano work to be added. Due to various other commitments the release seemed to be shelved until Steve D'Agostino (Single Cycle Reorder) took the initiative and completed the work. The album will be released through Foxx's own label, Metamatic Records under the names D'Agostino/Foxx/Jansen.
Catalogue Number : META22CD
Release Date : 23rd of March, 2009
Label : Metamatic Records
JOHN FOXX - MY LOST CITY
01. Imperfect Hymn
02. Holywell Lane
03. Magnetic Fields
04. Just Passing Through
05. Barbican Brakhage
06. Hidden Assembly
07. Hawksmoor Orbital
08. Piranesi Motorcade
09. City of Disappearances
10. Umbra Sumus
11. Scene 27 - Intro to The Voice Behind The Wallpaper, Trellick Tower 3am
My Lost City is an album of instrumental music which John has been quietly assembling for the last few years.
Catalogue Number : META21CD
Release Date : 23rd of February, 2009
Label : Metamatic Records
METAMATIC RECORDS - OCTOBER 2008:
John Foxx & Louis Gordon’s new album, IMPOSSIBLE features two new tracks - ‘Adult Concerns’ and ‘Walk This Way’ - plus 10 new versions of previously released material. Some of these re-workings are completely new arrangements, others are closer to the live versions.
There’s a raw, analogue, fractured, aggressive style to the material - the closest in sound is 2003’s Crash & Burn but it’s heavier than that album, featuring ‘rusty metallic synths’ and ’shredded’ vocals, as one listener noted. William Burroughs, del Toro and the strobe-lit techno-punk and London imagery of early Ultravox are reference points. Like an extended John Peel session, the tracks were recorded fast, in the heat of the moment, with all the scratches, mistakes and improvisations left in - in fact an Ultravox Peel session from the late 1970s was another source of inspiration. Impossible is also intended to work like a soundtrack where some of the material has been re-worked to fit a darker theme. The images in the artwork are glimpses of what that film might look like . . .
* Impossible is ltd to 1000 copies only *
The full tracklistings is as follows -
JOHN FOXX & LOUIS GORDON
IMPOSSIBLE
METAMATIC
META18CD
1 Adult Concerns
2 A Million Cars
3 From Trash
4 Impossible
5 Friendly Fire
6 X-Ray Vision
7 The Man Who Dies Every Day
8 Walk This Way
9 Dislocation
10 Drive
11 The One Who Walks Through You
12 Crash And Burn
METAMATIC RECORDS - OCTOBER 2008:
The new NEURO VIDEO album by Foxx/Gordon was recorded live at the Luminaire, London on 24 November 2007 and includes rare performances of ‘Europe After The Rain’, ‘Miles Away’ & ‘Dancing Like A Gun’, the live debut of ‘Camera’ and ‘Uptown/Downtown’ from The Pleasures of Electricity (2001) and two tracks from 2006’s Sideways album - ‘Neuro Video’ and ‘Sailing On Sunshine’, plus a re-worked ‘Shadow Man’ & ‘Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible’ from 1997’s Shifting City.The Neuro Video album by Foxx/Gordon was recorded live at the Luminaire, London on 24 November 2007 and includes rare performances of ‘Europe After The Rain’, ‘Miles Away’ & ‘Dancing Like A Gun’, the live debut of ‘Camera’ and ‘Uptown/Downtown’ from The Pleasures of Electricity (2001) and two tracks from 2006’s Sideways album - ‘Neuro Video’ and ‘Sailing On Sunshine’, plus a re-worked ‘Shadow Man’ & ‘Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible’ from 1997’s Shifting City.
* Neuro Video is ltd to 1000 copies *
The full tracklisting is as follows -
JOHN FOXX & LOUIS GORDON
NEURO VIDEO
METAMATIC
META19CD
1 Swimmer II
2 Making Movies
3 Camera
4 Uptown/Downtown
5 Europe After The Rain
6 The One Who Walks Through You
7 A Million Cars
8 Miles Away
9 Dancing Like A Gun
10 Neuro Video
11 Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible
12 Shadow Man
13 Sailing On Sunshine
hi john......hows tricks,,,,,,,,keep me posted of any live events,,,,, be great to se you at the steve strange,, sky logan, daniel lismore club,, in greek street,,,,, futurama11 ill be attending soon,,,, just back from prague,,,,lots of backstreets and hidden jazz bars,,,,, hope to see you soon love and support ricky emma enfield middx
Hi John, I just got "In The Glow" in the post today, very impressive concert recordings that I had never heard before. I wish I could have been at the concerts. I really like your artwork, it reminds me of Surrealism and Da-daism. Will there be a book of your artwork one day? With best wishes, Simon.
