IDM Mailing Archive

re: John Foxx and Ultravox: This past weekend I stumbled upon a large bunch of material from John Foxx (there were 3 solo albums including Metamatics, can't remember the other two titles) and Ultravox (a lot of albums and some singles and EPs). Unfortunately, they were a bit pricey, in my opinion, (and I'm quite broke as it is) and they're at a store where you can't listen before you buy, so... I'm looking for recommendations as to what is worth buying from John Foxx solo and from Ultravox. (Unfortunately, they didn't have any Visage there). Thanks in advance for any help. Andrew Duke

obtain metamatics at all costs. a true synth pop classic and an analouge synth giant. Bryan On Mon, 31 May 1999, Andrew Duke Cognition/In The Mix wrote:

quoted 14 lines re: John Foxx and Ultravox:

> re: John Foxx and Ultravox: > > This past weekend I stumbled upon a large bunch of material from > John Foxx (there were 3 solo albums including Metamatics, can't > remember the other two titles) and Ultravox (a lot of albums and some > singles and EPs). Unfortunately, they were a bit pricey, in my opinion, > (and I'm quite broke as it is) and they're at a store where you can't > listen before you buy, so... I'm looking for recommendations as to what > > is worth buying from John Foxx solo and from Ultravox. (Unfortunately, > they didn't have any Visage there). Thanks in advance for any help. > Andrew Duke > >

--------------------------------- Bryan Bickel http://www.cs.wayne.edu/~bbickel bbickel@cs.wayne.edu Detroit Rules!

On 31 May 99, ae1650@wayne.edu wrote re: (idm) Re: (313) John Foxx/Ultravox:

quoted 1 line worth buying from John Foxx solo and from Ultravox.

> worth buying from John Foxx solo and from Ultravox.

U'vox? That thing with "Vienna". Funnily enough I've never heard John Foxx and also just recently saw some 2nd hand stuff and wondered about it. Life's too short, though ... I * ~ you can also mail me at <lime909@hotmail.com>

On Mon, 31 May 1999, Andrew Duke Cognition/In The Mix wrote:

quoted 4 lines This past weekend I stumbled upon a large bunch of material from

> This past weekend I stumbled upon a large bunch of material from > John Foxx (there were 3 solo albums including Metamatics, can't > remember the other two titles) and Ultravox (a lot of albums and some > singles and EPs). Unfortunately, they were a bit pricey, in my opinion,

Of John Foxx (assuming you particularly would like the instrumentation, the mixing potential, and just how well aged the tracks are) I'd go for the following priority whereas each one that has a cool mixable track has a "*" or an excellent track has a bunch: Metamatic (LP) (the best if I could only have one foxx/ultra rec) No instrumentals here, but good songwriting, using exotic raw synths and 100% CR-## drum machine. "Dislocated" & moody*** Vienna//Herr X/Alles Klar (81, Herr X is a German-spoken "Mr. X") Alles Klar is a Kraftwerkesque instru and the skeleton of a track on Metamatic) both are very mixable and sophisticated*!*! Glimmer/This City/Dr.No/? 2x7" (the two b-sides are instr)** New Europeans (Japanese album with cool Ultravox b-sides)(81)*** All Stood Still//Alles Klar/? 12" 81 (the 3rd track is proto-technoey!)*!* Underpass//Film One (Film One is cool, but almost too slow to mix) Systems of Romance (78, best Foxx/era UV LP, rock/punk, arty!)* Burning Car//? (first single 79?) (bside is cool, but primitive)* ?//Swimmer1/Swimmer2** (81) Europe After the Rain//This Jungle 7"/12" (81) (no instr, last decent hit) New Europeans (EP, 4 songs)(cool, but not so mixable as Japanese ver) Rage In Eden (81) (new romo/new wave,good armchair stuff, electronic) I did an electro/instrumental ver of "The Thin Wall" at the Emanate rec release party last Nov and the crowd (ok, just Eric Hill maybe) went wild. It was fun! Quartet (82) (full on pop new wave, good songwriting, but not as arty) The Ultravox from 76-79 had John Foxx and was an arty punk, with some Brian Eno and Conny Plank production, so you can imagine the odd punk-electronics and instrumentation. Foxx's voice has a very jagged, yet distant (like he is belting it out from across an empty parking lot) feel both in the way he sings and the reverby production. His first solo lp Metamatics is both extreme in this way (good) and yet really personal. Metamatics has this atmosphere that no one else could get, not even Gary Numan, though he sure tried, and it is one of the most unique pop albums I can think of. He was emulating some 60's pop ideas, but the instrumentation was so extreme (modular synths, heavy effects, drum machines) and had no real history or precedence for usage that Foxx was just finding his way of making pop with these strange new instruments. What is great about htis is that he really listenned to the sound of the synths and drum machines and let them play themselves, that is, "sound" electronic, rather than force them to be like some other instrument... If you like the Beatles around 67, then the Foxx stuff from 83-86 might interest you. The b-side to Your Dress has a great example of the classic Foxx majestic-synth-pads sound and the track is long and sounds cool mixed over beats. He started to abandon the blatantly-electronic side of his tunes and got more studio musicians and approached pop music and released few interesting instrumentals... Foxx is a successful graphic designer right now. He sells clip art and stemmed from his original record cover collages and photography, which is a similar classical-vs-Bauhaus-artschool feel not unlike his music. Soooooo, if you buy just one thing, get Metamatic. If you don't like it, you might not like any of the rest really... if you do like it, consider my list seriously. If you like the instrumentals, you might enjoy Le Car on Ersatz Audio if you don't already have those 12"s. Le Car is similar in that they focus on the same drum machine sounds and efficient monosynth accents, bass and lead bits, though they are pretty minimal and have no synth pads. Solenoid

Anyone heard the Midge Ure / Ryoichi Yuki collaboration CD? On Mon, 31 May 1999, Andrew Duke Cognition/In The Mix wrote:

quoted 3 lines I'm looking for recommendations as to what

> I'm looking for recommendations as to what > is worth buying from John Foxx solo and from Ultravox. (Unfortunately, > they didn't have any Visage there). Thanks in advance for any help.

John Foxx: I've got _Metamatic_ and _The Garden_. Both are plenty worthwhile, though _The Garden_ is a little warmer, and is more appealing to me -- if only because of "The Lifting Sky" on the CD. It wasn't the A-side to a single, but it should have been. Can anyone recommend for/against his other 2(?) albums? I think _Systems of Romance_ is by far the best of the 3 Ultravox albums with Foxx. Ultravox: The singles comp, _The Collection_, represents them fairly well and catches most of the high points. I'd encourage you to dig further, though. I am a fan of New Romantic pop, and prefer the Midge Ure era. _Rage in Eden_ is an amazing album. The edited singles don't do justice to the record as a whole. If it didn't work so well, the record would be quite pretentious. As for the rest, the sound of the singles will guide you. I might suggest this order: _Vienna_ (1st album w/ Ure), _Lament_ (not as exciting, but satisfying), _Quartet_. Midge Ure: If the very thought doesn't make you retch, check out _Breathe_. Themes of faith and alienation run through all of Ultravox, John Foxx, and Midge Ure, so this is a natural evolution. It might be more-or-less Christian Contemporary, but it avoids the biggest hazards: 1) Not preachy 2) Doesn't try to weld some hamfisted "Christian" message to a so-called "hip" style. Think "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. Not IDM, nothing adventurous. --Mark __ Burning Rome : SENSELESS CD on Mindfield Records MindCD03 Cathartium 14 > Distributed by Dutch East India Trading, Com Four, and Carrot Top < < http://www.xnet.com/~mkolmar/BurningRome > < MP3 & RealAudio tracks >

John Foxx's "Metamatic" is one of the greatest albums ever made. Period. <resume lurk> - Greg --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Absolutely. Anyone who'd like to hear John Foxx--Plaza from Metamatic LP (UK Metal Beat) out 1980 can do see here: http://techno.ca/cognition/show582.htm it's the first track in part 4 of this show (right before the Ectomorph and Phoenecia), so it will be easy to find. andrew duke Greg Earle wrote:

quoted 9 lines John Foxx's "Metamatic" is one of the greatest albums ever made. Period.

> John Foxx's "Metamatic" is one of the greatest albums ever made. Period. > > <resume lurk> > > - Greg > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

-- ***be sure to check out the 1999 Fundraising Auction for CKDU on the Cognition site*** Cognition/Andrew Duke's In The Mix mailto:cognition@techno.ca http://techno.ca/cognition 1096 Queen St #123 Halifax NS Canada B3H 2R9 --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org