The track ‘Evidence’ was born naturally out of the two artists’ mutual appreciation for one another. Speaking with Artrocker magazine last year, Luis Vasquez from The Soft Moon had this to say of John Foxx’s influence on his own music: ‘Foxx’s Metamatic album is what led me to discover the Arp Odyssey, the most crucial instrument in my collection, and the key synthesizer used in creating my unique sound. So, that album is very important to me and what I do.’ With regard to the collaboration, John Foxx said, ‘The Soft Moon are where minimalism maximises into a new universe of possibilities. It’s an absolute joy for us to work with them.’

‘Evidence’ will be released as a one-sided 7 inch single by Captured tracks on 26 June. It also features on the forthcoming Evidence mini-album by John Foxx & The Maths in early September.

Listen to a new mix of Gazelle Twin’s ‘Changelings’ by John Foxx and The Maths HERE

It’s one of the tracks on her new The Entire City Remixed album, which you can buy direct from her label. Just visit this link.

The album will receive a wider release via iTunes in June.

TWO DISC LIMITED EDITION IS AVAILABLE HERE

STANDARD 16 TRACK EDITION IS AVAILABLE HERE

‘From exultant motorik to giddy Depeche Mode-like synth pop to the macabre ‘Talk’, The Shape of Things is consistently absorbing, as good as any of Foxx’s early-80s benchmarks.’ 4/5 Mojo

‘He has never seemed so relevant, nor sounded so modern, as he does in 2012. Foxx’s best album since Metamatic. These ancient gizmos sound as much like the future as they did in 1980, and so does the fantastic Mr Foxx.’ BBC.co.uk

‘This is a record of utopias and dystopias, perfect synth pop. It’s also an entirely human record though: the common theme that emerges is one of corrupted memories: failed relationships are visualised as futures that never came, while even the most robotic of tunes feature traces of blue skies and ocean.’ 5/5 Artrocker (ALBUM OF THE MONTH)

‘The Shape Of Things is an absolute triumph.’ 4/5 FACT magazine

‘Foxx has rediscovered his musical touch. This sequel to 2011′s Interplay again taps a renewed interest in minimal wave’s glacial harmonies and pattering beats, though on haunted elegies such as ‘Rear-View Mirror’ and ‘September Town’, with their sonorous vocals and JG Ballard-esque vision of decaying modernity, it’s the man who triumphs over the machines.’ 3/5 Q Magazine

‘Sharply observational but with a soft centre that makes it a moving experience. With such an intense creative zeal at the moment, John Foxx is continuing from strength to strength.’ 5/5 DMC World

‘A retro-futurist show of bubbling electronics and dolorous laments.’ 7/10 Uncut

‘There’s an aroma of Bowie’s seminal Low here, especially on ‘Unrecognised’ which comes fuelled by techno bubbles, striking synth lines and a mournful vocal invoking loss. Another great LP from Foxx.’ 4/5 Record Collector

‘By the power of JG Ballard’s Roland Juno standing under an autobahn flyover in Berlin in 1973 in the cold war rain wearing a fedora – it’s a new John Foxx album! Having gone through 360 degree electro rehabilitation recently – with the help of East London analogue synthesizer archivist Ben ‘Benge’ Edwards – Foxx has not only rescued himself from being a footnote of 80s night nostalgia but has re-established himself as a synth pop artist of note and proto hauntologist. More introspective but no less gripping than last year’s great Interplay.’ 8/10 Vice Magazine

‘An electro corker. This is an album packed with proper tunes as well as atmosphere. Foxx’s vocals might sound as detached as ever, but he also demonstrates an ear for an infectious melody on ‘Tides’ and the elegant ‘Vapour Trails’, which catch him slotting neatly into a gap between Gary Numan and David Sylvian. Electronic music, currently enjoying another resurgence, owes him a considerable debt but it also feels eerily like an album very much about the now rather than an album about the past.’ 3/5 The Arts Desk

‘The electronic pioneer shows how it’s done. Foxx’s talent for melody and lyrics hasn’t left him, and songs like the almost folky ‘September Town’ and the stuttering waltz ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’ are in a direct line from ‘Europe After The Rain’ and ‘The Quiet Men.’ Anyone tempted by recent electronic music and who wants to see it done by one of its originators would be well advised to nip by here.’ 7/10 Classic Rock

”Foxx’s fascination with the dark underbelly of urban existence remains unabated here. Whack this round your jugs on a midnight trip to London’s Soho and there’ll be little requirement for your inquisitive side to imagine what lurks beyond the sordid stairways or afterhours drinking establishments, as Foxx is more than willing to take you inside, upstairs and down the back alleys.’ 8/10 Barcode

‘Foxx is a man whose creative touch paper has been well and truly lit in
the last two years. The Shape Of Things is an incredibly assured piece of work,
machine-like in its execution but revealing a soulful, tender exterior that we do
not often seen from the former Ultravox man. It suits him well – and on this
evidence further rewards will soon follow.’ 4/5 Musicomh. com

‘The Shape Of Things is full of emotion, intensity and avant-garde twists.’ 8/10 Hi-Fi Choice

FACT MAGAZINE:

Last week, we reported that Matthew Dear was teaming up with John Foxx to re-record ‘Talk’, the third track on the upcoming John Foxx and The Maths record The Shape Of Things.

Now, FACT can exclusively present the fruits of the pair’s collective labours. Dear’s reinterpretation – renamed ‘Talk (Beneath Your Dreams) – is certainly more propulsive than the original. Foxx’s austere sonic architecture remains, but Dear grafts it onto a solid techno backbone and bathes it a warm analogue afterglow. Particularly impressive is the way Dear’s and Foxx’s respective voices work in concert. As Dear explained:

“When I received the original piece of music from the guys, I found it very much intact and almost complete. I approached it quickly and informally, allowing for a subconscious narrative to take control. John’s lyrics called out to the shadows of someone’s mind. I wanted my verse to be that mind’s response.”

The Dear-augmented version will be bundled with the single CD edition of The Shape Of Things, which will hit shops on March 19 via Metamatic Records.

Thanks to the following stations in America for playing ‘Evergreen’ in the last week. It’s much appreciated.

IndieSF Internet “Regular Rotation” (2x)
KACV Amarillo, TX “Under The Radar”
KBZT San Diego, CA “FTP”
KFMG Des Moines, IA “Dirt Road Radio”
KKSM San Marcos, CA “Music Caravan”
KOPA Pala, CA “Music Caravan”
KPFT Houston, TX “Sound Awake”
KTCL Denver, CO “Adventure University”
Spy FM Internet “Regular Rotation” – Heavy Rotation
WBJB Monmouth, NJ “FM Showcase”
WBJB Internet “Altrok” – Medium Rotation
WEQX Manchester, VT “Going Underground”
WKZQ Myrtle Beach, SC “Flight Test”
XTRA San Diego, CA “FTW”

Thanks also to Substance, co for working on this campaign with us.

Benge from The Maths has just released a new solo album, Abstraxa:

Abstraxa – exploring the outer reaches, using the Buchla Electronic Music Box 

The six compositions featured on Abstraxa were realised on a Buchla modular synthesiser. Donald Buchla began makng electronic musical instruments in 1963, developing the first Buchla 100 series systems in conjunction with the San Francisco Tape Music Center. These first inventions coincided with the development of Robert Moog’s 900 Series modular systems over on the west coast of america, and as such belong to the very first generation of commercially available synthesisers. One intersting aspect is that Don Buchla is still developing and manufacturing his modular systems, using the same module format (now 200e series) that he introduced 50 years ago. The current 200e modules utilise a combination of analogue and digital components

The Buchla has a very unique way of producing sound, using electronic voltages to control the sound sources (oscillators and noise generators), sound modifiers (gates, filters, phase shifters, modulators, etc) and event timing generators (sequencers, random sources, pulse generators, etc). Systems can be built up from the available modules to suit the needs of the composer. The power of the system lies in the inter-modulation capabilities. This means that extremely deep patches can be set up with a myriad of connections interacting together in complex ways to produce evolving and self-generating soundscapes. It is anagolous to working with a living organism as opposed to a static machine, a brain rather than a computer.

LISTEN TO ABSTRAXA HERE