2020 Sonics

2020 was a mad year wasn't it? Everyones plans were ruined by a random virus, so we all had to improvise our lives a bit more than ususal. I managed to survive, and even release some albums! Obviously some of these were were recorded and worked on prior to the randomness, but the extra time I had in the studio on my own meant that I could release a bit more than usual. Here are the full albums that came out in 2020, and I am especially proud of the collaboration albums (Blancmange, John Foxx & The Maths, and Wrangler), made with my true freinds and heroes and I cannot wait to be back in the studio here with them all as soon as possible

WRANGLER - A Situation

JOHN FOXX AND THE MATHS - Howl

WRANGLER - The Tourist

BLANCMANGE - Mindset

STEPHEN MALLINDER - Um Dada

FADER - In Shadow

OBLONG - The Sea at Night

And here are my solo albums. These were all issued through my bandcamp page but are also on most other digital sites

Cover Band

Wow cool we are are the front of Electronic Sound Magazine! And they put our new single on vinyl!! I do so love ES Mag. Very proud to be part of John Foxx & The Maths, the new album is out soon(ish) and its a corker!

Howling

The problem with not blogging so much as I used to is that things pile up and I have to do a load of posts about a myriad of subjects all at once. But they are all connected by the studio and they are all my beloved projects that I put my heart and soul into. From recording an album with one of my heroes, or building a wooden console to put my synths into, or making a video to accompany a new piece of music or synthesiser test, they all end up on here eventually - so thanks for being patient!

Anyway, here is a video that John and his son made for our (John Foxx & The Maths) new track Howl. This is taken from an album that will be released on Metamatic Records very soon...



And heres the album artwork - preorder it HERE

Fade In Again

So I am basically catching up with things here - I've been so caught up in work and life that I have failed to update this weblog regarding important news from Memetune Central

I am very proud to announce that the second FADER album came out 2 weeks ago. Its called IN SHADOW

Here is a song from the album:


And click below for a review of the album

Creeporia

I wanted to post some more about the Creepshow tour, as it was such an epic part of the story, so here is a vid of us playing Sensoria and below that is a review of one of the gigs


CLICK BELOW FOR THE REVIEW

Perculator

Just messing about with some percussive patterns on the ARP2500, for the new John Foxx & The Maths album

Mojo Mag

Speaking of Mojo - John Foxx and the Maths are featured in this months issue of the magazine. (Oh, I took that picture of Foxxy and Robin!)

Butler 100

Great interview with Neil Arthur here, about our new Blancmange album. (Backed up below for posterity)

Blanc Speak

And a lovely Neil Arthur one Here, via M-Magazine

Archived below for posterity

Memetune Album Roundup

Its been such a busy and productive year so far here at Meme-central. Here is a roundup (in chronological order) of album releases that have been co-written-and-or-produced by me here at the Memetune Analog/Digital Music Complex so far this year. And the best news is you can buy them ALL on real plastic things that spin round at 33 RPM

First Up - John Foxx & The Maths - The Machine

This is the album of the soundtrack we made for the stage play version of the E.M.Forster book The Machine Stops. 'Dystopian sci-fi lullabies; icy, minimalist sound paintings; dreamy, woozy, sparkly beauty. (Uncut magazine). 'Glacial compositions suggesting the impressionist side of debut solo album, Metamatic' Mojo magazine. Reviews and interviews here and here. Get it here



Fader - First Light

Next - new project! FADER is my collaboration with Neil Arthur and First Light is our debut album, which came out on 23rd June this year. Reviews here and here and here. Buy it here



Lone Taxidermist - Trifle

Another debut album out this time on our very own Memetune label, this is the long awaited LP by Natalie Sharp, Phil Winter and Will Kwerk. Recorded at memetune over various years and in various settings (we started it in the Hoxton studio, finished recording it when the studio was in limbo in my front room, and mixed it in the new studio). ITS ALBUM OF THE MONTH RIGHT NOW OVER ON THE QUIETUS! Reviews here and here and you can buy it here and here



I Speak Machine - Zombies 1985

This is my collaboration with Tara Busch under her project name I Speak Machine, which is a vehicle for her and Maf Lewis to make short films and electronic soundtracks. If you recall I mixed their previous album The Silence, see here. The Zombies album started out as simply the soundtrack to the short film Maf made, but it evolved like a crazed demonic squirming monster into a fully fledged album with new songs and ideas based on the sound of 1985. Every instrument and sound effect was period correct! Reviews and interviews here and here and Taras blog post on the album is here. Buy it here



Blancmange - Unfurnished Rooms

Its been a total honour to be working with Neil Arthur again, this time on the new Blancmange album - "WHAT!?!? THATS AMAZING!!!" "YES I KNOW!!!!" and whats more its also getting fantastic reviews - AND ITS ALSO ALBUM OF THE MONTH in a different magazine (Classic Pop mag). Reviews and interviews here and here

Machinations

There are a whole lot of new releases being prepared here at Meme Central. First up is the new John Foxx & The Maths long player The Machine, an album of mostly instrumental music based upon the stage play we created the score for last summer. See this post for more on that. The play itself The Machine Stops was a real success and even won some awards for being so good and the music was a big part of the show, it being set in a futuristic electronic dystopian nightmarish subterrestrial world. And its been recommissioned for a run in London which is awesome. Book your tickets NOW! (Here). And here is a link to our shop so you can pre-order the album

The Bunker Tapes EP

Are You Listening To Me?

Every so often something comes along that is so awesome that it's scope defies the limitations of a simple blog post, but here goes anyway. I have just produced and co written a track called Talk (Are You Listening To Me?) that is a collaboration between John Foxx, Me (i.e. The Maths) and Gary Numan. Let me repeat that: I have just produced a track that is a collaboration between John Foxx & The Maths and Gary Numan!

Whats more, I'm not sure GN has been on a track featuring so many vintage synths since he recorded Cars! (well, maybe a bit later than that, but you get the point). I do know that he is a big fan of Foxxy, and is on record as saying John was a huge influence on his early synth-based work. So I guess it makes sense that he would want to get involved in this collaboration, which is essentially a reworking of our original track Talk from our Shape Of Things album. So I sent Gary the individual tracks from Talk, and he added a brand new vocal part and some synth drones and then I added some more synth parts and mixed it all at Memetune Central. It will be coming out in a little while on a new album of JF collaborations including some new JF&TM tracks on Metamatic Records. You can pro-order it here

Now for some detail about the track itself just in case there are any geeks reading this blog. Here is a list of the synths used and some pictures and a video:

MOOG MODULAR. Used for the initial low sequenced parts and some drones

MOOG POLYMOOG - Layered top lines and main melodies

LINN LM1 & EHX DRM16 DRUM MACHINES - DRM16 comes in first, then the Linn does the main drums half way through

PAIA MODULAR - The weird sequence that comes in half way through

ROLAND JX3P - Layered top lines and main melodies

OBERHEIM FOUR VOICE - Layered top lines and main melodies

GRATUITOUS STUDIO PIC

Here is a little video of me playing a top line on the Polymoog:

There were also a plethora of vintage delay, flanger and phaser units used, as well as vintage EMT Plate and Lexicons because as Gary said '..the vocals need a shit load of reverb on them!'. So there you have it, hope you like the track when it comes out!!

Shelf Life

I've put some shelves up in the live room (on my model). These will house my keyboards. Music by John Foxx and the Maths, Buddwing from The Shape of Things

Servants

Heres some footage from our gig last tuesday. Its shot by dsoaudio and Robin Rimbaud (who also took the pic above), then I edited it together. I think youtube has messed up the sync because it worked perfectly on my computer before I uploaded it. Grrr




And heres a review of the gig from the Electricity Club

(click below for the full review)

Invisible Moments

Look at this amazing video made for us by Macoto Tezka. ILOVEIT!!



UPDATE: Here is his second video for us, Talk:



Here is the story:
November 7, 2013 Macoto Tezka. One day, I came across a very old, classic western-style building in a corner of Ginza-town in central Tokyo. A building stood at the location well over 80 years. It's one of a Tokyo's relics of the past that survived war-fire and many earthquakes. In the building, there are a couple of stairs around an old mechanical elevator. It used be an apartment but no one lives there anymore. Now galleries and antique stores occupy the building. Walking through a narrow passage, I thought about the past and imagined how people lived here. Imagery of old silent films flashed into my imagination. A few months later, I visited there again with my actor friends and a cinematographer. Because I couldn't think of a better location for John Foxx And The Maths videos. John's music has a feeling of "déjà vu". It's always fresh but somehow nostalgic. Silhouette of a figure that walks through an old avenue; vague, indistinctive face . . That is the image created by his music. But some images of my own memories also came up. Our cinematographer shot this film with a Canon camera. Before editing, it had sharply-defined shapes and vivid color, so I removed it all. Next, I adjusted the speed to express an eternal moment. Then I synchronized the music to the image and I found something was still missing. By watching the film for many weeks I kept asking myself, 'whats' missing'? Then an idea came up to my mind to bring the film to perfection. The gaps of 'scattered memories and missing time' need to be added. So I decided to attach these 'invisible moments' to fill the gap. The film was finished by these invisible moments

Electricity Club

Speaking of interviews, here is an enormous one that I did when Twenty Systems was reissued back in July. Its posted in full below for posterity as well

BYE Radio Show No.6

Here is a new selection of music for you to listen to. Its all about the algorithms today

Tracklisting:
The Maths - Pattern Puzzle
Mileece - Formations
John Adams - Light Over Water
John Elliott / Transmusic (music made using cellular automata) - Crecur0
Steve Reich & Pat Metheny - Fast
Benge - Electro-Orgoustic Music Track 7 (from my first album)

The BYE Radio Show 6 - "Matrices, Automata & Patterns" by Zagoba on Mixcloud

Toxic Takeaway

We are well into our UK tour with OMD, and I just realised I hadn't posted a link to the remix I did for them!

Heres the blurb: Says John Foxx of the remix: "OMG! - its OMD! - The Maths have gone exponential. Channelling the spirit of J.G. Ballard via Joe Meek's 'Ghost Riders In The Sky', here comes Foxxy with a toxic takeaway delivered by Benge on a burning Buchla. A strangled tango for mangled minds in tangled times."

The single, released on May 27 via 100% Records, will include B-side 'Time Burns', in addition to remixes by Mike Jolly and Bounce Darkside, while the iTunes bundle comes with a reworking by Zebra and Snake.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Mixed Feelings

Speaking of mixing, half way through the monumental task of mixing our (John Foxx & The Maths) Live in the Studio album, the Mackie DXB digital console decided to die! So I have had a very busy few weeks here at Benge Central, running round and sorting things out. I decided to replace the DXB with a lovely little Sony DMX R100 digital desk, which I have always lusted after but could never really afford. Now however they can be picked up for less than a tenth of the original price, and I lucked out and found a pristine one with all the right interface cards in place. So i swapped this:

for this:

The really cool thing was that the Sony fits into my console frame perfectly, so Big Al and me had a sleepover and did the switcheroo at the weekend:

So its goodbye to the DXB, you've been a good friend