Metamatic Forums News and Announcements John Foxx news John Foxx at Bath University with Iain Sinclair...

John Foxx : The Quiet Man
Saturday the 5th of December, 2009
7.30pm, University Hall, ICIA , University of Bath

Tickets will to this event are due to go on sale from Monday the 7th of September.

The electronic music pioneer presents a unique event for ICIA . Beginning as an album track in 1978, The Quiet Man is an ongoing labour of love that has evolved in different forms over thirty years. Through the enigmatic figure of the Quiet Man, Foxx explores modern city life, how it can shape and alter us. Performing with grand piano and electronics, spoken word (live and recorded) and various sampled sounds, Foxx improvises with visuals cut together from images and film clips on multiple screens by VJ Karborn.

In addition to putting together the UK’s first synthesizer-rock group, Ultravox, Foxx is also a prolific artist, quietly achieving success as a graphic designer, and as a writer and film-maker. Prior to his appearance here, Foxx exhibits in New York. All in the midst of releasing three albums, including Mirrorball with Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), plus new work due out soon with Paul Daley (Leftfield).

Breathtakingly beautiful NME (on Mirrorball )

If I could only make a movie as textured and evocative as John Foxx's music I would be a happy man.
Alex Proyas, Director of I, Robot and The Crow.

John Foxx is an amazing musician. He's full of visionary ideas. Klaxons

Tickets £9.00, Concessions £7.00, University staff £7.00, BUSU £5.00

In Conversation : John Foxx & Iain Sinclair...

Critically acclaimed author and psychogeographer, Iain Sinclair is well-known for making the city central to his distinctive work - such as London Orbital , Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire: A Confidential Report and London: City of Disappearances . Find out about the ideas behind The Quiet Man at this free post-show talk.

How cool is this!!!!

Fantastic news - thanks for posting Rob.

Really good to see this project coming into flower now and (hopefully) bursting into full bloom over the next year or so.
Seems to incorporate elements of all that John Foxx has become.

I guess he's slowing down just enough to give the future a hint that it might catch up...

Would love to attend the Foxx & Sinclair talk - what a great idea!

After I'd written this news item yesterday I decided to see if I could find out anything else about Iain Sinclair . Imagine my surprise when I read on his website that he was due to appear (on July the 4th) at this years Ledbury Poetry Festival - and so I decided to go along...

The festival programme had this to say...

Iain Sinclair and Brian Catling were both connected to the British avant-garde poetry scene in the 60s and 70s and they are reunited again at Ledbury for what will be a fascinating and perspective-shifting event. Iain Sinclair's works include Lud heat: A Book of the Dead Hamlets, Downriver, Lights out for the Territory and London Orbital. Brian Catling is a poet, sculptor, performance artist, filmmaker, academic. His work Antix, was described as, 'Uncompromising, its imaginative density and sinister ire pushed the shifting relationship between performer and audience into an uneasy space' (Frieze Magazine). He is also known for his very black sense of humour. His new book of poetry Resurrecting Bobby Awl is published this year.

The show - which was sadly only an hour long - featured both artists reading from their respective works.



Iain Sinclair. Photo by Rob Harris.



Brian Catling. Photo by Rob Harris.

Rob

I'd say that was a happy coincidence, except I don't believe in them...

Iain Sinclair, eh? Tessa M was only telling me about him recently. I bet this will be very, very interesting.

Let's not overlook the fact that Iain Sinclair has published several books 'about' the psychogeography of London...

# Crash, essay, 1999
# Liquid City, non-fiction, 1999
# London Orbital, non-fiction, 2002
# London: City of Disappearances, editor, 2006

Psychogeography? "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities...just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape."

Sinclair's Wikipedia page makes fascinating reading.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Sinclair#Bibliography

The section about 'The Dérive' in particular brought to mind John's track "Once In A While"...?

Lots of exploring and learning to do which I have no doubt will shed further light on John Foxx themes and ideas.

This promises to be a fascinating 'meeting of minds'

Iain Sinclair in Manchester next week: details

Looks like Bath and Leeds this year then!