Been a great year - so many things rolling at once.
Meeting up with Gary Numan and Siouxie's friend Gemma again at XOYO - getting to present him with an Artrocker Award - then The Maths all getting one as well (it's on Ben's studio wall).
Before that, there was the Troxy - His Majesty, Dan Miller - and Numan - magnificent - much more electrified than when he was twenty. America at his feet. Last Man Standing from his generation - and more relevant than ever. This is his time.
Then there's The Maths. Well, what a surprise.
It suddenly turned into this roller coaster - bit slow at first - then scary - then ecstatiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic, thrill-a-minute, powerful-as-hell in the end.
We discovered we were riding some kind of a wave - and the thing began to develop a life of its own, as bands can only do at their best. Took us all by surprise, but oh so very pleasing. A new form of life available for inter-dimensional fun. No return tickets.
At this end of it, I feel smug and happy - and everyone else does too.
It all accumulated gradually over the year, and everyone was so completely magnificent at every point - Benge and his Shoreditch Synthesizer Super Lab, (plus that massive Simmons kit). Then Benge, Serafina and Hannah, all knocking it out live - as big and twisted as it gets, Absolutely No Mercy - audience pinned to the wall and loving it.
Before that, the Troxy, with the superb synth wrestlers JeanGa and Steve, Liam on drums - and Rob Simon, cracking out his huge riffs and angular, unexpected, electrobiological art.
And the troops! - Crewe's own SAS squad - swing into town, take it over, rebuild it, reboot it, drink it, drive over it - on to the next one. The Tourette Triplets - Chris 1 Chris 2 - and that Baz (bit of a minky Mank, but well analogue, so he's allowed. I keep hearing that he's given us the best sound ever).
So, this is The Maths - A swarm organism. Luminous, Contagious, nippier than a Higgs Boson.
There's something alive under there. So watch your ankles when you go to bed.
Next year will be 2012. We'll all be thundering underground in the Shoreditch Synth Bunker - with Ghost Box, Hannah, Seffa, Smoke Fairies, Mira Aroya, Karborn, Jonathan Barnbrook, Matthew Dear, Soft Moon, Tara Busch, and all.
Malins on the three-hand mobile multimodem with G&T download facility, Harris on the Tokyo shuttle, Holly on the ARP and Mincies on the Moog, waiting for reindeers on the roof - and Paul Daley to turn up as Santa with those tracks...
So Merry Christmas, one and all - and a preposterous New Year.
John Foxx.
