Metamatic Forums News and Announcements John Foxx news Ghost Harmonic : "Codex"...

Scheduled to be released on the 11th of May 2015, Codex is the debut album from Ghost Harmonic.

Ghost Harmonic are John Foxx, Ben Edwards (Benge) and Diana Yukawa.



Further details - including a full track-listing - will follow.

To find out more about this project please point your browser here.

Rob

great news can,t wait!

Thanks for that Rob. I'll be having that.

Me too

I'll be buying it, but then I buy all of John's albums. Will this be a vocal or instrumental album? Is that the final cover art? What about Electricity and Ghosts?

Hooray…



Ah, I can't say at the moment - all will be revealed in the not too distant…



The artwork hasn't been 'finalised' yet… so it may change… but if it does, then it won't be dramatically different...



Work on the Electricity And Ghosts album is still ongoing…

Rob

Well, London Overgrown is preordered. Any new developments on Codex?

Sadly, nothing that I can announce - not even the track-listing…

Rob

Lots of new info here: violinist.com

The track-listing for Codex is as follows…

01. A Green Thought In A Green Shade
02. The Pleasure Of Ruins
03. Dispersed Memory
04. When We Came To This Shore
05. Codex

The press release has this to say: The five tracks on Codex are all linked into one continuous piece of music – by turns elegant, dark and gently blissful. Some of the music recalls the overgrown cities of Delvaux and Ernst, especially A Green Thought In A Green Shade and The Pleasure Of Ruins. Dispersed Memory has a strange, alien atmosphere; the dreamlike languor and melting time of the opening music switching into something more isolated and chilling. When We Came To This Shore is serene but eerie – like being pulled by the tides to a submerged city or underwater forest. Codex closes the album with a sense of stillness and faded beauty.

Rob

The Ghost Harmonic album Codex is now available to pre-order over at Townsend Records...

Rob

Any samples, eg on Soundcloud?
I'd like to hear before I buy..

I notice they've bagged www.ghostharmonic.com - wise move!

I think Rob put that link in his first announcing the album.
It will be interesting to see what they do with it...

In the meantime have you seen this interview

http://www.violinist.com/blog/DianaYukawa/20153/16644

Prepare to be enchanted

https://soundcloud.com/dianayukawa/a-green-thought-in-a-green-1

Simply beautiful

I've just been advised that the release date for Codex has had to be moved back until the 25th of May, 2015.

Rob

An exclusive interview with Diana Yukawa is now online - http://www.metamatic.com/marchdocs03/00000015.shtml

Rob

So? Any thoughts? Mine is still winging its way to me (I hope!)

I just ordered mine the night of release... only to find that my wife had earlier pre-ordered a copy as a birthday present after I told her that I'd ordered it... oops! But she told me and I cancelled my order at the store [very good UI design to be able to do that by the way Townsend Music!] and instead used the money to buy that new Rezillos album on LP! I eagerly await them both. The Rezillos have possibly the longest span ever between albums… a 37 year gulf between their first studio album and this! Take that, Blue Nile!

I got this one yesterday!

I must say, I had a little bit of a temptation to think "oh, not ANOTHER ambient John Foxx album!" (how many have we had now? Cathedral Oceans I, II and III, London Overgrown, My Lost City, the one with Theo Travis, the one with the guy out of the Cocteau Twins, the two with Harold Budd, the one with Harold Budd and another guy, the one with Steve D'Angostino & the drummer from Japan, ... I may have missed one or two! )

....but no, this is a really good one! In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say it's nearly the best ambient John Foxx album I've heard. Or one of the best. Definately in the top 5. Amoungst the top 5 John Foxx ambient albums are such divers elements as...

ANYWAYS - yes, basically it's extremely nice because instead of just slapping reverb and echo on a Juno 60 DCO synth (I mean honestly!) or all those overly-perfect pianos, or his warbly vocals, here a real violin is the main sound source. And it's got a helluva lot more timbral motion and subtlety than the aforementioned. So the drone textures are sonically superior.
Some of them even verge on Tangerine Dream "Zeit" territory!
Hurrah!

It arrived yesterday so I've only played it 2-3 times so far. It's a beautiful work and as usual – beautifully wrapped too.
I’m glad I avoided the teaser mp3s as well – I get the impression it really does work as one continuous piece – as you say Feline – almost Zeit in places.

Dunno what my top 5 Foxx Ambient albums would be (My Lost City, London Overgrown, Nighthawks…argh no! Stoppit! I’m thinking in lists now!), but the sheer wall of majesty in Codex…I’ll give it some more time but it’s got to be up there I reckon (blimey – might not even be enough space for a Cathedral Oceans album in that 5 – who’d a thunk it?)

Cathedral Oceans 1 and 3 earn special brownie points with me for being in 5.1 surround sound, I guess - so much more immersive.

The problem with these albums in stereo (on speakers) is that they're basically "some nice sounds drenched in reverb" - i.e. evoking the reverbation of a massive space - but with stereo speakers, that massive space is localised along the wall of the room in front of you, which is psychoacoustically a bit odd.
(Works much better in headphones! as then it's just "all round your head").

Got My copy yesterday.
After one listen I have to say it's a very nice album - music and artwork.
Will listen to it more the next days.

I'd have to say the first Cathedral Oceans. The sheer joy of walking into Sister Ray and after checking the F section for yeeeeeears - suddenly, it was there! And next to it another album called Shifting City with some other bloke! Crazy times!

I can't recall the birthdays of various friends and family, but I remember that day

Codex is just getting better and better on each listen - and I love filling the room with it.

I've had this for over a week and quite like it.

I agree that it's more of a headphones album.

First track to me sounds like a CO track with the vocal replaced with the violin which really works for me.

Other tracks remind me a bit of the 2001:A Space Odessey soundtrack which I'd only watched a few weeks ago for the first time in years.

So I'm getting a bleak Sci-fi vibe from this album.

I will give it 4/5.

Brian

I'm stuck on a 2 rising 3 at the moment.

It falls well short of London Overgrown in my opinion

For me, they generate two completely different atmospheres - I really couldn't connect or compare one to the other.

I agree they come from (and lead to) different places and can't be compared.

Just prefer one to the other, that's all

CODEX - Ghost Harmonic articles

Ondarock (in Italian)
http://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2015_ghostharmonic_codex.htm

Electronic Sound
https://www.joomag.com/magazine/electron...1954785?page=18

MusicOMH
http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/ghost-harmonic-codex

INTERVIEWS with FOXX
http://www.factmag.com/2015/06/04/stream-ghost-harmonic-album-interview-john-foxx

http://arcana.fm/2015/05/31/john-foxx-redefining-classical-music/

This is a surprisingly good album.*



* LO was a disappointment.

Can I just say that it's really good to see The Forum being used again - it's been quiet for far too long...

Rob

It's ALL good!

Through the Noise

Yes, there is a Ligeti vibe to "Dispersed Memory" with the sounds attaining the sort of massed, slightly atonal choral feel that Ligeti shoots for. I find it fascinatingly symmetrical that Ligeti used acoustic sources to resemble electronic textures in his twelve-tone compositions, while Ghost Harmonic do the exact opposite. The rest of the program is far less anious sounding, and is, for me, the most beautiful music from JF since "Mirrorball" or "Torn Sunset." Some portions recall the impact of side one of "Fripp + Eno's "Evening Star," which is a very high compliment in my book. The title track, though, does remind me of the chord progression of "Souvenir" by OMD! No problem there as it's one of my favorite singles from 1981, a year filled to bursting with favorite singles.

Benge and JF working with Diana Yukawa was an inspired thought. I would hope that there's more of this in the future. For Benge, it's a step far outside of what I expect from him [okay, I've not gotten any of his many non-Maths projects - apart from the excellent Wrangler album].

According to a recent interview, the main synth on London Overgrown was an old Yamaha DX7. Bloody digital rubbish!

http://arcana.fm/tag/metamatic/

I note your winking icon of course. Eno used the DX7 a fair bit I seem to remember. I borrowed one for about a week in the mid-nineties and boy what a week that was.

A DX7!? Really!? Argh!

Right...I'm starting a bonfire in Trafalgar Square Saturday night - feel free to post all your copies of London Overgrown to me and I'll ensure incineration

Blimey - never knew that, cheers Herbert. Once I've recovered and read the leaflet for various help centres the nurse gave me, I'll give the album another listen

Wow! I'm back! Been out in the foxxostratosphere for a few eons but now refueled and ready to go!
ERM...I'd just like to say, love codex, agree that title track sounds like souvenir as well.
So what's been happening while I've been away? Did I leave the gas on?
Cheers

Now is an interesting time for me to come out and once again declare my preference for London Overgrown over Codex...

So don't burn those old DX7s just yet, John...

Loads Craig! Loads!

As they used to say at the end of Dad's Army...YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHING:

Hannah Peel, Gazelle Twin, Wrangler, John Foxx & Belbury Poly, European Splendour...too much to mention...I'm sure I've left stuff out...

Thanks RB, haven't heard any Wrangler, and very little Gazelle Twin, but am up to speed on the rest. Was particularly impressed with European Splendour and The Belbury Circle, almost a year ago now
Cheers

Hi Craig

Haven't heard from you for ages. Nice you are here again.

Let's hope to meet on the next John Foxx show!

Andreas

Criag

Gazelle Twin is the one for me out of all that stuff.Brilliant

I am currently also loving new Blancmange material

Andreas, good to hear from you - lets hope there's a concert coming up we can meet at. Martin, Blancmange eh? Takes me back to my schooldays, will have to check out their new stuff - I've started doing a community radio show and am playing some diverse stuff, maybe their new material is worth a spin - or even go old school with 'Living on the ceiling'
Cheers

'Living On the Ceiling' would lead nicely into 'Paddington'... which could set a playlist up nicely for some electronica and disco

Good luck with the radio show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0p6hhnkMWE

I was waiting for Codex to arrive, thinking I pre-ordered it...
Well, it didn't arrive...heheh

Hi fons

I hope you get your copy soon. I too got my copy later as usual - but at least I got it!

It's nice to see you posting here again.
Perhaps we can have a beer together with Craig on the next gig( with all the Others too) Would be nice

Andreas

Hi Craig - Gazelle Twin are gigging every now and then and Wrangler also - you may be able to catch them this year - if I hear of any gigs coming up, I'll put the info in the Green Room. Both bands are well worth seeing live.

Hi Craig,

It's been a few years.

Wranger have a support slot with Lone Lady at The Barbican in July:-

http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=18270

Brian

Hi Martin, have checked out 'Paddington' - similarities with LOC, will add it to a future show playlist. On this week's show I'm kicking off with the 'Drive' radio edit. Next weeks show is a prerecord, and it includes all 9 mins of Making Movies!
Show's online on Peterborough FM at 11am today if you're close to tinternet
Cheers

Any other North Americans here these days? Got my shipping notification nearly a month ago but no CD yet. That's a longer wait than usual.

ETA: I'm an impatient person, evidently. I checked eMusic.com and the album's there so I bought a download. This is lovely stuff.

Please see the following announcement about this release…

**

Ghost Harmonic - Codex…

We've discovered that a very small batch of Codex CDs were incorrectly inserted into their wallets at the manufacturing plant. As a result, some glue has got onto a few of the CDs.

We will offer new copies on any sent back to Townsend Records. Apologies for any inconvenience caused by this. You can contact Townsend Records here - https://johnfoxx.tmstor.es/cart/contact.php

If you have bought Codex from an alternative retailer and your CD is faulty you will also be able to return the package for a replacement.

Kind regards,

Metamatic Records

**

Rob

This is just a first impression from one play whilst doing something else.

Pleasant, interesting, slightly surprised that there aren't more noticable (to my untrained ear) synth sections - that little interjection near the end of track 1, would have expected more of that. The track "Codex" itself reminded me of something, I couldn't place it for a couple of minutes and then decided it was one of the REM B sides from the early nineties, "Organ Song" I think. Nothing wrong with that - sublime.

Note to the universe: when I get tired of waiting for a CD and buy a download, the CD's supposed to arrive the very next day, not a few days later. No glue problem, at least.

Steve Roby - I am a North American and I've had "Codex" for over a month! Thought I did just have to reorder the new Rezillos album on LP after ordering it a month ago. My first attempt never arrived after dispatch. At least the vendor was instantaneous about the refund when I mentioned this.

Did you order from Townsend? I preordered from them. Usually takes a week or so, not a month.

Yeah. My wife orders from Townsend for me as she's on the mailing list at work. I am fortunate to have a wife who likes John Foxx, if you can believe that bit of fortune [among others]. Sounds like you have some shipping issues to work out.

I'll hope this is a one-off.

Perhaps, like me, you've been listening wrong...

Some thoughts on CODEX

https://translatedbirdsong.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/codex/

WHAT A WONDERFUL ALBUM!