John Foxx And The Maths return with a new line-up on their fifth studio album,
Howl. Former
Ultravox guitarist
Robin Simon joins
John Foxx,
Benge (
Ben Edwards) and
Hannah Peel after previously guesting with
The Maths at their debut Roundhouse show in 2010.
"For years, I'd wanted to work with Rob Simon again," says
Foxx.
"There’s something central about what he does - and I always miss it, no matter who I work with. It’s what Rob can do with a song, and with the sheer power of sound."Work on the album began back in April 2019 at
Benge’s
Memetune Studios in Cornwall with
Robin Simon involved right from the start, his contributions instantly mutating the original ideas into something new.
"Give him a song and he’ll give you three takes - all utterly different incarnations," enthuses
Foxx who first worked with
Simon on
Ultravox’s
Systems Of Romance album in 1978.
"And it will all be much better. Demolition intercision is what he does and when you get used to the violence he can wreak, it’s a true delight." The singer cites the title-track and first single
Howl as a vivid example:
"Rob just walked in, did one take and left us all standing on the chairs. So I had to write another song around it. Benge did knockout bass and drums. A great experience and totally out of the blue."Foxx and
Benge originally got together back in 2010, playing a headline show at the Roundhouse in London as the first ever
John Foxx And The Maths show before they’d even finished their debut album,
Interplay, which came out a few months later in 2011. Forward-looking, intuitive and risk taking from the start - critic
Mark Fisher summed them up as
"a glimpse into another world in which rock ’n’ roll was invented on Moogs" - their passion for the strange sounds and atmospheres they seduce and rip from the machines in
Benge’s studio has inspired a series of fiercely personal electronic records -
The Shape Of Things (2012),
Evidence (2013) and
The Machine (2017), the latter being an eerie instrumental score for the theatre production of
E.M. Forster’s
The Machine Stops. Along the way they’ve collaborated with
The Soft Moon,
Gazelle Twin,
ADULT.,
Xeno & Oaklander,
Gary Numan,
Matthew Dear and many more, but at the core of everything is
Foxx and the Cornish-based artist / producer.
"Benge is this generation’s Conny Plank", grins
Foxx.
"He bears an uncanny resemblance to him - in every way. Own studio, generosity of spirit, clear vision, astute technical head, musically sound. Original thinker, open mind, eager conspirator in insanity and the desire to push everything beyond its limits and record it all perfectly - but holding no daft prejudices. In other words, the kind of captain you always want at the helm of the Enterprise."Hannah Peel joined the line-up on the
Interplay tour in 2011 and has played every show since, while also adding violin to
Evidence and of course,
Howl.
"Hannah did a few star turns on the album," says
Foxx, referring to the vicious noises that she conjured up as textures on a few songs. However on the electro-psychedelic
Everything Is Happening At The Same Time, the complex interplay of the
The Dance and the romantic longing of
Strange Beauty, Foxx describes her string-led contributions as
"luscious, expansive and eloquent."Scheduled for release on Friday the 15th of May 2020, the full track-listing is as follows...
01.
My Ghost02.
Howl03.
Everything Is Happening At The Same Time04.
Tarzan And Jane Regained05.
The Dance06.
New York Times07.
Last Time I Saw You08.
Strange BeautyCompact Disc - Digipak can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...
Limited Edition Black Vinyl can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...
Limited Edition Yellow Vinyl can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...
BUNDLE :
Limited Edition Black Vinyl &
Compact Disc - Digipak can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...
BUNDLE :
Limited Edition Yellow Vinyl &
Compact Disc - Digipak can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...
BUNDLE :
Limited Edition Black Vinyl &
Limited Edition Yellow Vinyl can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...
BUNDLE :
Limited Edition Black Vinyl,
Limited Edition Yellow Vinyl &
Compact Disc - Digipak can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...

A Digital Download of the
Single Version and the
Album Version of the track
Howl can be pre-ordered from
Townsend Records...

*****
Rob