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Interview with John Foxx and Benge regarding their remix of Changelings by Gazelle Twin...

In an exclusive interview, John Foxx and Benge talk to Metamatic about the track Changelings which they recently remixed for the forthcoming Gazelle Twin album The Entire City Remixed.

Metamatic : How did the remix come about?

Benge : Elizabeth [Walling] got in touch with us because she had done a remix of one of our songs, A Falling Star, which we loved. This is us returning the favour.

Metamatic : Was the track to remix chosen for you, or did you select Changelings?

Benge : She gave us free rein to choose a track from her debut album [The Entire City] and we felt we could do this song justice, it's a great song - exactly what we love, really simple but beautiful, straight to the point, an occam's razor of a song.

Metamatic : Were any other tracks considered?

John : They're all good - but we both liked her voice so much on this one and felt it was a little obscured on the original mix. Elizabeth has a truly exquisite voice. We both wanted to hear much much more of it.

Gently lift a few veils away. That's why it was chosen.

Metamatic : Did Elizabeth have any input into how the track was remixed?

John : No - but the original had set the atmosphere accurately, so we wanted to remain true to that - just expose her singing as much as we could.

I also like the fairly direct Linn beat that Benge put in there - it really lifts.

Personally, I could also hear a version with just vocals and very little else... It could go even further. You realise you can go on mixing forever sometimes - especially with pieces you treasure.

Metamatic : What additional instrumentation was used to augment the track?

Benge : We only kept the vocal that she had done, everything else was made in the studio on old synths. I think there needs to be a new name for these kinds of remixes, because it's kind of in between a remix and a cover version - maybe it's a re-cover.

John : Renaissance, reconstitution, re-bake, reconsideration, redraft, remorph. Mmm... Time for tea, I think...

Benge : If I remember correctly, John was playing an ARP Odyssey, I was on the Modular Moog, and a Linn Drum was playing along quite happily in the corner. John sang with the Vocoder, too.

John : It didn't take long. Benge rearranged some things in the mix after the session - mainly taking elements out.

Artists often can't see their own truly unique qualities, because they are too familiar, they get taken for granted. It's much easier for someone else to be properly objective - able to appraise what is unique about the work.

Actually, Elizabeth has many unique qualities, but the most immediately effective one is that beautiful, sensitive voice. When we listened to it soloed out of the track, we both went "Ahh - that's the core". That's what will manifest something permanent in your heart.

Metamatic : Are there any plans for you to work with Gazelle Twin again in the future?

Benge : I've been in discussions with Elizabeth about maybe trying out some ideas, it's going to be something along the lines of John Carpenter meets Karen Carpenter.

John : Sounds as if it ought to take place in Bethlehem.

Metamatic : Are there any plans for John Foxx And The Maths to remix material by other artists?

Benge : We are in the process of trying to interfere with quite a few people's music. We think in a perfect world all music would sound like ours.