JOHN FOXX - SHIFTING CITY

John Foxx & Louis Gordon – Shifting City

Released: 1997

A chance meeting with Louis Gordon resulted in John Foxx’s first studio album for over a decade, returning to the concrete-clad future visions of Metamatic...

Shifting City marked John Foxx's triumphant return following a quiet decade in which he focussed on other artistic projects and lecturing on graphic design. Shifting City was Foxx's first solo album of new material since 1985's In Mysterious Ways, although style-wise, it takes you back to the minimal electronica of Metamatic era.

Beatles style harmonies and melodies represent Foxx’s psychedelia influence, whilst metallic drum loops and minimal arrangements pay homage to Germany's favourite robots, Kraftwerk.

If anything, Shifting City tends to sound quiet and metallic, but that doesn’t change the fact that this album contains several classic John Foxx songs. The first album to be co-written and produced with Louis Gordon, Shifting City is a high-energy album, with driving beats and hard, cold electronics. Tracks such as "Crash" and "Shadow Man" recall the sparse electronic arrangements of “20th Century” or “Burning Car”, while others such as "Through My Sleeping", “The Noise”, "Shifting City" and "An Ocean We Can Breathe" are richer and more melodic with Foxx's Beatles influence shining through the harmonic vocals.

Parts of Shifting City were recorded at CRoms studio, in the Ancoats area of Manchester – a district of industrial ruin; an image which seems strangely appropriate for some of the themes and sounds running through this album.

Some of the ideas which started off as part of the Nation 12 project finally saw completion for this album. One of these tracks was “Through My Sleeping” which was also demoed for the abandoned “Blitz” project in 1993.

From 1950s style blues with an electronic edge to psychedelia inspired pieces, Shifting City picks up from where Foxx left off in 1980...