Seven at 77 - preorder the Hardy Tree

 
Seven at 77 was an excuse to play around and try some new things out. An exercise in not being too precious, to drop the concepts and just experiment.  ‘Sketches in D minor’s’  follows one chord progression taking its starting point as a sequenced moog, it speeds up and slows down, it grows and changes, string machines, mellotron sounds, vibes and glockenspiel’s all play their part.

seven at 77 - preorder World Of Fox

Fox & Fowles (Simon Fox: guitar, voice / Sara Fowles: viola) recorded 'Forward', an album of songs due for release in 2017. They are stripped back, reflecting only what they can create live - one acoustic guitar, one viola, one voice, one loop pedal.

As a companion piece, Simon has taken the original files from these recordings, tweaking and bending them to create 'Further', a looping, immersive journey through a rich pastoral ambient landscape.


For several years, live World of Fox has been solo deal, with just me, an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal for good measure. More recently, I've been playing gigs with violist Sara Fowles, which has added an extra dimension to the music and a bit more of a convivial atmosphere to the usual grumpy stage presence. (Quite rightly, she doesn't put up with any of my shit...)

However, I've been acutely aware that anyone buying my records at gigs won't be getting a reproduction of what they've just witnessed. (I can't help myself when recording, and usually end up with all sorts of extra instrumentation and effects). I don't know about you, but as a punter, I've found that a little frustrating when I've bought records at gigs. Add the fact that I've been moving further and further away from solo acoustic in my newer recordings, I decided we should record a stripped-down record that actually sounded like the live set!

So, as a way of drawing a line under the whole acoustic thing, we made a start on recording an album of one-take, no overdubs versions of the songs. This Fox & Fowles album is going to be called 'Forward' (the city of Birmingham's motto) and will be released in Summer 2017. One voice, one guitar, one viola, plus some live-generated loops. Exactly what you'd hear at a gig.

As an extra 'statement', I had the idea of producing a companion album, taking just the files recorded for 'Forward' and seeing how far I could bend, twist and generally fuck around with them to create entirely new ambient pieces. This was my way of bringing the two aspects of my music together and I thought it would make a rather pleasing concept.

All these ideas were bubbling up and coalescing when I got a shout from Jerv. He told me about the 77-minute idea and asked if I wanted to contribute. This couldn't have been better! Instead of a companion album, 'Further' is effectively one track that does the same job.

My last release on WIAWYA, with Amelia Fletcher, was one of the most 'pop' things Sara and I had done, so it was nice to go completely the other way with this one.

I took the original files from the first 'Forward' sessions, looped and overlaid them and threw whatever reverbs, delays, amps and filters I had at my disposal to create the new piece. In keeping with the original concept, nothing new was recorded for 'Further'.

It became clear early on that the viola should be the main driver of the pieces, so it features heavily, often multi-tracked to create a 'one-woman chamber orchestra' (Sara reckons she should get a t-shirt with this on...). Guitars or banjos occasionally make an appearance, often stretched filtered and generally messed about with, creating ambience rather than melody. Very occasionally, a voice may surface, but most of the time you won't recognise it as such. Which is fine by me.

As with previous ambient pieces or remixes, I've found that minor phrases in the originals have room to breathe and may become the dominant melody. If you know the songs, you may recognise the odd tune here and there, but out of context they take on a quite different mood.

Improvisation during collating and mixing meant that the process took me in unexpected directions and the overall piece, while loyal to the initial concept, didn't make itself known until the very end of the process. I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with it! I also like that if I did it again, from the same raw materials, the outcome would be - to quote one of my musical heroes, Robert Wyatt - different every time.

Seven at 77 - preorder the Leaf Library

On An Ocean of Greatness

Music was made in the darkness of our own homes during the winter months, the number seven was discussed a lot (music in the key of G, the seventh note, seven-ish players), and an imaginary mythology (as well as a pretend mix tape) was born. The real details of how this piece of music came about are a bit dull, so we’d like to leave you with 77 lines (each seven syllables long, ordered randomly) as an accompaniment. It’s certainly not an explanation though, so careful how you use it. The ocean is you, and all the beautiful things you make.



On an ocean of greatness
Keep your mistakes to yourself
Sometimes we’re happy, sometimes
Repeating and repeating
Little fractures here and there
Seven colours on repeat
In doors and out through windows
Paper boats on black ink lake
Every new moon matters now
Waking up is hard to do
Diving in the deep blue sea
Whatever we are, I say
A beautiful idea
Some music made by talking
Lines from the lonely city
The sea is bright blue today
There are no shadows at night
The weather behind your eyes
Becoming and not become
Towns and structure and darkness
If it’s breaking please wake up
Tilting towards the daylight
Reflect twice as windows pass
So long, see you tomorrow
Arranged for less than seven
At the foot of the mountain
Night draws in from left to right
A system of seven notes
On the mountains of the moon
An inverse number of words
Up to the line and back down
Away from all that is good
Plotting the arc of your words
Remembering where we’ve been
Falling towards the major
Same again, same again, same
Drinking in the deep green sea
Shadows will shadow themselves
This shape remembers nothing
Combining all the weathers
Gathering all that we have
Words about inverse numbers
The moment is the message
The first station of many
It is happening again
Great, greater, gather and grain
Rain falls against my window
Above your failing body
Seven lines landing at night
There is nothing you can do
A construction in pencil
Constellations rise and fall
Every seventh number gone
When is this going to be
The sketchbooks of architects
Whatever I say it is
Twice everyday returning
One hundred and seventeen
Black ink floods the pale blue sky
The black place and the white place
Heavy clouds over the south
My dreams are not dreamt at night
In a familiar way
An endless looping cycle
The corners turn and curl out
There is never not something
Whatever I say, we are
A seventh white moon appears
All things this way forever
The world is under water
I am more than half asleep
Two worlds meet as the sun dies
Ebbing away from the door
The heptagon comes alive
On the golden moth outside
No one notices this now
We’re an ocean of greatness


Music produced by The Leaf Library

Matt Ashton – guitar, bass, screen synths
Daniel Fordham – electronics
Kate Gibson – vocals
Gareth Jones – Thunderbird and Grabber bass guitars
Simon Nelson – secret guitar, Space Echo
Lewis Young – OP1, Brute, other synths, guitar, computer
Additional loops, samples, synth, vocals, tapes and breadmaker by Chimney (Mark Cremins and Yutaka Hoshino)


All music by The Leaf Library
Recorded and mixed by Lewis Young at The Drone Lodge, Walthamstow
Additional recording by Matt Ashton at Tape That, Walthamstow, Dan in Wales, and Mark and Yutaka in Amsterdam
Field recordings by Matthew Bowron, Matt Ashton and Ben Tandy

Illustration by Matt Ashton, shiny rave poster by Lewis Young

Thanks to: Mark, Yutaka, Matthew, Ben, John, Kat, Alice, Laura, Kelly, Mik, and you, especially.