Composer, producer, classical violist, guitarist, and arranger to A-list pop stars, John Metcalfe has always been a name worth seeking out. The Appearance of Colour (Real World) presents Metcalfe as a solo recording artist – as front man, maestro and manipulator of sounds.

The album unites the disparate strands of Metcalfe’s musical life to date. There are repeated string motifs that evoke the work of Steve Reich, moments of affecting solo piano, elements of drum and bass, and of chamber music. Single-note guitar lines, influenced by Vini Reilly’s Durutti Column, are a prominent feature. Metcalfe’s tunes mutate effortlessly from introspective fragmentation to a calm landscape of sonorous noises; from rhythmic strings to expansive anthems. The Appearance of Colour may share some of the programmed perfection typical of contemporary electronica, yet there’s a ‘played’ feel that animates the tracks – the sense of musicians giving everything they have in the first take.

To create the album, Metcalfe enlisted the support of a small ‘repertory company’ of trusted collaborators, including drummer Andy Gangadeen (The Bays, Chase and Status), bassist Ali Friend (Red Snapper), pianist Tom Cawley (Curios, Peter Gabriel) and singer Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes). Metcalfe then meticulously assembled his arsenal of electronics, strings, guitars and layered vocals in his Oxford garage studio. The process took two years to complete.

Of the album Metcalfe says; “Perhaps in the sense that colour itself has no absolute meaning but can still provoke strong reactions, my initial notion for the album was to try and write music as free as possible from conscious narrative and create a sound world that triggers more intense reactions in our non-verbal minds. In exploring this notion I created my most personal album to date. The music is inspired by many disparate things; among them a love of trees - their sounds and movements, dreams of flying and perceptions of colours for different musical keys. Additionally I searched for greater transparency between acoustic and electronic sounds and investigated the idea of ‘horizontal’ music - to create harmony and progression by using interwoven monophonic lines as opposed to ‘vertical’ chords. It’s music of big contrasts but through-composed and sonically unified with the intention to create a complete album with an intense emotional arc”.

This is Metcalfe’s fourth album under his own name, and follows A Darker Sunset (Big Chill, 2008), Scorching Bay (Black Box, 2004) and The Inner Line (Black Box, 2000).

Tracklisting CD: 1. Sun 2. The Silver Track 3. Just Let Go 4. Kite 5. Gold, Green 6. Parsal
7. Sycamore 8. Besancon 9. The Appearance of Colour

The Artwork
Cover image by Kenzee Patterson (TX-21PS72AQ, 2008, Lightjet print mounted on aluminium). Taken from cathode ray tube televisions at the very moment they are switched off, the patterns and colours are decided by the scattering of electrons, and the random nature of the colour/composition is key.

About John Metcalfe
Even when working in the background, as an arranger for the likes of Blur and Coldplay or co-producing Peter Gabriel albums, Metcalfe’s contributions are always special. His ear for timbre and his instinct for musical drama make him an extraordinary collaborator – empathetic but never unassuming. Primarily a violist, Metcalfe classically trained at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music and the Hochschule in Berlin. Early live experiences as a member of Durutti Column led Metcalfe to meet Factory Records co-founder Tony Wilson, and the two men launched the pioneering Factory Classical in 1989. Among Metcalfe’s first signings were his own Duke Quartet, pianist Rolf Hind and composer Steve Martland. The Duke Quartet, with its gutsy appetite for contemporary repertoire and adventurous commissions won worldwide acclaim, frequently working with contemporary dance companies, pop artists and in film and television. In 2008, with The Bays and the Heritage Orchestra, Metcalfe took part in a project so audacious that those who participated still find it hard to believe. Starting with a blank page on an electronic scorepad, Metcalfe, along with fellow composer Simon Hale, wrote an entire orchestral score live, in real time – a kind of musical ‘extreme sport’. In the meantime, Metcalfe has become one of the UK’s leading arrangers working with many artists including Bat For Lashes, Cranberries, Peter Doherty and Pretenders.