Cathedral Oceans
Encyclopedia
Cathedral Oceans is an album of ambient music
by John Foxx
, released in 1997. Alongside Shifting City released on the same day, it marked Foxx's return to the music scene after an absence of seven years. It was also his first solo album since 1985's In Mysterious Ways
. The album's artwork consists of collages by Foxx himself, overlaying various pictures and textures with the faces of statues.
Cathedral Oceans is a long ongoing project by Foxx, the first recordings that appear on this album were made as early 1983. In 1987 Cathedral Oceans material was played live by Foxx in various buildings, gardens and cathedrals in England
and Rome. As a result of the long genesis of the album it does sound somewhat fragmented in places, but the overall effect is soothing, almost pastoral ambience created by extensive usage of reverb and echo coupled with gregorian chanting. The sound of this album is far removed from the steely detached cityscapes Foxx is best known for, but it does bear resemblance to tracks such as "The Garden" from the album with the same name
and "Enter The Angel II" from In Mysterious Ways
. "Sunset Rising" was included on Foxx's 2001 compilation album Modern Art.
In 2003 Cathedral Oceans (now called Cathedral Oceans I) was released as a two-disc set with Cathedral Oceans II
. A third album in the series, Cathedral Oceans III, followed in 2005.
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
by John Foxx
John Foxx
John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
, released in 1997. Alongside Shifting City released on the same day, it marked Foxx's return to the music scene after an absence of seven years. It was also his first solo album since 1985's In Mysterious Ways
In Mysterious Ways
In Mysterious Ways is a 1985 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his album The Golden Section, released two years previously. It features some of the highly romantic style similar to 1981's The Garden album, although in many ways lacking the finesse of the earlier record...
. The album's artwork consists of collages by Foxx himself, overlaying various pictures and textures with the faces of statues.
Cathedral Oceans is a long ongoing project by Foxx, the first recordings that appear on this album were made as early 1983. In 1987 Cathedral Oceans material was played live by Foxx in various buildings, gardens and cathedrals in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Rome. As a result of the long genesis of the album it does sound somewhat fragmented in places, but the overall effect is soothing, almost pastoral ambience created by extensive usage of reverb and echo coupled with gregorian chanting. The sound of this album is far removed from the steely detached cityscapes Foxx is best known for, but it does bear resemblance to tracks such as "The Garden" from the album with the same name
The Garden (John Foxx album)
The Garden is a 1981 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his debut solo album Metamatic, released the previous year. However its instrumentation and highly romantic style is more comparable to Systems of Romance, his last album with former band Ultravox, released in 1978.-Production and style:The...
and "Enter The Angel II" from In Mysterious Ways
In Mysterious Ways
In Mysterious Ways is a 1985 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his album The Golden Section, released two years previously. It features some of the highly romantic style similar to 1981's The Garden album, although in many ways lacking the finesse of the earlier record...
. "Sunset Rising" was included on Foxx's 2001 compilation album Modern Art.
In 2003 Cathedral Oceans (now called Cathedral Oceans I) was released as a two-disc set with Cathedral Oceans II
Cathedral Oceans II
Cathedral Oceans II is an album of instrumental ambient music by John Foxx released in 2003 together with and as a continuation of the first Cathedral Oceans album....
. A third album in the series, Cathedral Oceans III, followed in 2005.
Track listing
- "Cathedral Oceans" - 5:17
- "City as Memory" - 5:43
- "Through Summer Rooms" - 6:35
- "Geometry and Coincidence" - 5:24
- "If Only..." - 3:21
- "Shifting Perspective" - 2:33
- "Floating Islands" - 6:07
- "Infinite in All Directions" - 5:50
- "Avenham Collonade" - 6:12
- "Sunset Rising" - 2:37
- "Invisible Architecture" - 3:22
- All tracks written by John Foxx, except "City as Memory" and "Sunset Rising" by John Foxx and Peter Griffiths, and "Infinite in All Directions" by John Foxx and Louis Gordon.
Personnel
- John Foxx – Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Images
- Peter Griffiths – Engineer
- Andy Robinson – Digital Editing
- Chris Thorpe – Digital Mastering, Assembly
- Mick Williams – Engineer