Originally published on Friday, 25th July 2008

Strings of life

Those who like to venture to the leftside of modern music may already have John Metcalfe on their musical radar somewhere between the likes of Jon Hassell and Craig Armstrong.

Before emerging as the world-renowned string arranger of today, Metcalfe grew up as a son of an opera singer, becoming a young viola player in New Zealand before moving to Manchester  and discovering the sonic delights of Kraftwerk and Joy Division. Having been asked to join The Durutti Column by Vini Reilly, he persuaded Tony Wilson to set up a classical off-shoot of the iconic Factory Records.

He went on to form The Duke Quartet whose strings he arranged on releases by The Pretenders, Morrissey, Blur and Simple Minds, before turning to his own compositions.

His third album 'A Darker Sunset' has just been released on Big Chill Recordings, whose festival he will be performing at alongside Andy Gangadene and Simon Richmond of The Bays.

With a remix from Talvin Singh, his new music fuses classical, world and electronica with his trademark strings, coming across like an enigmatic film soundtrack. If you seek music with grandeur that is on the edge of the avant-garde, classical and electronic worlds, this may be for you.

John Metcalfe performs at The Big Chill 1-3 August. 'A Darker Sunset' is released on 14th July

by RW