John Metcalfe is pulling strings for an eclectic list

JOHN Metcalfe’s album, The Appearance of Colour, is just his fourth solo release in 30 years. But don’t let that fool you, writes Alan O’Riordan. 

Since moving from New Zealand to the UK in the 1970s, he’s been a member of the post-punk band the Durutti Column, founded and still plays viola with the Duke Quartet, started the classical imprint of Tony Wilson’s Factory records, and carved out a successful career as an arranger of pop music, with Blur, Morrissey, Simple Minds, The Pretenders and Peter Gabriel featuring a long list of collaborators.

That kind of range is reflected throughout The Appearance of Colour. At times, you could be back at a 1990s drum’n’bass club night. At others, a shimmer-bright synth line evokes the rising sun, or a piano riff is jostled about like a kite in the air.