Editing Metamatic (section)

== Production and style ==
''Metamatic'' was recorded at [[Pathway Studios]], a small eight-track studio in [[Islington]], and was engineered by [[Gareth Jones (music producer)|Gareth Jones]]. Foxx's electronic equipment included an [[ARP Odyssey]], an Elka 'String Machine' and a [[Roland CR-78]] [[drum machine]]. Several of the synth parts were played by John Wesley-Barker. [[Dub music]] was an influence on the production.<ref name="ec" />

The lyrics were heavily influenced by the writings of [[J. G. Ballard]].<ref name="ec">[http://www.electricityclub.co.uk/john-foxx-the-metamatic-interview/ John Foxx: The Metamatic Interview] Electricity Club.com 2 May 2018</ref> Six of the tracks referenced automobiles or motorways, most obviously "Underpass" and "No-One Driving". (Foxx re-worked the former track as "Overpass" on the live ''Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour'' in 1998).<ref>John Foxx (2002): ''The Golden Section Tour + The Omnidelic Ecotour'' liner notes)</ref> The song "A New Kind of Man" is about a man stepping into a film screen, which inspired the cover art of the album.<ref name="ec" /> The song "He's a Liquid" was influenced by a still from a Japanese horror film depicting a suit draped across a chair in such a way as to suggest that the wearer had liquified; Foxx's lyrics also alluded to the 'fluidity' of human relationships. The final track, "Touch and Go", included [[psychedelic music|psychedelic]] aspects.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Although Foxx had performed "He's a Liquid" and "Touch and Go" live with Ultravox before leaving the band in 1979, the band was not credited for them on ''Metamatic''.<ref>Warren Cann & Jonas Warstad (1997). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525191813/http://www.ultravox.org.uk/images-history/Ultravox-History_Screen_v1.0.pdf "Ultravox: The Story - Warren Cann interviewed by Jonas Warstad"]: p.41</ref> When Ultravox adapted the tune from "Touch and Go" for the song "Mr. X" on ''Vienna'' (1980), their first album following Foxx's departure, Foxx was not credited.