Tom on G Plus and the recording of his album:

"G Plus means guitar with something else. This can be guitar with other instruments, (e.g. the G Plus ensemble) or guitar with electronics (e.g. the three movements of The Third Fire). Both versions can be found in this recording.

The G Plus ensemble here consists of two guitars, strings and percussion. This line-up was discovered by chance and works extraordinarily well. I was first drawn to it following my collaborations with string quartets.

This instrumentation combined with the quality of recording offered by Real World in its atmospheric studio and the lack of compression and quality of reproduction in its outstanding, ‘lossless’ recordings, means that there can be real clarity and warmth.

John Metcalfe says there is no other ensemble like this and that it reverses the role of the guitar. A rock guitar offers a vertical way of playing; there are chords and the guitar usually determines the key and how a piece modulates.

John has deployed the quartet in that vertical role for some of his G Plus pieces; he has used the guitar as a linear, horizontal instrument that does not just play chords but, instead, plays melodic lines. For John, this can make the guitar line much more fluid and interesting; the guitar can act as a more harmonic instrument - the role usually taken by the piano.

G Plus is an evolving term. It is the focus of IGF’s new music, new players and new compositions initiative.