Metro Expo is a one man band based in Liège, Belgium. Its only member is Fred Marcoty, who performs all the vocals and instruments, then switches to the engineering and producer role. The Metro Expo project produces, and will always produce concept albums. Founded in 2010, Metro Expo released its first album called “Metro Expo 1” in February 2015 after 5 years of line-up experimentations.
Metro Expo doesn’t pretend to revolutionize anything in the musical landscape, but tries to combine many different music styles, make them live together and attempts to leave no stone unturned in the instrumentation. Don’t be surprised to hear a samba cohabitating with 50’s rockabilly or Crooner/Big Band combined with a country waltz. Don’t be surprised, either, to hear a muffled trombone tackling a western tremolo guitar.
Marcoty dictates very strict composition rules for himself. For example, on the “Metro Expo 1” album, one of those rules was to use brushes and not sticks on the drums; no crash cymbals, but splashes and Chinese. Those rules were loosened a bit on “Metro Expo 2,” and there were more technical, performance and mixing rules, not too relative to the music’s nature.
Fred Marcoty has a 35 year background as a musician. He performed in Electro-Metal, brit-pop, prog-rock, stoner, funk bands as drummer or guitarist, and sometimes, as an interim or main singer. In addition, thanks to his classical training, as sousaphone, trumpet or banjo player in symphonic/opera orchestras and dixieland groups. He also arranged many pieces for brass orchestras. Among his major influences are bands like Talk Talk, Pink Floyd, Magma, Yes, and Genesis, as well as classical composers like Richard Wagner and Giacomo Puccini. He is also influenced by movie music composers Maurice Vander, the recently deceased Claude Bolling, Vladimir Cosma and Enio Morricone. His Jazz influences include people like Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane. Solo artists like Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits and David Bowie can also be considered on the list.
To define Metro Expo’s musical style is quite difficult. He says,” I like to call it ‘open minded vaguely progressive rock’, but it’s not really rock… and definitely not prog; if sometimes it sounds like it, it hasn’t been intentional. Or was it ?”
In January 2021, “Metro Expo 2” was released on many streaming and downloading platforms. Metro Expo 1 and 2 are available on all digital downloading platforms, Bandcamp, and also by e-mail to metroexpodecalogy@gmail.com.
Links to Metro Expo pages on internet :
Website : metroexpo.sitew.be
Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/7D1W3OTTM6Go2S5vc1abO1
iTunes ; https://music.apple.com/us/artist/metro-expo/948119350
Deezer : https://www.deezer.com/fr/artist/7175604
Bandcamp : https://metroexpodecalogies.bandcamp.com/
Direct links to the Metro Expo 2 album :
Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/album/7dZBWPg1k3Tm0WTesO7xZI
iTunes : https://music.apple.com/us/album/metro-expo-2/1547475116
Deezer : https://www.deezer.com/fr/album/197620832
Bandcamp :https://metroexpodecalogies.bandcamp.com/album/metro-expo-2
Youtube Playlist :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TElv1J0Pz2c&list=OLAK5uy_le4_l-ScxVMFv6Pal0MZIWjYfYf2jsei0