Rapt: In The Evening AirArt of Noise

Art of Noise

Art Of Noise was a cutting-edge, avant-garde British new wave group known for their groundbreaking use of sampling. AON was a supergroup of sorts, formed by music mogul Trevor Horn (Buggles, Yes), producer JJ Jeczalik, engineer Gary Langan, composer Anne Dudley, and promoter Paul Morley – all part of Horn’s production team. AON scored several top 40 hits in eleven countries between 1984 and 1989. The group’s name was inspired by the 1916 book The Art Of Noises by futurist Luigi Russolo.

When Horn and Buggles keyboardist Geoff Downes joined Yes for their 1980 album Drama, Downes' drum tech Jeczalik was fascinated by his Fairlight CMI synth/sampler. He persuaded Horn to get him one, then he and Langan loaded an unused beat from Yes drummer Alan White into it and looped it into a rough song. Horn then requested Dudley make it “slightly more melodic and pleasant sounding”. The end product became “Beatbox”. The track was used by Horn’s then-brand-new record label ZTT to secure a deal with Island Records. It was included on AON’s first release, the Into Battle With The Art Of Noise EP.

“Beatbox” topped the US Dance Chart and was a minor UK hit. That same year, AON’s debut album Who’s Afraid Of The Art Of Noise was released, preceded by one of several remixes of “Beatbox” re-titled as “Close (To The Edit)” which became a US Dance Chart #4 and top 10 UK hit. The band originally wanted to remain faceless, but after both “Beatbox” and “Close (To The Edit)” crossed over to the US R&B chart and the group won Best Black Act of 1984, it was revealed that the band members were all actually Caucasian.