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Art of Noise was an Avant-garde Synthpop group formed in 1983 by producer Trevor Horn , music journalist Paul Morley , and session musicians/studio hands Anne Dudley , J.J. Jeczalik , and Gary Langan . The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel and often clever melodic Sound Collage s based on digital Sampler technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise was initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators. The band is noted for their innovative use of Electronics and Computers in Pop Music and particularly for innovative use of Sampling . The name of the group alludes to an essay by noted Futurist Luigi Russolo . From the earliest releases on ZTT, the band referred to themselves as both Art of Noise and '''The Art of Noise'''. The version with the article "the" was often preferred by third parties. To add to the confusion both official and unofficial releases and press material from the same releases use both versions, but Art of Noise is preferred. HISTORY Beginnings In 1983, Trevor Horn, who had achieved a New Wave hit in 1979 with " Video Killed The Radio Star ", which he recorded with Geoff Downes under the name Buggles , was working in the studio with Yes on what would become the album '' 90125 '', and with Frankie Goes To Hollywood on what would become the album '' Welcome To The Pleasuredome ''. In his employ were keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, keyboardist/programmer J.J. Jeczalik, and mixing engineer Gary Langan. The team had first assembled in 1981 to produce ABC 's '' The Lexicon Of Love '' album (which led to an instant increase in profile for all concerned). Though other possibilities are quite feasible, the most universal element in the group's naming seems to be the ubiquitous, bargain-bin "art of..." classical releases put out by second-rate record companies. The technological impetus for the Art of Noise was the advent of the and Yello . Producer and musician Tony Mansfield had made extensive use of the Fairlight for Naked Eyes eponymous debut album (the first pop album to feature such a hefty dosage of the CMI). Horn had previously put the sampling keyboard to great usage on '' The Lexicon Of Love '', mostly in order to Tweak live-based elements of performance, but also to embellish the compositions with sound effects (such as a cash register's bell on "Date Stamp"). Samples—some borrowed from other pieces of music, such as the baritone "dum" from "Leave It" by Yes , but most coming from original sources—were bathed in reverb to mask the early sampler's low fidelity (or give a "concert hall" acoustic effect). One might imagine the voice of Elvis Presley's first syllable from the chorus of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" popping up on the first album. In the studio, these sounds were then assembled into various instrumental arrangements and sound collages. This was at first done with very little input from musicians "playing" instruments as they would in a typical band, but later works introduced traditional instruments as well. In February 1983, with Paul Morley providing much of the band's art direction, Horn, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan formed the initial incarnation of The Art of Noise. The group's debut EP, '' Into Battle With The Art Of Noise '', appeared in September 1983 on Horn's fledgling ZTT label. It immediately scored a hit in the urban and alternative dance charts in the USA with the highly percussive, cut-up instrumental track " Beat Box ", a favorite among Breakdancers . The base hook of this song also famously featured as the theme tune to popular ITV game show The Krypton Factor . This theme tune also appeared on the Fresh FM station in Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories :Anne: When the group first started we thought it would be a good idea to have an image that wasn't based around a fashion look. We thought it would encourage people to look at the music instead of the members of the band. It didn't last for long though. :Gary: It really doesn't seem a lot different actually, the responsibility a lot more different, it's probably more fun, more risk to it. :Anne: There's a very big risk in America because they think we're black, we were voted the second best new black act. We are wondering how we can quite cope with this. :Gary: There was at one point there came along an instrument that nobody had really used and we were lucky that we had one we could use. There are certain things you can do with it that you're not able to do with anything else. So it was a question of experimenting with that and things really took off from there. :Anne: This is the famous Fairlight music computer, which you may have heard of. :Gary: Which plays an important part. I really think that the music is more important than the personality. The fashion around a personality seems to change a lot quicker than that around music. Interview with Selina Scott and Nick Ross, BBC Breakfast Time, on the release of "Legs" single
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