|
ART OF NOISE
AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BODY, GOD?
****
Zang Tumb Tuum, ZTT 201 CD
Sampling pioneers get the four-disc, long box treatment
This box-set may come as a surprise to an Art Of Noise fan – or any collector of cutting edge 80s electronica. It’s long been believed that, following ZTT’s SACD remasters and Repertoire’s half-hearted compilations, Art Of Noise’s 1983-85 catalogue had been exploited to the nth degree.
But then, out of the blue, comes this: 41 unreleased tracks from the cutting room floor, spread across four CDs. As if hearing these fly-on-the-wall moments wasn’t surprising enough, there’s also the fact that all five bandmembers were involved, giving a track-by-track commentary in the accompanying 36-page booklet. Everyone had assumed they’d fallen out long ago, but they are all here: Anne Dudley (only the second female composer ever to win an Oscar), Trevor Horn (producer of the Pet Shop Boys and many more besides), JJ Jeczalik (the one who ‘resigned’), Gary Langan (the man behind The War Of The Worlds in 5.1 Surround Sound) and Paul Morley (Infantjoy, Big Brother’s Big Mouth, etc.).
So what of these mysterious works that no one knew existed? Several (Sign Of Relief, Once Upon A Lime) are effectively off-cuts of Malcolm McLaren’s Duck Rock LP. Some show that the band could have gone (but thankfully didn’t) in a far more commercial direction altogether (Moments In Love (7” Master Rejected), Close To The Edge), while others (The Chain Of Chance and The Vacuum Devine) show just how much we need Art Of Noise today.
Q&A: Gary Langan
Did you think that your records would make such a lasting impact?
You do know when you’re making something special, but whether it has a lasting impact? The public decides that. We had a great time making the records.
What was the highlight of Art Of Noise’s ZTT-era?
As far as I’m concerned, the whole experience of being in a band was a high point, having spent all my life on the other side of the glass. Engineering and producing bands is great, but to be part of a successful band was fantastic. At the time ZTT was similar to Motown, in as much as it had a definite sound and presence and everything that came from it was successful. It was a great buzz to go into the offices in the morning and catch Paul Morley in full flight, spouting Morleyisms.
What did you think of Art Of Noise’s releases after you left?
The FON Mixes and The Ambient Collection were around when I was still connected with the band, and they were really good extensions of the music we were making. I felt that Below The Waste began to show weaknesses, and I think that The Seduction Of Claude Debussy should really have been a solo album by Anne.
Would you go back and do it all again?
Quite simply, yes. Otto Flake.
| 
