View source for Art of Noise

{{Short description|British avant-garde synth-pop group}}
{{distinguish|The Art of Noises}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Art of Noise
| image           = Art Of Noise.jpeg
| caption         = Dudley, Morley, Creme and Horn (from the fourth and final Art of Noise line-up in 1998–2000)
| image_size      = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| alias           = {{hlist|The Image of a Group|Vision}}
| origin          = [[London]], England
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Synth-rock]]|[[electronic rock]]|[[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]]|[[New wave music|new wave]]|[[sampledelia]]}}
| discography     = [[Art of Noise discography]]
| years_active    = 1983–1990<ref name="allmusic guide">{{cite book 
|author=Bogdanov, Vladimir 
|title=All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music 
|edition=4 
|year=2001 
|publisher=Backbeat Books 
|isbn=0-87930-628-9 
|page=[https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoe00vlad/page/23 23] 
|url-access=registration 
|url=https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoe00vlad/page/23 
}}</ref>
<br>1998–2000<br>2017
| label           = {{hlist|[[ZTT Records|ZTT]]|[[Island Records|Island]]|[[China Records|China]]|[[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]]|[[Elektra Records|Elektra]]|[[Modern Records|Modern]]|[[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]]|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]|[[Universal Records|Universal]]}}
| website         = {{URL|theartofnoiseonline.com}}
| current_members =
| past_members    = * [[Anne Dudley]]<!--(1983-1990, 1998-2000)-->
* [[J. J. Jeczalik]]<!--(1983-1990)-->
* [[Gary Langan]]<!--(1983-1986)-->
* [[Trevor Horn]]<!--(1983-1985, 1998-2000)-->
* [[Paul Morley]]<!--(1983-1985, 1998-2000)-->
* [[Lol Creme]]<!--(1998-2000)-->
}}

'''Art of Noise''' (also '''the Art of Noise''') were a British [[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]] and [[Electronic music|electronic]] group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer [[Gary Langan]] and programmer [[J. J. Jeczalik]], along with keyboardist/arranger [[Anne Dudley]], producer [[Trevor Horn]], and music journalist [[Paul Morley]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book| first= Martin C.| last= Strong| year= 2000| title= The Great Rock Discography| edition= 5th| publisher=Mojo Books| location= Edinburgh| pages= 31–32| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> The group had international Top 20 hits with its interpretations of "[[Kiss (Prince song)|Kiss]]", featuring [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], and the instrumental "[[Peter Gunn (song)|Peter Gunn]]", which won a 1986 [[Grammy Award]].

The group's mostly instrumental compositions were novel melodic [[sound collage]]s based on digital [[sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]] technology, which was new at the time. Inspired by turn-of-the-20th-century revolutions in music, the Art of Noise were initially packaged as a faceless anti- or non-group, blurring the distinction between the art and its creators. The band is noted for innovative use of [[electronics]] and computers in pop music, particularly its innovative use of [[sample (music)|sampling]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/03/how-we-made-art-of-noise-close-to-the-edit-anne-dudley-paul-morley|title=How We Made Art of Noise's Close (to the Edit)
|last=Tilden |first=Imogen | publication-date=July 3, 2018 |access-date=May 11, 2025}}</ref>

==History==
===Beginnings===
The technological impetus for the Art of Noise was the advent of the [[Fairlight CMI]] [[Sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]]. With the Fairlight, short digital sound recordings called [[Sampling (music)|samples]] could be played using a piano-like keyboard, while a [[computer processor]] altered such characteristics as [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] and [[timbre]]. Music producer [[Trevor Horn]] was among the early adopters of Fairlight. While some musicians were using samples as adornment in their works, Horn and his colleagues saw the potential to craft entire compositions with the sampler.{{fact|date=May 2023}}

In 1981, Horn's production team included programmer J. J. Jeczalik, engineer Gary Langan and keyboard player/string arranger [[Anne Dudley]].<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=57}}</ref> The team produced [[ABC (band)|ABC]]'s 1982 debut album ''[[The Lexicon of Love]]'', increasingly using the Fairlight 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" (Dudley also co-wrote a track on the album, which launched her scoring career). The team also worked on [[Malcolm McLaren]]'s 1982 album ''[[Duck Rock]]'' and would go on to work with [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]] on what would become the album ''[[Welcome to the Pleasuredome]]'' (realised predominantly on Fairlight).{{fact|date=May 2023}}

During January 1983, Horn's team were working on the [[Yes (band)|Yes]] comeback album ''[[90125]]'' – Horn as producer, Langan as engineer, and Dudley and Jeczalik providing arrangements and keyboard programming. During the sessions, Jeczalik and Langan took a scrapped [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]] drum riff and sampled it into the Fairlight using the device's Page R sequencer (the first time an entire drum pattern had been sampled into the machine). Jeczalik and Langan then added non-musical sounds on top of it, before playing the track to Horn. This in turn resulted in the Red & Blue Mix of Yes's "[[Owner of a Lonely Heart]]" single, which showcased the prototype sound of The Art of Noise.

Seeing further potential in the idea, Horn teamed Jeczalik and Langan with Dudley in February to develop the project and brought in one of his business partners, ex-''[[NME]]'' journalist Paul Morley, as a provider of concepts, art direction and marketing ideas. Morley came up with the project name (taken from the essay "[[The Art of Noises]]" by noted [[Futurism (art)|futurist]] [[Luigi Russolo]], and finalised at Jeczalik's request by dropping the final 's'). Much later, in a July 2002 article penned for ''[[The Guardian]]'', Morley wrote "I loved the name Art of Noise so much that I forced my way into the group. If over the years people asked me what I did in the group, I replied that I named them, and it was such a great name, that was enough to justify my role. I was the [[Ringo Starr]] of Art of Noise. I made the tea. Oh, and I wrote the lyrics to one of the loveliest pieces of pop music ever - Moments in Love."<ref name=techno>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/jul/26/artsfeatures3 |title=Techno: The Early Years|last=Morley |first=Paul |date=26 Jul 2002 |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |access-date=24 Apr 2025}}</ref> Horn himself joined the new group as production advisor and provider of further ideas. This was the first time that he had been part of a group since parting company with his [[The Buggles]]' partner [[Geoff Downes]] (after they had been part of Yes). It would also be the first and last time that he would enjoy chart success as an artist since the [[New wave music|new wave]] hit in 1979 with "[[Video Killed the Radio Star]]" (not counting writing credits on [[The Dollar Album]]).

===''Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?'' (1983–1984)===
The debut Art of Noise EP, ''[[Into Battle with the Art of Noise]]'', appeared in September 1983 on Horn's fledgling [[ZTT Records|ZTT]] label.<ref name="Larkin"/> Many of the samples originally used on ''90125'' reappeared on the EP, which immediately scored a hit in the urban and alternative dance charts in the US with the highly percussive, cut-up instrumental track "[[Beat Box (Art of Noise song)|Beat Box]]", <!-- wikilink removed because this title does not refer to the beatboxing technique of the linked article, but rather it shares its origin with the title as being what was a slang term for a cassette player/radio --> a favourite among [[popping|body-poppers]].

The first Art of Noise album, ''[[Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?]]'' was released in 1984.<ref name="Larkin"/> During this period, the group presented themselves as faceless (using masks, minimal personal appearances, or even absence from promotion to indicate that the Art of Noise was not a standard rock or pop band which promoted and mythologised its members as individuals).

{{blockquote|text=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. |sign=Gary Langan and Anne Dudley |source=[[BBC]] ''[[Breakfast Time (British TV programme)|Breakfast Time]]'' interview<!-- with [[Selina Scott]] and [[Nick Ross]], on the release of "Legs" single-->}}

"[[Moments in Love]]", a ten-minute instrumental ode to sensuality that appeared on both ''Into Battle'' and ''Who's Afraid,'' was remixed and released as a single in 1985. The song was first released in the US in 1983, where it was a moderate hit on the US R&B singles chart. It was played at one of [[Madonna]]'s weddings; sampled by [[Mýa]] in her hit single "[[It's All About Me]]," which featured [[Sisqó]]; used in the soundtrack of the movie ''[[Pumping Iron II: The Women]]''; featured in the Indian movie ''[[Koi... Mil Gaya|Koi...Mil Gaya]]''; name-dropped in the opening pages of [[Sister Souljah]]'s 2011 novel ''[[Midnight and the Meaning of Love]]'' (as "Moments of Love"); interpolated in King Sun's song “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVPyUjkgSP8 Hey, Love”]; used in a number of advertisements; and remixed, covered, and sampled by numerous other artists. It has also appeared in numerous [[chillout music|chill out]] compilations and has become a staple of [[smooth jazz]] radio station playlists. "Moments in Love" has been remixed many times, with names such as "Moments in Bed" and "Moments in love 7" Master Rejected". Most "Moments in Love" remixes can be found in the box set ''[[And What Have You Done with My Body, God?]]''

An October 1984 feature in ''[[Smash Hits]]'' magazine indicated several of Morley and Horn's plans for the group's subsequent projects. These included a cover of "[[Video Killed the Radio Star]]", originally by [[The Buggles]] (Horn and [[Geoff Downes]]); ''Raiding the 20th Century'', an album using sounds from throughout the 20th century as source material; the score for ''The Living End'', a film written by Morley and directed by [[Godley & Creme]]; and the soundtrack for a ballet.

"[[Close (to the Edit)]]" was issued in October that year. The single was Art of Noise's first major UK hit, reaching number eight in the [[UK Singles Chart]] in November 1984.<ref name="Larkin"/>

===Split of original line-up (1985)===
In 1985, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan made an acrimonious split from Morley and Horn as well as from the ZTT label.<ref name="Larkin"/>

In a post-split interview for ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in October 1985, Jeczalik indicated that he and Morley did not get along and that he felt Morley's writing was pretentious. Jeczalik responded to a question about the level of Morley and Horn's involvement in ''Who's Afraid'' by saying, "It's difficult to tell. We say approximately 1.73 percent, but it could even be as high as two percent. You see, all that has happened is that Gary and I started something, it was taken away, and we have taken steps to get it back." In the same interview, Dudley indicated she felt parts of ''Who's Afraid'' were of dubious quality.

Much later, Morley would comment "When Trevor and I left, (Jeczalik, Langan and Dudley) became a novelty group who had hits with [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]]." His disdain for the artistic direction of The Art of Noise once he was no longer involved with it was even more evident in other articles he penned, including the liner notes of the 1986 compilation album ''Daft'' (under the name Otto Flake) and a September 2002 article for ''[[The Observer]]''.<ref name=somebodydown>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/sep/01/featuresreview.review1 |title=Somebody down there loathes me ... |last=Morley |first=Paul |date=1 Sep 2002 |website=The Observer |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |access-date=8 Apr 2023}}</ref>

===''In Visible Silence'' (1986)===
{{listen
 | filename     = Art of Noise-Peter Gunn.ogg
 | title        = The Art of Noise "Peter Gunn" (1986)
 | description  = 21 seconds of "Peter Gunn" by the Art of Noise and Duane Eddy
 | format       = [[Ogg]] 
}}
After the split, Dudley, Jeczalik, and Langan moved to the UK-based [[China Records]] label, taking the Art of Noise name with them.<ref name="Larkin"/> Some of the band's original imagery and ethos was retained for their second album, ''[[In Visible Silence]]''. This album spawned the [[Grammy Award]]-winning cover of the ''[[Peter Gunn (song)|Peter Gunn]]'' theme, recorded with [[Duane Eddy]], who had a hit with ''Peter Gunn'' in 1959.<ref name="Larkin"/> The Art of Noise collaboration reached number two on the Billboard dance charts.<ref>{{cite book |title= Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=24}}</ref> The ''Peter Gunn'' video featured comedian [[Rik Mayall]] in a parody of the [[private investigator|private eye]] [[film genre]]. The piece would later be used as the theme music for the 2008 BBC TV series ''[[Bill Oddie]]'s Wild Side''.

From the same album, the "Beat Box"-like single "Legs" (using the same drum sounds) was a mild underground hit in dance clubs. In 1986, the album track "[[Paranoimia]]" achieved some success when a remix of it was released as a single with overdubbed vocal samples provided by [[Matt Frewer]] as the supposedly computer-generated character [[Max Headroom (Character)|Max Headroom]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Frewer also appeared as Max Headroom in the music video for the track.

Around 1986, Jeczalik and Dudley started appearing in photographs without masks, alienating some fans that had come to appreciate Morley's "art for art's sake" aesthetic.{{fact|date=May 2023}} The upcoming soundtrack pieces continued The Art of Noise's evolution into a pop band and away from Morley's faceless "non-group."

===''In No Sense? Nonsense!'', ''Below the Waste'', and the split (1987–1990)===
{{Listen|filename=From Hammersmith to Tokyo and Back (Live).ogg
|title=From Hammersmith to Tokyo and Back (Live) excerpt|description=An excerpt from ''From Hammersmith to Tokyo and Back (Live)''.}}
By 1987, the band's membership was down to just Jeczalik and Dudley. That year saw the release of their album ''[[In No Sense? Nonsense!]]''<ref name="Larkin"/> &nbsp;The album featured Jeczalik's most advanced rhythmic collages to date, plus lush string arrangements, pieces for boys' choir, and keyboard melodies from Dudley. It did not produce any hits, although their record label made efforts to push remixes of "[[Dragnet (theme song)|Dragnet]]" into the dance clubs and the single reached No. 60 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].

In 1987, The Art of Noise provided the score for two movies, ''Hiding Out'' and ''Dragnet'', and one particular movement was used in both films. Their brass-based connecting passage between sections from the original Dragnet television show's theme song was used as incidental music during a dramatic scene—an armed chase through the rafters of a gymnasium—near the end of ''Hiding Out''.

In 1988, a one-off collaboration with singer [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] (a cover of [[Prince (artist)|Prince]]'s "[[Kiss (Prince song)|Kiss]]" – a staple in Jones' stage shows) renewed the public's interest in the Art of Noise and provided the group's biggest hit in the mainstream.<ref name="Larkin"/> The track appeared on several albums by Jones, and China Records included the song on the greatest hits compilation ''[[The Best of The Art of Noise]]'', the first edition of which also contained tracks licensed from ZTT.

The follow-up album, ''[[Below the Waste]]'', failed{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} to achieve much success upon its release in 1989.<ref name="Larkin"/> It did spawn the memorable single "Yebo!" (featuring the unique vocals of [[Zulu music|Zulu]] performers [[Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens]]). Both cassette and CD versions include two bonus tracks in the form of "[[The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (TV series)|Robinson Crusoe]]", and the "[[James Bond]] Theme".

In 1990, Dudley and Jeczalik declared that the Art of Noise had officially disbanded.<ref name="Larkin"/>

===Interim (compilations, failed reformations and solo work)===
Although Dudley and Jeczalik had already dissolved the group, in 1990 they assisted in the promotion of the lightly remixed compilation ''The Ambient Collection'', which the China label released to cash in on the burgeoning [[ambient house]] scene. Jeczalik approved the remixes that appeared on ''The FON Mixes'' the following year. The rest of the decade saw China Records releasing further Art of Noise compilations: ''The Drum and Bass Collection'', ''Art Works'', and reissues of ''Best of'' without the ZTT-era tracks. Some of these featured new remixes by other artists.

According to an interview with J.J. Jeczalik reported in the ZTT fanzine [https://web.archive.org/web/20151017013404/http://www.ianpeel.com/features ''Outside World'']  in 1991, Jeczalik, Dudley and Langan were inspired by the commercial success of ''The FON Mixes'' and had discussed reuniting the group as a trio again. In preparation to record a new album, Jeczalik and Langan travelled to Cuba to gather new source material. However, no new recordings were produced with the new line-up, and the Art of Noise remained defunct.

Dudley became well known for composing numerous film and television scores during the 1990s. The most famous of these is probably ''[[The Full Monty]]'', which won an [[Academy Award for Original Music Score]]. She also collaborated with [[Killing Joke]]'s [[Jaz Coleman]] on the 1990 album ''Songs from the Victorious City''<ref name="Larkin"/> (inspired by a trip the two made to Egypt) and produced two tracks for the 1993 Deborah Harry album ''[[Debravation]]'' ("Strike Me Pink", which she also co-wrote and played keyboards on, and "Mood Ring").  She has scored orchestrations for dozens of pop releases over the years, and both scored and produced the album ''Voice'' for her neighbour [[Alison Moyet]]. [[Cathy Dennis]] added lyrics to one of Dudley's compositions and recorded it as "[[Too Many Walls]]", which became a US Top 10 hit in 1991.

In 1995–1997, Jeczalik and ''In No Sense? Nonsense!'' coengineer [[Bob Kraushaar]] produced a number of instrumentals oriented toward dance clubs under the name Art of Silence, issuing an album titled ''artofsilence.co.uk''. Jeczalik also embarked on a new career in trading in [[futures contract]]s.

The Art of Noise also received a full writing credit for [[The Prodigy]]'s "[[Firestarter (The Prodigy song)|Firestarter]]", which samples the female "hey, hey" voice from "[[Close to the Edit]]". The Prodigy also contributed the remix "Instruments of Darkness (All of Us are One People)" to the 1991 compilation ''The FON Mixes''. Also, an edited version of "Close to the Edit" is featured on the monthly educational [[Amiga]] game ''Ready Robot Club''. The Art of Noise are also credited for the music to the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] series ''[[The Krypton Factor]]''.

===The reunion and ''The Seduction of Claude Debussy'' (1998–2000)===
In 1998, Horn, Morley, and Dudley began talking about the original intent of the project, its relevance in 20th-century music, and the impending turn of a new century. The group temporarily reformed, adding guitarist [[Lol Creme]], but without J.J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan.  Their engineering, programming and production tasks were carried out by dance act [[Way Out West (duo)|Way Out West]]. An album was recorded – ''Balance – Music for the Eye'' – but was never released, although several tracks from this project were included on the 2010 retrospective album ''Influence''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ztt.com/news/the_art_of_noise_will_return.html |title=ZTT website: The Art of Noise will return |publisher=Ztt.com |access-date=23 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610013707/http://www.ztt.com/news/the_art_of_noise_will_return.html |archive-date=10 June 2011 }}</ref> and the whole album was released as part of ''At the End of the Century'' box set.<ref name="facebook.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/zttrecords/photos/a.256513631054699.58633.248018738570855/812550565451000/?type=1&theater |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/248018738570855/812550565451000 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Coming up on 2nd February: 2 new deluxe... – ZTT Records (Official) – Facebook|via=[[Facebook]] }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Instead, a new single called "Dream On" – which featured remixed versions of the forthcoming album track "Dreaming in Colour" – was released to club DJs later in 1998, showcasing mixes by Way Out West.

A second single, "Metaforce", featuring a [[rap music|rap]] by [[Rakim]], preceded the 1999 release of the concept album ''[[The Seduction of Claude Debussy]]'', a cohesive [[concept album]] depicting the life and works of [[Claude Debussy]], on the ZTT label.

This album later formed the basis of a 17-minute soundtrack for London's Millennium fireworks celebrations on the banks of the River Thames. The firework display was synchronised to an edit of "Seduction" which also featured a collage of samples from some of Britain's most famous pop and rock songs, plus classical composers. It was broadcast live on 95.8 Capital FM and BBC London 94.9. Trevor Horn worked on the project with [[Jill Sinclair]], [[Bob Geldof]], [[Capital Radio]] executive Clive Dickens and producer Ross Ford.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

After performing a handful of live shows in the UK and US, the band dissolved. A DVD (''Into Vision'') and CD (''Reconstructed'') were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively, featuring music recorded and filmed in Chicago, at the Coachella Festival (10 September 1999), at the Shepherd's Bush Empire (22 March 2000) and Fountain Studios, Wembley, London (1 June 2000).

===Later work===
A reunion of sorts occurred at a 30 November 2013 live performance by the BBC Concert Orchestra (with a live BBC radio broadcast) including Dudley's orchestral arrangement of the band's EP ''Into Battle'' and a new piece entitled "Rhythm of a Decade" by Dudley and narrated by Morley.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/events/1467 |title=19 eighties: the rhythm of a decade |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827015218/http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/events/1467 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In their programme notes, they explain "Rhythm of a Decade" was inspired by an unreleased Art of Noise piece: "Of the many Art of Noise albums that did not appear – even if they were recorded – was one that set out to represent various decades through the rhythms that appeared during that particular decade – charting the development of rhythmical patterns and the physical changes in drum sounds throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=19 eighties |magazine=[[BBC Concert Orchestra]] (programme) |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ecn6v2 |date=30 November 2013 |page=14}}</ref>

[[File:Art of Noise live at Liverpool Sound City, 25th May 2017.jpg|thumb|Art of Noise performing live at Liverpool Sound City in May 2017]] On 25 May 2017 Art of Noise members Langan, Dudley and Jeczalik reunited as Reboot Art of Noise, performing at Liverpool Sound City as special support for [[The Human League]] during the festival's Pioneers of British Electronic Music.<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Sinclair|url=https://superdeluxeedition.com/interview/gary-langan-on-art-of-noise-live-reboot/|title=Gary Langan on Art of Noise live reboot|type=Interview|website=SuperDeluxeEdition.com|date=7 February 2017|access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref>

The three appeared again when they played highlights from their ''[[In Visible Silence]]'' album plus other career highlights as "Dudley, Jeczalik, Langan" at the [[British Library]] in London on 9 March 2018 as part of the library's "Season of Sound" celebrating 140 years of recorded sound.  This performance included a recorded video intro and outro from [[Paul Morley]].

Most recently, Jeczalik and Langan have been performing intermittent live dates as The Art of Noise/Revision/VJ Set, with a four-person line-up also including video operator Ian Peel (a long-term Art of Noise chronicler) and Chilean musician/producer Raimundo Ladrón de Guevara (and following "very good-humoured discussions and input from Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley and Paul Morley").<ref>[https://www.juno.co.uk/junodaily/2023/02/21/the-art-of-noise-revision-vj-interview-the-revenge-of-the-nerds-is-what-theyre-calling-it 'The Art Of Noise/Revision/VJ interview: "The revenge of the nerds is what they’re calling it."'] - interview by Ben Willmott in ''Juno Daily'', 21 February 2023</ref>

===Re-releases===
In 2003, a 20th-anniversary edition of ''Into Battle'' was released the first time in CD form in Germany, including bonus tracks and a bonus DVD of their promo videos and a selected discography slideshow of album art. The CD substituted the original version of "Beat Box" with the later "Diversion One".

In early 2004, the [http://www.karvavena.com Karvavena] label released an Art of Noise tribute album, ''The Abduction of The Art of Noise''. This album contains covers of various tracks, including a new version of "Beat Box" performed by J.J. Jeczalik under his Art of Silence moniker. 2004 saw Dudley and Horn perform "Close (To the Edit)" together at a [[The Prince's Trust]] charity event.

In 2006, Lol Creme, Trevor Horn and others formed [[Producers (band)|Producers]], a band made up of [[record producers]] and musicians.  Gary Langan was the band's [[audio engineer]].

21 August 2006 saw ZTT release a 4-CD Art of Noise box set, titled ''[[And What Have You Done with My Body, God?]]'', which consisted of tracks exclusively from the 1983–85 ZTT era, from the initial tentative demos created by Gary Langan and J.J. Jeczalik in the wake of the Yes ''90125'' sessions, to selections from the Ambassadors Theatre performances featuring Horn and Morley, recorded at concerts profiling ZTT acts—prior to which, Langan, Jeczalik, and Dudley had abandoned the label (and, for the time being, the band). The set featured over 40 unreleased remixes, demos, and works in progress, as well as the complete vinyl version of ''Into Battle...'' – sourced from the original masters – for the first time on CD. The project was conceived, researched and compiled by music journalist (and Art of Noise aficionado) [[Ian Peel (journalist)|Ian Peel]], who also wrote the box set's accompanying 36-page book, which featured new interviews with all of the original members.

In April 2011, Peel continued his archiving of classic and vaulted ZTT material, now named the Element Series, with a Deluxe Edition reissue of ''[[Into Battle with the Art of Noise]]''. This was intended to be the first of a chronological remastering and repackaging of the Art of Noise's output, collating the original album or EP with extended and previously unavailable tracks. ''[[Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?]]'', considered the first "true" AON album, was released as a Deluxe Edition on 19 September 2011.

In May 2017, a two-disc deluxe edition of ''[[In Visible Silence]]'' was released.  Included is the remastered album, along with several remixes and B-sides, taken from previous 12" singles and available on CD for the first time.  Also included are outtakes and unreleased material from the group's time with China Records. Shortly thereafter, a similar deluxe edition of their next album, ''[[In No Sense? Nonsense!]]'' was released.

===Other work===
The Art of Noise wrote and recorded the theme music to the popular British [[game show]] ''[[The Krypton Factor]]'', which was used from 1986 to 1993{{fact|date=May 2023}}; the group also composed the short music pieces that introduced each of the six rounds. The group also composed and performed the opening theme for the third series of the chat show ''[[The Max Headroom Show]]''. The track, titled "Happy Harry's High Club" (after a phrase spoken by Max Headroom on ''[[Paranoimia]]''), is featured on ''[[In Visible Silence]]''.{{fact|date=May 2023}}

== Discography ==

{{main|Art of Noise discography}}
*''[[Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?]]'' (1984)
*''[[In Visible Silence]]'' (1986)
*''[[In No Sense? Nonsense!]]'' (1987)
*''[[Below the Waste]]'' (1989)
*''[[The Seduction of Claude Debussy]]'' (1999)

== DVD and video ==
* "The Art of Noise in: Visible Silence" (1986) – a concert filmed in the [[Hammersmith Odeon]] on 15 August 1986.
* The Art of Noise: "Into Vision" (2002) – four different concerts between 1999 and 2000 in Chicago; [[Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival|The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival]] in California; in [[Shepherd's Bush]], London; and in [[Wembley]], London.

==Band members==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Official Art of Noise members
! 1983–1985
| 
* [[Anne Dudley]]
* [[J. J. Jeczalik]]
* [[Gary Langan]]
* [[Trevor Horn]]
* [[Paul Morley]]
|-
! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1985–1987
| 
* Anne Dudley
* J.J. Jeczalik
* Gary Langan
|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1987–1990
| 
* Anne Dudley
* J.J. Jeczalik
|-
! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1998–2000
| 
* Anne Dudley
* Trevor Horn
* Paul Morley
* [[Lol Creme]]
|-
! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 2017
| 
* Anne Dudley
* J.J. Jeczalik
* Gary Langan
|}

{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize  = width:900 height:auto barincrement:23
PlotArea   = left:85 bottom:120 top:15 right:0
Alignbars  = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2021
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend     = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3
ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1985
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1983

Colors = 
 id:s      value:purple         legend:Synthesizers
 id:t      value:claret       legend:Art_Direction,_Shouting
 id:b      value:blue         legend:Bass
 id:g      value:green        legend:Guitar

BarData = 
 bar:AD text:"Anne Dudley"
 bar:JJ text:"J. J. Jeczalik"
 bar:GL text:"Gary Langan"
 bar:TH text:"Trevor Horn"
 bar:PM text:"Paul Morley"
 bar:LC text:"Lol Creme"

PlotData = 
 width:10
 bar:AD from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1990 color:s
 bar:AD from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:s
 bar:AD from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 color:s
 bar:AD from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 color:s
 bar:AD from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:s
 bar:JJ from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1990 color:s
 bar:JJ from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:s
 bar:GL from:01/01/1983 till:31/12/1986 color:s
 bar:GL from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:s
 bar:TH from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1985 color:b
 bar:TH from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1985 color:s width:3
 bar:TH from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:b
 bar:TH from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:s width:3
 bar:PM from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1985 color:t
 bar:PM from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:t
 bar:PM from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 color:t
 bar:LC from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:g
 bar:LC from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:s width:3

LineData = 
 color:black layer:back
 at:29/09/1983
 at:19/06/1984
 at:14/04/1986
 at:28/09/1987
 at:11/09/1989
 at:28/06/1999
}}

==See also==
*[[List of number-one dance singles of 1984 (U.S.)]]
*[[List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart]]
*[[Musique concrète]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.artofnoiseofficial.com Official website]
* {{MusicBrainz artist|id=be899560-1570-402e-9f95-3182898a8b70|name=Art of Noise}}
* {{Discogs artist|The Art of Noise}}
* {{cite web |url=https://theartofnoiseonline.com/Z999-Who%27s-Afraid.php |title=WHO'S AFRAID? |publisher=THE ART OF NOISE Online |access-date=8 Apr 2023}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=107 |title=Who or what is the Art of Noise? |publisher=Zttaat.com |date=25 October 1984 |access-date=8 Apr 2023}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=287 |title=Is anybody still afraid of the Art of Noise? |publisher=Zttaat.com |date=19 October 1985 |access-date=8 Apr 2023}}

{{Art of Noise}}
{{MTV Video Music Award – Breakthrough Video}}
{{Trevor Horn}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:English electronic music groups]]
[[Category:English synth-pop groups]]
[[Category:English dance music groups]]
[[Category:English new wave musical groups]]
[[Category:English synth-pop new wave groups]]
[[Category:Electronic music groups from London]]
[[Category:China Records artists]]
[[Category:Chrysalis Records artists]]
[[Category:Island Records artists]]
[[Category:ZTT Records artists]]
[[Category:Polydor Records artists]]
[[Category:Universal Records artists]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1983]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Sound collage artists]]