Art of Noise Impact on EDM
There are very few artists who’s impact on me is bigger than the Art of Noise impact on me. I still remember the exact time I first heard the song “Beat Box” It was 1983. It was at a dance at a YMCA. I was 13 years old. My mind blown! I think the high regard I have for them and their song “Beat Box” will be shared by you by the end of this episode!
Art of Noise are truly an innovator group. Their influence from early electronic music is in all of modern EDM. They have quite a bit of amazing songs. “Beat Box” for the Breakers, “Moments In Love” for its Ambient beauty, and “Paranoimia” for its quirky dance groove. For this episode, we are looking at their song, “Beat Box”. Art of Noise are an interesting group. They pushed the boundaries of music into unexplored territory.
Clearly a drum machine, sequencer, sampler, and synthesizer driven band. Their music ranges from mean, gritty Hip Hop holocaust of beats and grunts to heavenly, emotive, beauty made to illustrate exactly what love feels like. They are able to transport the listener to entirely new, unknown realms that you always knew existed. It just took them showing you for it to be true. “…the Art of Noise, a techno-pop group whose music was an amalgam of studio gimmickry, tape splicing, and synthesized beats. The Art of Noise took material from a variety of sources: hip-hop, rock, jazz, R&B, traditional pop, found sounds, and noise” (allmusic.com)
Who Is The Art of Noise?
The Art of Noise is the trio of Anne Dudley, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley. The band formed in 1983 after working together as a studio band for a music producer in the early 80s. Their first album was “Into Battle With the Art of Noise” in 1983 which was released as an EP. They later came out with 5 additional albums over the next nearly 2 decades. Some were popular and critically acclaimed, others not so much… They also have a host of compilations, remixes, and reworks.
When they originally came into the music spotlight, they did not publish the members names and it became a bit of a mystery. Even on their first tours they would perform behind screens and dividers so nobody could see the human members, or see “the wizard behind the curtain”! I always found that start fascinating. Later they became known individually as members of the Art of Noise. Dudley even went on to work in collaboration with a host of other musical artists from Killing Joke to Phil Collins. They broke up a year after their 1990 album “Below the Waste”. They did a reunion album in 1999 that was poorly received.
Music of the Art of Noise
The Art of Noise impact is from their revolutionary music. I highly recommend you listen to the entire first album entitled, “Into Battle With the Art of Noise” from 1983. I have a copy myself and that is where I first got a copy of “Beat Box”. It also has “Moments in Love” and “Donna” which is the earliest use of a Roland 303 I know of. It’s an amazing album! For today’s episode we are going to pull one song off of it that was released as a single in 1984. That song is “Beat Box”.
“Beat Box” was quite groundbreaking and unique when it came out. Nothing else had ever sounded like it. Aficionados of Kraftwerk were drawn quickly to it, but it really doesn’t sound like a Kraftwerk song… However, just like Kraftwerk, experimental and cutting edge music listeners flocked to snatch up the first album by Art of Noise. They took the music scene by storm with their fresh, unique music. One of the standout songs from their first album is the song, “Beat Box”. Take a listen!
You can pick up a copy of the album “Into Battle With the Art of Noise on vinyl from Discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/release/33485-The-Art-Of-Noise-Into-Battle-With-The-Art-Of-Noise
You can pick up a digital copy of the album or other Art of Noise releases on Amazon Music using the link below:
DJ Mix With “Beat Box”
“Beat Box” is definitely dance music. It pulls the heavy vibe of Hip Hop and transforms it into a new take on Electronic Dance Music. It is very innovative. I still play it at parties. It is quite a timeless piece of music! The mix below opens with “Beat Box”. It is a music and visual project I did with visual artist, Marcell Marias. I used 4 sources in the mixing, 2 vinyl and 2 digital to give it a complex layered effect.
The title, “Spooky Love Action at a Distance” is from Albert Einstein’s description of how atoms seems to know when they are being observed by humans and they react differently when being watched. He called it “spooky action at a distance”. The title of the music video work adds “Love” to reflect the occurrence when you are thinking about someone you care for and they seemingly randomly call you or contact you because “they were thinking about you.” I am confident it has happened to you all. It is a result of the bond love creates! I am happy with how amazing songs that would not traditionally go together are mixed smoothly. Take a listen and check out the awesome visual work!
“Beat Box” Through Samples
The song “Beat Box” was released in 1983 on the Art of Noise album, “Into Battle With the Art of Noise” and then released as a single a year later in 1984. It contains samples from two song: “Kool is Back” by Funk, Inc (1971) and “D-Ya Like Scratchin” by Malcolm McLaren (1983). Most of the song is done with drum machines and synthesizers. The Art of Noise impact was through songs like “Beat Box”.
However, there are 53 songs with samples from “Beat Box” in them. They range from mostly Hip Hop to some Electronic Dance Music. Sampling the song started quickly, first in 1983 with a Malcolm McLaren song and continues to present day. For today we are going to use a brilliant piece of Electronic Dance Music! It is by veteran Rave out fit, Westbam with The Love Committee. The song is “Love Is Everywhere (New Location)”. It uses multiple elements, but the most noticeable is the drums, which are the exact beat from “Beat Box” sped up. It’s a nice slice of Underground House. Take a listen!
You can pick up the 12-inch single on vinyl from Discogs:
You can pick up this or other Westbam releases on digital using the link below for Amazon Music:
“Beat Box” Through Remixes
Art of Noise has done a few official remixes. Oddly enough there have been no covers of “Beat Box”, which I think is a huge oversight! One of the biggest examples of remixes is a remix album of classic tracks released by Art of Noise. The album is from 1987 and has the title “Re-works of Art of Noise”.
“Beat Box” has a remix 3 times. Twice it has a remix by Art of Noise in “Diversion One” and “Diversion Two”. Both are released in 1984. The third time is therefore the one we will listen to here. That remix is done by The Mixbusters in 1989. It is not an official remix. It is a remix by DMC, the scratching and mixing competition. Here, take a listen!
This song is not available on vinyl but you can find DMC music on Amazon Music with the link below:
“Beat Box” Impact on Hip Hop
Of the 53 songs sampling “Beat Box”, about 40 of them are Hip Hop songs! “Beat Box” was released in 1983, which was a huge year for Hip Hop. Hip Hop was fresh and new and very hip. The beats in “Beat Box” are very grungy Hip Hop in style. Hip Hop aficionados, B-Boys and Breakdancers all loved “Beat Box”. I personally remember breakdancing to the song! It was a huge hit.
It took almost no time before Hip Hop artists started sampling “Beat Box”. The tough, punishing syncopated beats were a huge hit. Hip Hop at its best is a genre that thrives on innovation and it’s impossible to discount the new approach to dance music Art of Noise had when they made “Beat Box”! We may look at the song as EDM now, but in 1983 and 1984, its warmest reception was from lovers of early Hip Hop. Art of Noise impact with “Beat Box” is hugely influential to Hip Hop!
Conclusion
Art of Noise makes music that breaks boundaries and is unclassifiable! Their innovative experimentation breaks the rules and makes genre bending and defying music! Especially this is true of their first album in 1983, “Into Battle With the Art of Noise”! For me their are a number of standout tracks on the album, but none better than “Beat Box”. It changed the way I look at music. Fresh and crafted by blending many genres, it is a masterpiece!
The influence of “Beat Box” on EDM and Hip Hop is undeniable! I hope you enjoyed this episode as we illustrated that fact. Hopefully, you listen to the DJ mix using “Beat Box” in the artistic music video done by Chris Sick and Marcell Marias. It’s an awesome piece of work. Lots of fun… This episode was fun to research and write and hopefully you have enjoyed it!
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