The odd couple
Art Of Noise pack it in: mainstay Anne Dudley joins Joker Jaz Coleman
THE ART OF NOISE have decided to call it a day after almost six years. Never more than a loose confederation, The Art Of Noise centred around founder member, musician and producer Anne Dudley, who felt the time had come to do something new.
She told Sounds: “We were very radical when we started doing something that nobody had done before. But it became mainstream and I began to feel limited by the line-up.”
Anne is currently completing a project with ex-Killing Joke vocalist Jaz Coleman, who’s been keeping a low profile of late. The album will be released in the autumn.
The Art Of Noise were among the first bands to use sampling technology on early tracks like ‘Close To The Edit’ and ‘Moments In Love’. They originally appeared on Trevor Horn’s ZTT label and featured the production maestro, but their biggest hit, a version of ‘Kiss’ featuring Tom Jones, came long after Horn left. They have largely been superseded by a generation of DJs and experimental dance groups, although many still cite them as an influence.
The last Art Of Noise album, ‘Ambience’, will be released by China on June 25 and is a collection of instrumental pieces in a vaguely ‘new age’ vein.
It was mixed by ex-Killing Joke man Youth Martin, who now works as an Ambient House DJ.
KILLING JOKE have been dropped by AVL. But, according to a spokesman, the band are still together, with Jaz still in the driving seat, and they’ll be signing to an independent label in the near future. Watch these pages for more details.