Album · Art of Noise
(Who’s Afraid of) The Art of Noise? by Art of Noise
(Who’s Afraid of) The Art of Noise? is an album by Art of Noise, released in 1984. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 13 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Close (to the Edit)”, on 13 lists with a best position of #49.
(Who's Afraid of) The Art of Noise?, the debut from the Art of Noise, came out on ZTT on 19 June 1984, and it sounds like pop music chopped up and reassembled by machines. Behind the faceless front stood a studio gang: engineer and producer Gary Langan, programmer J.J. Jeczalik, keyboardist and arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn and music writer Paul Morley.
Their weapon was the digital sampler, then brand new, and they used it to build mostly wordless collages out of crashing drums and sampled fragments. "Close (to the Edit)" is the bruiser, a clattering, stop-start assault that reached 8 on the UK singles chart, while "Moments in Love" drifts the other way, all hazy slow-motion romance, paired with "Beat Box" on a double A-side. Even the cover has a story: its statue was photographed in the Staglieno cemetery in Genoa.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from (Who’s Afraid of) The Art of Noise? on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Close (to the Edit) | 13 | #49 | – | 1984–2021 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.