Art of Noise were a British avant-garde synth-pop 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. The group had international Top 20 hits with its interpretations of "Kiss", featuring Tom Jones, and the instrumental "Peter Gunn", which won a 1986 Grammy Award.
The music of South Africa exhibits a culturally varied musical heritage in conjunction with the multi-ethnic populace. Genres with the greatest international recognition being mbube, isicathamiya, mbaqanga, afrofusion, kwaito, South African pop music, afro house, South African hip hop, Shangaan electro, bacardi house, bolo house, gqom and amapiano.
Anne Jennifer Dudley is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genres, as a film composer, and was one of the core members of the synth-pop band Art of Noise. In 1998, Dudley won an Oscar for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score for The Full Monty. In addition to over twenty other film scores, in 2012 she served as music producer for the film version of Les Misérables, also acting as arranger and composing some new additional music.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They became known internationally after singing with American Paul Simon on his 1986 album Graceland. They have since won multiple awards, including five Grammy Awards the fifth of which they dedicated to the late former South African President Nelson Mandela.
The Lexicon of Love is the debut studio album by the English pop band ABC. Released by Neutron Records on 21 June 1982, it entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, also topping the New Zealand and Finnish charts. Certified gold in the US, it went platinum in the UK where four singles reached the top 20; "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love" and "All of My Heart", which Pitchfork ranked number one on their "Now That's What I Call New Pop!" list.
Use Your Fingers is the debut studio album by Bloodhound Gang. It was released on July 18, 1995, by Cheese Factory Records. Some of the songs on the album were reworked version of demos from Bloodhound Gang's earlier demo tapes. The album has sold 250,000 copies to date.
The Mahotella Queens is a South African female band formed in 1964 by music producer Rupert Bopape, consisting of Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu, and Amanda Nkosi. The group is noted for their distinct vocal harmony sound, guitar-led mbaqanga music, and fast stage dancing.
In No Sense? Nonsense! is the third full-length album by Art of Noise, recorded in 1987 and released in September that year. By the time of its recording, the group had been reduced to a duo, with the engineer Gary Langan leaving the previous year; Langan's mix engineering work was taken over by Bob Kraushaar and Ted Hayton for this album, but the music was produced entirely by Anne Dudley and J.J. Jeczalik. With this album, the group expanded its sound to include rock and orchestral instrumentation, in addition to its trademark sampling.
Into Battle with the Art of Noise is a 1983 EP by the Art of Noise—its first release, and also the first release by ZTT Records. The record represented the first installment in ZTT's Incidental Series.
Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde was a South African mbaqanga singer. Known as the "Lion of Soweto", Nkabinde is the acknowledged exponent of the deep-voiced, basso profundo "groaning" style that came to symbolize mbaqanga music in the 1960s. Nkabinde was also a very active live performer in South Africa, recording and performing with the Mahotella Queens and the backing Makgona Tsohle Band from 1964 to 1971, and then again from 1983 to 1999. The Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens act was propelled into international stardom in the wake of Paul Simon's 1986 Graceland album.
Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens were a South African mbaqanga supergroup made up of the three musical acts linked together by talent scout and record producer Rupert Bopape at the Gallo Recording Company in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1964. The group composed of the following three distinct parts:
"Close (to the Edit)" is a single by the English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise, released in 1984 by ZTT Records. The song appeared on the group's 1984 album Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? and different versions were issued on various other formats in October of that year. It was closely related to their earlier single (and hip hop club hit) "Beat Box", though the two tracks were developed as separate pieces from an early stage. The single reached number eight in the UK singles chart in February 1985, and its music video won two awards at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. The song's spoken word "Hey!" has been sampled by a number of other artists through the years.
Duck Rock is an album released by British impresario Malcolm McLaren. It was originally issued in 1983 by Charisma Records, Virgin Records, and Chrysalis Records, and later re-released on CD in 1987. The album mixes up styles from South Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the United States, including hip hop. The album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip hop to a wider audience in the United Kingdom. Two of the singles from the album, "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch", became major chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Duck Rock was dedicated to Harry McClintock, better known as Haywire Mac. The album artwork was designed by Dondi White and Nick Egan, with the illustration by Keith Haring.
Jonathan Edward Stephen "J. J." Jeczalik is a British electronic musician/record producer, co-founder of the electronic music group the Art of Noise. He taught IT at Oxford High School until his retirement in 2013.
Paris – Soweto is a 1987 album by the South African mbaqanga group Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The album was recorded just after the group reunited in 1986, and was one of the first albums to be recorded specifically for the international audience. The album was recorded in Paris and released internationally on the Celluloid label, and under the group's long-standing Gallo label in South Africa. The first single, "Kazet" became one of the group's signature tunes.
The Best of the Art of Noise is the name of a series of compilation albums with songs by British synth-pop band Art of Noise. The first version was released on the China Records label in November 1988.
The Ambient Collection is a 1990 album compiling songs by the Art of Noise into a chill-out mix. The album was compiled and remixed by Youth, using songs from the Art of Noise albums In Visible Silence and In No Sense? Nonsense!, as well as the song "Island" from Below the Waste. The album spawned one single, "Art of Love", which uses elements from the Art Of Noise tracks "One Earth", "Crusoe", "Opus 4" and "Camilla".
The Corporate World is the debut studio album by the American musician and singer-songwriter Gail Ann Dorsey. It was released in 1988 by WEA. Produced by bass guitarist Nathan East, the album features guest appearances from singer-songwriter and guitarist Eric Clapton and Gang of Four member Andy Gill. The album's style has been described as "an unorthodox and individualistic blend of rock, pop and R&B."
At This Moment is an album by Welsh singer Tom Jones, released in 1989. It includes the single "Kiss", a cover of the Prince song and featuring the Art of Noise, and a cover of Phyllis Nelson's "Move Closer", which was also released as a single.
With Love is the second album by English actor and singer Michael Crawford, together with the London Symphony Orchestra. It was originally released in 1989 on Telstar Records.
