Into Battle with the Art of Noise

Album: Into Battle With The Art of Noise

Artist: Art of Noise

Year: 1983

Songs of Note: Beat Box, Moments in Love, Flesh in Armor

Experimental music is something that has always intrigued me. Projects such as the Eno/Byrne collarboration, My Life in the Bush of the Ghost, that used actual sound bytes taped off of local radio programs from across America is a work I can appreciate but not really enjoy because the songs are not that memorable. Just like any scientific process, some experiments prove more fertile than others for future progress in the field.

Into Battle With the Art of Noise is one project that I see echoes of in modern music. Even though it is just an EP with only two full length songs, "Beat Box" and "Moments in Love", the sounds explored had a large influence on hip-hop and the electronic music of today. "Beat Box" sounds like it samples Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart", M's "Pop Music", brings in some hard drum machines to inspire Run-DMC and some real sounds that would later inspire DJ Shadow. If I were to transport myself back to 1983 I would think the song sounds like nothing else I had heard before. Listening in 2011, it's less groundbreaking and more charming as I try and spot what artists were inspired by this.

Most of the other songs are just 1 to 2 minute snippets. "Flesh in Armor" features some prominent record scratching while "Comes and Goes" has some very Eno-like textures and haunting vocals that remind me of being chased through a cemetery by lost souls.

I would recommend checking this out if your interested in industrial, electronic, or even hip-hop. Very interesting mix of experimental sounds and songs.