In Visible Silence (1986)

Art of Noise formed in 1983 as the remnants of a production team that worked on Yes’ 90210. Led by Trevor Horn (formerly of The Buggles), Art of Noise were introduced to a “sampling” machine they thought they could use to create music, relying on the repetitive beats now common in today’s hip-hop.

They released an EP and numerous singles before In Visible Silence, their second full-length album. It was one of my favorites in college because I liked how new wave, techno and jazz could be found riding it out alongside a funky bass line and a poppy synth.

The album starts with “Opus 4,” a brief piece with female vocals reminiscent of early Moby. “Paranomia” features Max Headroom, the computer-generated talking head from the late 80s. “Eye of a Needle” is a dreamy, jazz-infused pop number with multiple samplings and a toe-tapping beat. “Legs” is a funky, synthetic dance club number that proved to be one of their more popular singles. “Backbeat” could have been produced by Devo and has all of the trademarks that AON was known for. Quick timing, overproduced and chaotic, it is almost too loud for the record.

Next up is “Instruments Of Darkness,” a seven-minute politically charged song that scratches at the surface of communism and apartheid, but its meaning is buried by the sound. Then there’s Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn,” in which Duane Eddy’s twangy Gibson guitar is brilliantly mixed in with the AON sound. It won Eddy a Grammy in 1986 for Best Rock Instrumental.

Art Of Noise quietly left the music scene in the late 90s but should be revered as one of the most influential art-rock bands of the last 20 years. (Dennis Donahue)

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