News#ZTT30: Art of Noise in talks about reforming for possible live dates
The original founding members of influential avant-garde synthpop outfit the Art Of Noise are hoping to get back together and tour again, possibly in 2015.
Interviewed (separately) for this blog, Fairlight Programmer J.J. Jeczalik and Engineer/Producer Gary Langan both confirmed that there were ongoing “conversations” about hitting the road.
Langan told us: “What I’d really like, my wish for the future, is that somehow the Art of Noise gets back together again and we go on tour, and we do it properly. There are conversations, everybody’s aware of it.”
“It’s going to be a tough cookie to pull together [but] J.J. has given up teaching and [is] retired, so he’s looking for something to do…. That’s my wish, that we can get it together because I know what can be achieved technically live now, having done it for seven or eight years…. what you can do technically now in terms of production is quite staggering. So that’s my wish and yeah, there are conversations.”
When asked if it might happen next year, Gary responded: “Yeah, let’s say we’ve seriously started talking in the spring of this year, it wouldn’t be until 2015 that you could get it on the road and then it’s [a case of] who’s going to finance it because again, my ideas don’t come cheap.”
The Art of Noise split acrimoniously from ZTT Records in 1985, leaving the trio of Anne Dudley, Gary Langan and J.J. Jeczalik who took the name with them and eventually signed to China Records. Langan himself left a short while after this “under a huge cloud” but frosty relations have thawed over the years and all five members (including Trevor Horn and Paul Morley) were together under the same roof for the 19:Eighties concert at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in October 2013 (an account of that evening can be found here).
Read Gary Langan’s interview in full on SDE tomorrow, with J.J Jeczalik’s interview following later in the week.
Would you like to see the band reform and play live? Leave a comment and let us know!
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Would love a chance to see them live or just some new music like only they can do. Been a fan since Into Battle. AON opened my ears of how noise can be music and vice versa.
Would love to see the China era reissued without loud mastering.
Always look forward to unreleased ZTT material, but not remixes that just contain an extra note or two.
I would love to see the original line up, I missed their cut down live shows in 1986 because I was only 14, however I love the sound of Legs and can imagine if it were ZTT doing this would’ve been awesome.
I would LOVE to see them in concert. I was stationed in the UK for 7 years and never thought to look them up because I ‘assumed’ that they were retired for good. And to hear that they were in Chicago (where I am now) is another heart-breaker. So…please let them come to Chicago again! :D
if this happens please keep paul tied and gagged in the corner as his mouth and hammer are very annoying!
There’s more from Gary & JJ here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01plts8/Andy_Potter_The_Art_of_Noise_and_Inspector_George_Gently/
Basically Gary said on the AON future:
They (AON) have been loosely talking. A few things in the AON camp that haven’t been achieved yet. Talking loosely to each other to achieve that. here is a 30 year legacy that won’t go away. JJ jokes they tried hard. They are a couple of things the never really did or was as successful as it should have been.
have been loosely talking. A few things in the AON camp that haven’t been achieved yet. Talking loosely to each other to achieve that. They are a couple of things the never really did or were as successful as it should have been.
Thanks for this link.
Hope you asked them about the China material. What’s going on with that stuff? Is it really lost/burned down? (as I seem to remember being the rumor)
Ah, Commissioner, with these interviews you are spoiling us!
I’ve never seen them live but would like to definitely see Trevor Horn perform. More interested in a new album if possible as well as the (China Records) reissues.
Would I like to see the band reform? Hell, yeah!
I saw the 1986 Hammersmith Odeon gig (and I’m almost certain I’m on the cover of the video ‘In Visible Silence’ that came out shortly after. I missed the 2000 gig at Shepherds Bush Empire for the want of 30 notes and always regretted it. However I was there at the Prince’s Trust thing in 2004 and the 19:Eighties concert last year and did manage to see TCH afterwards in addition to Anne and Paul on stage.
The idea of a tour is fab – they have nothing to prove musically so why not celebrate their achievements and create a full blown audio/visual production rather than a simple live representation.
As Gary says the key could be funding.
Saw them in Chicago on the Visible Silence tour (must have been just Anne and JJ at that point), and it was terrific. Still have the t-shirt. Can only imagine how great having all of them together, with all of today’s technology, would be. Let’s hope this one happens!