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Art of Noise
The Seduction of Claude Debussy
(ZTT/Universal)
by Sarah Zupko
PopMatters Editor & Publisher
It's
really getting old -- this obsession that so many electronica
artists have with sampling and sucking the life out of every
blasted beat and rhyme ever spun or rapped by a hip-hop act
in the last three decades. Thankfully, electronic music pioneers,
Art of Noise are back after a much-too-long-delay to both
remind us of what was interesting about electronic music in
the first place and to blaze a trail towards fresh and richer
frontiers.
Starting
from the premise that modern music didn't really begin in
1955 with the wiggling of Elvis' hips, Art of Noise look to
seminal French composer Claude Debussy as a focal point of
a new sensibility and broader dynamic range for 20th century
music. The group describes The Seduction of Claude Debussy
as "the soundtrack to a film that wasn't made about the life
of Claude Debussy." Perhaps that explains the narrative strength
of the work, the artistic cohesion that binds the seemingly
disparate elements of drum'n'bass beats, spoken words bits,
rapping vocals, orchestral interludes, and operatic singing
into a massively ambitious statement.
Playing
like a tone poem or maybe a postmodern symphony in 12 movements,
the record begins with mesmerizing narration by actor John
Hurt, who anchors the whole piece with brief, almost-cinematic
factoids on Debussy's life throughout the 57-minute excursion.
I wouldn't be surprised if this work gets saddled with accusations
of pretension, given the barrier bashing blend of electronica,
pop, and classical music. But if anyone can pull it off and
push electronica in new directions, it's the endlessly inventive
trio of Trevor Horn, Paul Morley, and Anne Dudley, who thankfully
reunited and have given us one of the year's finest albums.
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