BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“Beat Box” is a song by the British group Art of Noise. Originally appearing as the second track on the 12″ EP Into Battle with the Art of Noise, it was released as the group’s first single in December 1983.
“Beat Box” is an instrumental, experimental piece that implements sounds and noises (such as car key ignitions, falling drain water, and calliope music — most notably on the chorus) to ride the rhythm of the beat (a sample of drums played by Alan White).
As a single, the song reached the lower regions of the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at no. 92. It was more popular with dance music and (particularly) hip hop audiences, and in February 1984 the song reached no. 1 on the American dance chart, where it remained for two weeks. “Beat Box” was a hit on the Black Singles chart, where it reached no. 10. The US 7″ single spent 5 weeks on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart, starting 7 April 1984 and spending two weeks at no. 101, the chart’s top position.
After the original “Beat Box” grew popular, The Art Of Noise decided to expand on the tune by adding on more instruments and sounds, giving the song a completely different outlook and practically drowning out the hip hop element that now only remained in the drum beat itself. Two remix cuts resulted from this session and were initially released on 12″ single in 1984 and referred to as “Diversion One” and “Diversion Two”.
SIDE A:
Beat Box (Diversion One) 8:32
SIDE B:
Beat Box (Diversion Two) 6:04
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Beat Box | U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 | #101 |
| 1984 | Beat Box | U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | #10 |
| 1984 | Beat Box | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: ZTT – ZTIS 108
Series: Incidental Series – 9
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 26 Mar 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hip-Hop, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve] – XLZTT
Producer – Art Of Noise*
Written-By – Dudley*, Langan*, Jeczalik*, Morley*, Horn*
NOTES:
Made up in the capital – February 1984
Art of Noise belong to Zang Tuum Tumb Records at the ZTT Building, 8-10 Basing St. London W11
Diversions one and two become number nine in ZTT’s patient incidental series.
A version of Beatbox is available on ‘Into Battle’ ZTIS 100
“to the death for life”
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
