Jonathan Edward Stephen "J. J." Jeczalik () is an English electronic musician/

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, co-founder of the

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group the

Art of Noise Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music ...

. He taught IT at Oxford High School until his retirement in 2013.

Before Art of Noise

He began his journey into music after coming to London and promoting a gig for a pub group called

Landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

(of ''Einstein A Go-Go'' fame), then later roadied for their co-lead singer

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

before meeting

the Buggles The Buggles were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which topped the UK Singles Chart ...

a.k.a.

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

and

Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London ...

. Before becoming a freelance programmer Jeczalik worked for Downes, programming the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

, as Downes had problems with the machine. After that he became a part of Horn’s production team working alongside future Art of Noise members,

Gary Langan Gary Michael Langan (born 19 April 1956) is an English engineer, record producer, mixer and musician. Biography His career started at age 18 when he worked as an assistant engineer at Sarm East Studios, learning the craft from Gary Lyons and M ...

and

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

on hits for

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...

, before working on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

The Lexicon of Love ''The Lexicon of Love'' is the debut studio album by English pop band ABC. It was released on 21 June 1982 by Neutron Records in the United Kingdom, by Mercury Records in the United States and Japan, and by Vertigo Records in Canada and Euro ...

'' and

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

's ''

Duck Rock ''Duck Rock'' is an album released by British impresario Malcolm McLaren. It was originally issued in 1983 by Charisma Records, Virgin Records, and Chrysalis Records, and later re-released on CD in 1987. The album mixes up styles from South Afric ...

'' albums.

Art of Noise and freelance work

When the Fairlight CMI Series II came out in 1982, Jeczalik got access to "Page R", the built-in sequencer for the Fairlight. While working on the

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

album ''

90125 ''90125'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 11 November 1983 by Atco Records. After Yes disbanded in 1981, following the ''Drama'' (1980) tour, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White forme ...

'', Jeczalik was experimenting with drum and percussion samples from Yes' drummer, Alan White. Jeczalik, along with

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

, sequenced drum beats and breaks in Page R and created "

Beat Box Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

", the debut single for

. During production of

's album ''

'', Jeczalik and Langan met

, a classical music

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

and composer. Along with Horn, Langan, Dudley and

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley is an English music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983 and has since written for a wide range of publications as well as writing his own books. He was a co-founder of the record label ZTT Re ...

, Jeczalik co-founded

in 1983. As a freelancer, he was in a minority of musicians around the globe that used CMIs to create music, but unlike his contemporaries, at the time Jeczalik developed his own way of creating noises by taking advantage of the machine's then-poor quality audio output and transformed the distorted samples into unrecognisable sounds. Some of these early ideas can be heard on the

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

album ''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

''. One night those techniques would change the way that records were made when Langan asked him to help out with an idea. Jeczalik sampled a scrapped drum riff from a session of the Yes album ''90125''. That would become Art of Noise, a two-man side project that became a quintet with Dudley, Horn and Paul Morley as additions to the line-up. They were the first act signed to

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...

in 1983 and launched it with the EP entitled ''

Into Battle with the Art of Noise ''Into Battle with the Art of Noise'' is a 1983 EP by the Art of Noise—its first release, and also the first release by ZTT Records. The record represented the first installment in ZTT's Incidental Series (catalogue number ZTIS 100). ''Int ...

'' that broke new ground, leading to numerous innovative follow-up hit singles and albums for the rest of the 1980s. Jeczalik was also instrumental behind the success of controversial Liverpool band,

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

with their number one hit singles "

Relax Relax may refer to: Aviation * Roland Z-120 Relax, a German ultralight aircraft design for the 120 kg class Music Albums * ''Relax'' (Blank & Jones album), 2003 * ''Relax'' (Das Racist album), 2011 Songs * "Relax" (song), a 1983 song by Fran ...

" and "

Two Tribes "Two Tribes" is an anti-war song by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records on 4 June 1984. The song was later included on the album ''Welcome to the Pleasuredome''. Presenting a nihilistic, gleeful lyric ex ...

" also on ZTT. Other work for the label involved further work for FGTH on the ''

Welcome to the Pleasuredome ''Welcome to the Pleasuredome'' is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released on 29 October 1984 by ZTT Records. Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at n ...

'' album and for another two signings,

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

and

Andrew Poppy Andrew Poppy (born 29 May 1954, Kent) is an English composer, pianist, and record producer Discography *''Cadenza'' and ''Matters of Theory'' from the self-titled LP by The Lost Jockey (1982, Les Disques du Crepuscule) *''Crude Din'' from "Prof ...

. The future Grammy Award winner continued freelance work as either a programmer, producer or remixer with his most notable work producing the hit singles "Kiss Me" by

Stephen Duffy Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist and then drummer of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo perform ...

, "

Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, ''Please'' (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity ...

" by

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, a cover of "

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

" by

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

and in 1987 composed the music for the BBC documentary ''The Case of Sherlock Holmes''.

Art of silence and retirement from the music industry

In 1990, Art of Noise split, leaving Jeczalik to work on other projects including the Biographers' concept album ''Columbus'' with some of the recording done at his own Monsterrat Studios in Berkshire. ''J.J. Jeczalik’s Art of Sampling'' was released in 1993 including hundreds of samples from his personal audio library and was released on AMG's Hit Sound Producer label. In 1995, Jeczalik launched Art of Silence (his spin-off to Art of Noise) and his label Axiomattic with the ''West 4'' single, the album ''artofsilence.co.uk'' and website that all followed in the next year with ''Teach Me'', his final release as a musician in 1997. He retired from the music business and taught ITC at two Oxfordshire schools until his retirement in 2013.

Discography

Album

*1993: ''JJ Jeczalik's Art of Sampling''

Studio work

*1981: ''Sat in Your Lap'' Kate Bush; Fairlight programming; No. 11 *1981: ''Hand Held in Black And White'' Dollar; Fairlight programming; No. 19 *1981: ''Mirror Mirror (Mon Amor)'' Dollar; Fairlight programming; No. 4 *1982: ''Poison Arrow'' ABC; Fairlight programming; No. 6 *1982: ''Give Me Back My Heart'' Dollar; Fairlight programming; No. 4 *1982: ''The Look of Love'' ABC; Fairlight programming; No. 4 *1982: ''Videotheque'' Dollar; Fairlight programming; No. 17 *1982: ''All of My Heart'' ABC; Fairlight programming; No. 5 *1982: ''Buffalo Gals'' Malcolm McLaren and the World's Famous Supreme Team; Fairlight programming; No. 9 *1983: ''Soweto'' Malcolm McLaren; Fairlight programming; No. 32 *1983: ''Double Dutch'' Malcolm McLaren; Fairlight programming; No. 3 *1983: ''Owner of a Lonely Heart'' Yes; Fairlight programming; No. 28 *1983: ''Relax'' Frankie Goes To Hollywood; Fairlight programming; No. 1 *1983: ''Duck for the Oyster'' Malcolm McLaren; Fairlight programming; No. 54 *1984: ''Dr. Mabuse'' Propaganda; Fairlight programming; No. 27 *1984: ''Leave It'' Yes; Fairlight programming; No. 56 *1984: ''Absolute'' Scritti Politti; Fairlight programming; No. 17 *1984: ''Two Tribes'' Frankie Goes To Hollywood; Fairlight programming; No. 1 *1984: ''Young Hearts (Sudden Africa Mix)'' Silent Running; remix; No. 92 *1984: ''Plague of Hearts'' Flip; producer *1984: ''Going Up in the World'' The Hostages; remix *1984: ''Flesh For Fantasy (Below The Belt Mix)'' Billy Idol; Fairlight Programming; 54 *1984: ''Beat Boy'' Visage; Fairlight programming *1985: ''Kiss Me'' Stephen Tintin Duffy; producer/Fairlight programming; No. 4 *1985: ''Cry (Extended Remix)'' Godley & Creme; remix; No. 19 *1985: ''Opportunities'' Pet Shop Boys; producer/Fairlight programming; No. 116 *1986: ''I Dream in Blue'' The Shine; Fairlight programming *1986: ''Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)'' Pet Shop Boys; producer/Fairlight programming; No. 11 *1986: ''Ready Made'' Fehlmann's Ready Made; Fairlight programming *1989: ''Noisy (Aow Too Dou Zat)'' Jean Paul Gaultier; produced and mixed/Fairlight programming *1989: ''Jezebel'' Shakin' Stevens; produced and remixed; No. 58 *1989: ''Primitive Man'' Eartha Kitt; mixed *1990: ''It's Over'' Paul Monéo; producer *1997: ''Out of the Fire'' Lock; producer

References

External links

The Art Of Noise Online (authorised website)

Art of Silence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeczalik, J.J. Living people Art of Noise members English electronic musicians English keyboardists English people of Polish descent English new wave musicians People from Banbury Year of birth missing (living people)