Junk Culture (album)

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Junk Culture
Junk Culture cover
Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released April 30, 1984 (1984-04-30)
Recorded 1983-1984
Pre-recorded at Air Studios, Montserrat, ICP Studios, Brussels and Wisseloord Studio's, Hilversum.
Recorded at The Manor Studio, Shipton-on-Cherwell.
Genre Electronica
Synthpop
Length 43:05
Label Virgin
Producer Brian Tench and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Professional reviews
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Dazzle Ships
(1983)		 Junk Culture
(1984)		 Crush
(1985)

Junk Culture is an album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1984. It is most noteworthy for being the last OMD album to receive critical and commercial acclaim in the UK.

It was also the last OMD album to have its artwork designed by Peter Saville.

Junk Culture is pretty much OMD's attempt to regain commercial success, and while songs like "Tesla Girls", "Locomotion" and "Apollo" are all pretty mainstream efforts the album actually contains much of what OMD had been doing before. Junk Culture sounds so different because of a change in instrumentation which was due to the band's acquisition of the Fairlight CMI digital sampling/sequencing workstation.

The three most successful singles from the album were "Locomotion", which was their last Top 5 hit in the UK at #5, "Tesla Girls", which made #21, and "Talking Loud And Clear", which reached #11.

The title track is an instrumental with heavy dub overtones and tape collages, "All Wrapped Up" is a calypso pop song which sounds like some sort of electro take on some of the material on The Clash's London Calling, "Talking Loud and Clear" wraps up the album on a reflective note, a calm pop song featuring a soprano saxophone melody and Kraftwerk-style keyboard arpeggio.

[edit] Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Junk Culture" – 4:06
  2. "Tesla Girls" – 3:51
  3. "Locomotion" – 3:53
  4. "Apollo" – 3:39
  5. "Never Turn Away" – 3:57

Side 2

  1. "Love And Violence" – 4:40
  2. "Hard Day" – 5:59
  3. "All Wrapped Up" – 4:25
  4. "White Trash" – 4:35
  5. "Talking Loud And Clear" – 4:20
  • "The Angels Keep Turning (The Wheels of the Universe)" [free one-sided 7" single included with initial pressing of the album]

[edit] Personnel

Group members:

  • Paul Humphreys: vocals, Roland JP8, emulator, Korg Preset, acoustic piano, Fairlight CMI, celeste, Prophet 5
  • Andy McCluskey: vocals, bass guitar, guitar, Roland JP8, emulator, Fairlight CMI, Latin percussion
  • Martin Cooper: Prophet 5, emulator, tenor and soprano saxophones, Roland SH2, marimba
  • Malcolm Holmes: acoustic and electronic drums, Latin percussion, drum computer programming

Additional performers:

  • Gordan Troeller: piano on "Locomotion", JP8 on "White Trash"
  • Maureen Humphreys: vocals on "Tesla Girls"
  • Jan Faas, Jan Vennik, Bart van Lier: brass section on "Locomotion" and "All Wrapped Up"
  • Tony Visconti: brass arangements on "Locomotion" and "All Wrapped Up"
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