Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975–1984

Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975–1984
Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975–1984
Compilation album by Various artists
Released	26 April 2016
Genre	Electronic
Length	4:15:03
Label	Cherry Red

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Classic Rock	^[3]
Mojo	^[4]
Pitchfork	8.1/10^[5]
PopMatters	9/10^[6]
Record Collector	^[7]

Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975–1984 is a compilation album featuring electronica bands from 1975 to 1984. It was released on Cherry Red Records in April 2016.

Track listing

Disc One
No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Computer Bank"	Five Times of Dust	5:15
2.	"R.A.M."	The Klingons	5:32
3.	"Re-Education Through Labour"	Chris & Cosey	7:10
4.	"Sedation Strokes"	Malcolm Brown	4:07
5.	"Little Bob Minor"	Storm Bugs	3:33
6.	"Tight as a Drum"	Thomas Leer	4:39
7.	"Holiday Camp"	Blancmange	3:09
8.	"Fractured Smile"	Inner City Static	4:26
9.	"Sexuality"	We Be Echo	2:55
10.	"God with Us"	Bourbonese Qualk	5:53
11.	"Faith"	Nagamatzu	6:55
12.	"Disco Song"	O Yuki Conjugate	4:14
13.	"The Optimum Chant"	British Electric Foundation	4:11
14.	"All Night Long"	Kevin Harrison	1:34
15.	"Stopping and Starting"	Voice of Authority	5:58

Disc Two
No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"I Am Your Shadow"	Colin Potter	2:45
2.	"D’Ya Think I’m Sexy?"	British Standard Unit	2:25
3.	"The Single Off the Album"	Five Times of Dust	3:27
4.	"Back to the Beginning"	Spoon Fazer	2:38
5.	"Gerry and the Holograms"	Gerry And The Holograms	4:07
6.	"Drugface"	The Passage	3:48
7.	"A New Kind of Man"	John Foxx	4:32
8.	"Green for Go"	100% Manmade Fibre	3:02
9.	"Sentimental"	Those Little Aliens	1:59
10.	"Protect and Survive"	Final Program	2:26
11.	"Being Boiled"	The Human League	3:39
12.	"New Muzak"	Instant Automatons	1:50
13.	"Materialistic Man"	Cultural Amnesia	3:38
14.	"(Leaving Me) Now"	Worldbackwards	2:53
15.	"Music to Save the World By"	Alan Burnham	3:49
16.	"Almost"	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	3:42
17.	"Kodak Ghosts Run Amok"	Eyeless in Gaza	2:27
18.	"Broken Vein"	Schleimer K	4:22
19.	"The Distance from Köln"	Native Europe	2:28

Disc Three
No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Adrenalin (Return of the Elohim, Pt. 1)"	Zorch	5:12
2.	"Robot Dance"	Sea of Wires	2:33
3.	"Sea of Tranquility"	Ron Berry	5:57
4.	"Mistral"	MFH	2:26
5.	"Joe Goes to New York"	Adrian Smith	6:52
6.	"Embryo (Extract)"	Mark Shreeve	6:13
7.	"Triptych"	E.g Oblique Graph)	6:36
8.	"Encounter"	Carl Matthews	6:43
9.	"Ynys Scaith"	Paul Nagle	4:18
10.	"Sedation"	O Yuki Conjugate	3:36
11.	"Western Vein"	Konstruktivits	3:46
12.	"Dead of Night (Excerpt)"	Attrition	6:01

Disc Four
No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"What a Day"	Throbbing Gristle	4:38
2.	"No Way of Knowing"	A Tent	3:29
3.	"Go for the Throat"	Portion Control	2:11
4.	"Eco Beat"	DC3	6:48
5.	"Dying Inside"	Renaldo and the Loaf	5:13
6.	"In the Army"	Blah Blah Blah	4:42
7.	"God Speed"	The Legendary Pink Dots	4:02
8.	"Muslin Gauze Muslim Prayer"	Muslimgauze	6:16
9.	"Live at Longborne"	Les Suisse	5:39
10.	"Menial Disorders, Extract B2"	Alien Brains	3:35
11.	"Himeal (And She Blew)"	Storm Bugs	4:52
12.	"In the Room"	Third Door From the Left	2:59
13.	"Dignity of Labour"	Al Robertson	5:25
14.	"Mzui (Extract)"	B.C. Gilbert / Graham Lewis / Russell Mills	5:33

References

^ "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
^ Kellman, Andy. "AllMusic Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
^ Dalton, Stephen (15 April 2016). "Various: Close To The Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984". Classic Rock. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
^ This compelling, enlightening aural history gives [lesser-known artists] a worthy platform. [Jun 2016, p.102]
^ Reynolds, Simon (May 3, 2016). "Close To the Noise Floor - Formative UK Electronica 1975 - 1984 - Various Artists". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
^ Rollmann, Rhea (4 May 2016). "Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
^ Rathbone, Oregano (20 April 2016). "Close To The Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984 - Various Artists". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

[1] "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.

[2] Kellman, Andy. "AllMusic Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.

[3] Dalton, Stephen (15 April 2016). "Various: Close To The Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984". Classic Rock. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

[4] This compelling, enlightening aural history gives [lesser-known artists] a worthy platform. [Jun 2016, p.102]

[5] Reynolds, Simon (May 3, 2016). "Close To the Noise Floor - Formative UK Electronica 1975 - 1984 - Various Artists". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 15, 2025.

[6] Rollmann, Rhea (4 May 2016). "Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

[7] Rathbone, Oregano (20 April 2016). "Close To The Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984 - Various Artists". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

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