ART FINE was the Turin, Italy, duo of FABRICE BELLINI (electronics, vocals) and RUSH BLAKEMANN (guitar, synthesizer). They met in art school and became friends, inspired by new wave, dance and electronic music. Their only single Dark Silence was recorded in November of 1984, and released by Discomagic in 1985. Bellini programmed the electronic drums using SCI Drumtraks and added extra tracks on the Simmons SDSV; Blakemann played electric guitar and the Yamaha piano notes at the start of the song. Guest musicians included SILVANO BORGATTA and RICCARDO ROSA, and the da da da da da voice effect was done by engineer GIGI GUERRIERI, who cut and spliced a tape rather than using a sampler, which was too expensive at the time. Dark Silence tells the love story of beautiful girl who Bellini saw many times but could not reach. He called her Dark Silence, for her dark hair and eyes as well as the unwanted silence between them. The B-side features a remixed version with extended breaks and dubbed-out bass lines and vocals.Both songs were remastered for vinyl by GEORGE HORN at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl is housed in the original jacket design featuring a photo of the duo and the Art Fine logo in puzzle pieces. Each copy includes a double-sided postcard insert with lyrics and liner notes by Bellini. Dark Silence (Art Fine Version), Dark Silence (Long Version)
