Audio is the debut album by Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...

 and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance

Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded between 1969 and 2011.*In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental*From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance...

. It was released in 1999 by Virgin Records

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

.

This album was released in two versions: The DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 had 5.1-channel versions of the music in both DVD-Video

DVD-Video

DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...

 (using Dolby Digital

Dolby Digital

Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...

) and DVD-Audio

DVD-Audio

DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....

 formats (one on each side) and a CD that had a 2-channel stereo

Stereophonic sound

The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...

 mix

Audio mixing (recorded music)

In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

 of each track.

The behind the scenes of the Audio DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

, is viewable on a promo 2000 VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 known as Audio Video.

Track listing

1. "TV Song" – 2:08
2. "Opening Mandelbrot" – 3:13
3. "Synaesthetic" – 5:31
4. "Utne Wire Man" – 3:18
5. "Rods and Cones
   Rods and Cones (song)
   Rods and Cones is a live digital single by Blue Man Group, released on the iTunes Store on July 11, 2006. An instrumental version of the song was originally released on the group's debut album, Audio, however the single, which can also be found on Blue Man Group's album Live at The Venetian – Las...
   
   " – 5:57
6. "Tension 2" – 2:05
7. "Mandelgroove" – 5:49
8. "PVC IV" – 4:23
9. "Club Nowhere" – 4:50
10. "Drumbone" – 2:44
11. "Shadows" – 2:06
12. "Cat Video" – 2:20
13. "Klein Mandelbrot" – 8:03
14. "Endless Column" – 5:02

Reception

Heather Phares of Allmusic rated Audio three out of five stars. She explained that it "reflects over a decade's worth of musical and theatrical innovation." Although she stated that "the spectacle of the group playing its sculptural, surreal-looking instruments is absent from the album," she concluded her review by calling it "an album that proves the Blue Man Group is as innovative in the studio as it is onstage."

Personnel

• Producer - Todd Perlmutter
• Engineer - Andrew Schneider
• Mastered By - Bob Ludwig
  Bob Ludwig
  Bob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
  
  
• Mixed By - Mike Fraser
  Mike Fraser
  Mike Fraser is a Canadian record producer, engineer, and mixer. Mike is best known for his work with AC/DC, Metallica, Aerosmith and Joe Satriani...
  
  

Blue Man Group

Phil Stanton

• Performer [Air Poles, Extension Cord Bull Roarer, Ribbon Crasher]
• Percussion [Drumbone, Tubulum, Mid-octave Pvc, Backpack Tubulum, Dumpster]
• Drums [Utne, Drum Wall, Phil Drum]
• Cimbalom
• Timpani

Matt Goldman

• Performer [Air Poles, Ribbon Crasher]
• Percussion [Low Octave Pvc, Drumbone, Backpack Pvc, Dumpster]
• Cimbalom
• Bass [Upside Down]
• Gong [Shaker]
• Drums [Utne]

Chris Wink

• Performer [Air Poles]
• Percussion [Doppler Toms, Tubulum, Drumbone, High-octave Pvc, Dumpster, Backpack Tubulum, Piano Smasher]
• Cimbalom
• Shaker [Utne]
• Drums [Drum Wall]
• Cuica

Additional Musicians

• Jamie Edwards - Performer [Air Poles] (tracks: 1, 4, 14)
• Larry Heinemann - Chapman Stick, Bass, Guitar [Baritone], Cuica
• Ian Pai - Drums [Drum Wall, Phil Drum], Percussion [Aronophonic, Quellum Grill]
• Chris Bowen - Drums [Drum Wall] (track: 7)
• Clem Waldman - Drums [Drum Wall] (track: 5)
• Cräg Rodriguez - Drums [Drum Wall] (track: 7), Percussion (Dumpster) (track: 12)
• Jeff Quay - Drums [Right Side Double Drum Kit] (tracks: 2, 4, 7, 8, 12 to 14) & [Drum Wall] (tracks: 5 & 13)
• Byron Estep - Guitar (tracks: 5, 7 & 9)
• John Kimbrough - Guitar (track: 7)
• Todd Perlmutter - Percussion, Drums [Drum Kit, Left Side Double Drum Kit, Drum Wall, Toy Drum, Phil Drum]
• Bradford Reed
  Bradford Reed
  Bradford Reed is an American multi-instrumentalist, experimental luthier, and member of avant-garde band King Missile III. He is proficient at such instruments as drums, guitar, melodica, piano, and synthesizer. In the 1980s he invented the pencilina, a custom-made string instrument.-Pencilina:The...
  
  - Zither (tracks: 2, 4, 8, 13 & 14)
• David Corter - Zither (tracks: 8, 9, 12, 13)
• Elvis Lederer - Zither (track: 1) & Zither [Pressaphonic](track: 5)
• Jens Fischer - Zither (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 11, 13 & 14)
• Christian Dyas - Zither, Bass, Guitar [12 String], Electronics [Electric Dog Toy]