We recorded it in a kitchen!' How China Crisis made Black Man Ray

"I immersed myself in music-making with a synth, drum machine and a four-track Tascam Portastudio. I was very inspired by Brian Eno. I'd seen the words found sounds on his album credits. The notion that any sound could be included in a recording struck me as magical. I just held a mic out of my bedroom window. Black Man Ray started out as an ambient number with an intro featuring the sound of a boy I recorded singing in the street below."

"There's something very 1980s about the song's intro, but there's always been an awful lot of melody in our compositions. Even before Ed or I start singing, there's a keyboard trilling away on Wishful Thinking, Red Sails and Papua. A lot of bands at that time didn't do that. People find the title and lyrics of Black Man Ray mysterious."

After a long tour, immersion in music-making with a synth, drum machine and a four-track Tascam Portastudio produced new material. Inspiration from Brian Eno and the found-sounds concept led to recording ambient textures by holding a mic out of a bedroom window. Black Man Ray began as an ambient piece featuring a boy singing in the street; the recorded voice later appeared in the opening bars of The Highest High. Producer Walter Becker reshaped the track and contributed heavily across the Flaunt the Imperfection album. The single retains a classic China Crisis synth sound, strong melodies, pre-vocal keyboard trills, and enigmatic, autobiographical lyrics referencing Man Ray and Ray Charles.

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