This paper discusses the band Joy Division’s evolution through musical influences, studio production techniques learned from Factory Records producer Martin Hannett, and embrace of new technology with digital instruments. Their exponential growth from punk style three-chord thrash into post-punk laid the foundation post Ian Curtis for the remaining members dance band New Order.
Punk began in the U.S. in the early 1970s, a return to songs where you could play 3 chords and get up on stage within a week. Impresario Malcolm McLaren witnessed the emerging scene in the US and returned to London, revamped his boutique, and managed The Sex Pistols. Joy Division’s two founding members Sumner (guitarist) and Hook (bassist) witnessed The Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester on 4th June 1976, a gig considered, ‘the wellspring for years of musical innovation … in punk, post-punk and ultimately dance-music culture … immortalized in two films (24 Hour Party People and Control)’ (Hook, 2012, p. 35).
Hook and Sumner, both from Salford, later connected with musically like-minded individuals Ian Curtis (vocalist) and Stephen Morris (drummer) in Greater Manchester to become Joy Division. Firstly, they were called ‘Warsaw (after David Bowie’s frosty instrumental Warszaw) … and quickly moved into darker sounds, developing the monochrome poise of what became known as post-punk’ (BBC, 2015).
Their first release was, a four-track 7-inch record called “An Ideal for Living” in 1978. Following this the band received career changing local support from manager Rob Gretton, Factory Records owner Tony Wilson, record producer Martin Hannett, artist Peter Saville, ‘and his beautiful record sleeves, and writer Paul Morley and his need to document the changing social topography of his home city’ (BBC, 2015).
Rollins (2019) wrote, ‘The Factory label was almost a perfect reflection of Wilson; rebellious, innovative and fiercely independent’.
These qualities also associated with the band members seem in opposition to Hannett’s comment, “They were a gift to a producer, because they didn’t have a clue. They didn’t argue” (as cited in Rollins, 2019).
The remaining band members acknowledge their inexperience in the studio and development under Hannett’s tutelage. The band released their first full length album, “Unknown Pleasures” on 14 June 1979. Rollins (2019) summarised what followed, ‘On May 18, 1980, Curtis took his life at age 23. A month later, in June, perhaps Joy Division’s most well-known song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” was released. In July 1980, the band’s second album, “Closer,” came out. Joy Division would reach its peak posthumously.’
Celnik (2017) wrote, ‘They were pioneers in the indie concept of incorporating the coldness of the city into thoughtful lyrics. Their music reflected their environment.’
Hook credited Curtis for the band’s influences ‘Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, Velvet Underground, the Doors, Can and Faust’ and direction, ‘He had the plan and the rest of us were his tools to carry it out’ (Hook, 2012, p.109).
Rollins (2019) described their ‘Mancunian posture’ influencing an ‘utilitarian work ethic’ which in Sumners own words meant, “We just completely ignored each other, we were all on our own island, and we just made sure that what we did sounded great.”
Hook (2012) affirmed this, but, set vocalist Ian Curtis apart, ‘The way it worked was that he’d listen to us jamming, and … picked out the best bits’ (p.140).
DJ, electronic producer and Waves artist Dave Clarke (2016) said of Curtis, ‘his lyrical ability was exceptional and fit the zeitgeist of post-WW2 England. Yet it still rings true today.’
Nicholson (2016) added, ‘Lyrically, he held nothing back; his themes were wrapped in elegant, poetic phrasings … listen to the lyrics of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and he paints you a picture of something as intimate and painful as the collapse of his own marriage’.
Stephen Morris’ drumming style wrote Hook (2012), ‘had all that power that we were looking for but with a texture we hadn’t heard before … he’d been playing with a jazz trio, [and] combined the feel and intricacy of jazz with the power and energy of rock and punk’ (p. 66).
Hook (2012) stated his bass sound was achieved by acquiring the same equipment as Jean-Jacques Burnel of the Stranglers, ‘a Vox 2×15 cab and a Hi-Watt head’ (p.112).
Furthermore, for the album “Unknown Pleasures” he innovatively, ‘had a 100-watt Marshall Lead Amp, wired for bass … rich, warm sound, especially when you played high’ (Hook, 2012, p.247).
Sumner’s ability as a guitarist had, ‘lightness and separation like the Velvet Underground … a brilliant guitarist … and that sparseness and space of his guitar lines … makes Joy Division special’ (Hook, 2012, p. 82).
When the band were writing songs for the album “Closer” Sumner played more keyboards and Curtis began playing 2 guitars, ‘the Vox Peardrop and the Vox Teardrop, very idiosyncratic; the Teardrop had some wild built-in effects that he loved.’ (Hook, 2012, p.140)
Their first recording with Hannett “Unknown Pleasures” was, ’a world away from the reheated primal rock of punk. … with artists such as The Cure using that sound as a jumping-off point’ (BBC, 2015).
The post-punk sound of Joy Division was achieved in conflict with Sumner and Hook’s initial musical idea. ‘Martin mixed Unknown Pleasures his way. Ian and Steve loved it. Me and Barney hated it … We wanted it to go RARRGH! And instead it went ptish. All the things I now love about the album – the spacey, echoey ambient sound of it – were all the things I hated about it when I first heard it’ (Hook, 2012, p.156).
In this way producer Martin Hannett extended the band’s direction. Drummer Morris said, ‘He very much had the philosophy of using the studio as an instrument. You’re not going in there just to record a song, you’re experimenting’ (Spice, 2016).
Morris also said reggae and ‘dub music coming out of Jamaica’ influenced their style. He explained that, ‘the producer [would] take a record and just mangle it. That was a big thing, using the studio that way to transform something’ (Spice, 2016).
Initially, Hannett’s sound preference was Cargo Studios and, ‘the reasonable rates of hire gave him the freedom to experiment’ (BBC, 2015).
Morris recalled with the evolution of Joy Division’s unique sound Hannett discussed his own influences, ‘west coast records … had a particular sound. He likened it to Elektra, when they started off, because Elektra Records had that kind of folky weird psychedelic sound that he wanted Factory Records to have’ (Spice, 2016).
Hannett brought his own gear to Cargo studios as Brierley (as cited in Hook, 2012, p.115) elaborated:
his AMS Digital Delays, AMS Digital Reverbs, several synths and that along with all my Rebis delays and noise gates, Compressors, MXR delays, MXR harmonizers and echo plates, Roland chorus units, various analogue delays and effects … I was always impressed by his use of very fast delay on the snare drum, it did sound good and very punchy. His mixes were a combination of very obvious effects and a lot of subtle effects, just a hint of delay here or a touch of reverb there. The result was often stunning.
Clarke (2016) affirmed Hannett’s skill, ‘A true catalytic convertor in the artistic sense. I think he may have had a deeper understanding of their sound than perhaps they did. Joy Division under Hannett’s guidance was a complete entity, a whole package – how rare is that?!’
Importantly, Hannett’s production translated the live intensity of the band to the studio. Morris explained, ‘he took that rawness and turned it into something … more cinematic’ (Spice, 2016).
Hook (2012) described their first album “Unknown Pleasures” recording sessions at Strawberry Studios, ‘Martin wanted the live feel of the band playing but without sacrificing the clarity of the instruments. So he set us up to get maximum separation, and the way he did that was to record us separately, especially the drums’ (p.151).
It is a common thinking that surgery has the ability to make things better but there is levitra prices http://deeprootsmag.org/2015/08/03/after-30-bizarro-years-dan-piraro-is-goingsomewhere-else-maybewho-knows/ a growing trend towards more natural or holistic treatments. Vegetables Pureed or mashed sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin, green peas, viagra without prescriptions canada deeprootsmag.org spinach etc. 3. These drugs can serve only people with higher budget, so what about people with tight budget? People with tight cannot buy cialis generika 5mg them on daily basis. One of the activities frequently undertaken by people commonly now a day is purchase female viagra having a body massage.
Morris said, ‘in developing that specialist drum sound … [Hannett] wanted the bass drum on its own with nothing, no spill, so he could treat it one way and treat the snare drum another way’ (Spice, 2016).
Hook (2012) explained specifically, ‘Steve … was allowed to play only one drum at a time and ghosted the others … he didn’t have a click track to keep time to, so he kept speeding up and slowing down. Steve had to learn how to play the kit, … like a drum machine … Martin was taking the drums themselves apart, taking the tightening springs out, because he said they squeaked’ (p.151).
The learning curve in the studio was steep. Influential and experimental techniques used by Hannett on “Unknown Pleasures” included synthesizer instead of guitar, unique drum effects (recording spraying aerosols & kicking flight cases), atmosphere created by recording the studio freight lift, and Sumner’s reverse guitar effect (‘turn the twenty-four-track tape over and play the track backwards, pushing him to play over it forwards, … Martin then spun the tape back over so the guitar’s backwards’) (Hook, 2012, p.201).
New Order’s production on the bass drum for ‘Blue Monday’ would utilise a technique Hannett pioneered ‘where he ‘pumped’ the vocal … you used an external speaker in a very ambient room. Using a fader on the desk, you’d send the signal out into the room at a suitable volume and bring it back through a microphone into the control room to mix in with the original track. A great trick, Martin used it on the piano on ‘Transmission’, putting a speaker underneath the strings and recording it back then adding it into the track as ambience’ (Hook, 2012, p.202).
Their second album, “Closer” was recorded at Brittania Row in London. Hannett guided them to play grand piano and taught Sumner how to gain ‘richness and depth’ [with] the ARP synthesizers and sequencers, … and used audio gates so that the drums would trigger synthesizer sounds and sound really crisp and powerful (Hook, 2012, p.247).
Hannett inspired them to embrace digital instruments, specifically Sumner created his Transcendent 2000 synthesizer from a DIY kit and Morris acquired his Synare, ‘a drum synthesizer with a white-noise generator that he used on both ‘She’s Lost Control’ and ‘Insight’’ (Hook, 2012, p.204).
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was recorded in March 1980 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport. Factory Records owner Wilson gave a Frank Sinatra record to Curtis for inspiration on the vocal delivery. The song originated from Hook’s bass riff and Curtis used that as the chorus melody when writing the lyrics. Morris built the drum part and Sumner played synthesizer. Hannett had influenced a different song writing approach, ‘There was no guitar on that when we first wrote it’ (Hook, 2012, p. 163).
Photographer Kevin Cummins (as cited in Rollins, 2019) described Curtis’ stage presence, “you always felt he was slightly out of control, and I’d not really experienced that with any other band, … The only other person who was that dangerous onstage was Iggy Pop”.
When Curtis committed suicide, ‘bonded together by trauma and shock, the band resolved to carry on, recruiting Gillian Gilbert on extra guitar and synths, and renaming themselves New Order’ (BBC, 2015).
Sumner reflected on the band’s trip to the US that followed, to ‘witness the emergence of dance and New Wave music and the influence of bands like Kraftwerk, Bowie, and Iggy Pop showed us new audio possibilities for composition … It was an interesting way to observe, to learn, to adapt, and to listen’ (Celnik, 2017).
Gee (2020) stated, ‘what New Order did next was reinvent dance music … shifted the post-Joy Division sound further away from its rock and punk roots, … Their music remains as wondrous a source of spontaneous joy as Joy Division’s is a potent reflection and reminder of the darker sides of life’s gritty truths. A gut-wrenching post-punk reality show.’
This contextualises Sumner’s audience query (as cited in Harrison, 2012, p. 80), “who would ever think that such a sad song would one day become so joyous?” when the current New Order line up performed ‘a sublime, statuesque’ version of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ in Paris in 2011.
It is a reminder of the band members’ musical capability instilled by Martin Hannett, the ability to experiment, create and transform.
The final words on inspiration and transformation are from Ian Morley, the writer who was there at the immortalized Sex Pistols gig in Manchester in 1976 and documented Joy Division’s story. He wrote this obituary for Ian Curtis in NME in 1980:
Ian Curtis decided to leave us, and yet he leaves behind words of such strength they urge us to fight, seek and reconcile. Joy Division will not change The World. But there is value; there has to be. The effect of Joy Division, the unknown pleasures each individual fully tuned into Joy Division discovers, can only be guessed at. But the moods and the insight must inspire us …The value of Joy Division is the value of love (Morley, 1980).
References
BBC (2015). How New Order reinvented the 1980s. Retrieved from BBC website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/cb922cbf-49fe-4853-9e21-f61e9822a5d1
Celnik, J. (2017). Bernard Sumner: An Offbeat Man. Retrieved from Panorama of the Americas website: https://www.revistapanorama.com/en/bernard-sumner-an-offbeat-man/
Clarke, D. (2016). “Ian Curtis still rings true”: Dave Clarke on Joy Division’s legacy. Retrieved from Disorder TC website: https://disordertc.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/ian-curtis-still-rings-true-dave-clarke-on-joy-divisions-legacy/
Gee, M. (2020). Love still tears us apart. Retrieved from g.music website:
https://www.gmuses.net/post/love-still-tears-us-apart
Harrison, I. (2012, February). Dreams Never End. Mojo Magazine, p.78-86.
Hook, P. (2012). Unknown Pleasures: inside Joy Division. London: Simon & Schuster.
Morley, P. (1980). Paul Morley on Ian Curtis: ‘The myth gets stronger’. Retrieved from Disorder TC website: https://disordertc.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/paul-morley-on-ian-curtis-the-myth-gets-stronger-2/
Nicholson, B. (2016). Ian Curtis: Why the enigmatic Joy Division Frontman remains British Indie’s greatest unknown pleasure. Retrieved from Disorder TC website: https://disordertc.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/ian-curtis-why-the-enigmatic-joy-division-frontman-remains-british-indies-greatest-unknown-pleasure/
Rollins, H. (2019). Why Joy Division? Henry Rollins examines Jon Savage’s oral history of the post-punk band. Retrieved from Los Angeles Times website:
https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-jon-savage-joy-division-henry-rollins-20190420-story.html
Spice, A. (2016). Stephen Morris on Joy Division and New Order: How the studio shaped the sound. Retrieved from The Vinyl Factory website: https://thevinylfactory.com/features/stephen-morris-on-joy-division-and-new-order-how-the-studio-shaped-the-sound/
