Clap Your Hands

 

Not all handclaps are real; some are generated synthetically. A good example is a song by New Order that is mentioned far too rarely.

The Talking Heads also made use of this stylistic device in 1983.

To round things off, here’s a song where the rhythm is created by clapping, which acts as the perfect counterpoint to Hope Sandoval’s ethereal voice.

Low-Life

 

You can see how quickly the years go by by looking at the release date of albums that you liked right from the start and still feel happy listening to many years later. 40 years ago today, New Order released their third album Low-Life. 

The album was released when the Iron Curtain was drawn across the continent. Even New Order had one installed at the time: instead of cities and countries, it separated their musical oeuvre from that of their predecessor band Joy Division. With their predecessor Power Corruption & Lies, the quartet broke new musical ground in 1983 and combined the old bastard indie rock with the new temptation in the form of the TB 303 bass synthesizer and the Emulator II sampler, which had to be fed with 3.5-inch floppy disks. 

Seemingly effortlessly, New Order succeeds in fusing effervescent indie rock and shimmering dance pop, which is nevertheless clearly located in the underground. Their optimism and joy of playing also characterizes Low-Life: the promise of a golden future is already evident in the opener Love Vigilantes, which begins completely unglamorously with four snare drum hits and then places a melodica at the melodic center. Sunrise begins with a shadowy, wafting synth sound à la Atmosphere, before Peter Hook unleashes one of his golden bass lines and provides the counterpart to the synth thunderstorm.

With Elegia, they shift down several gears and present an almost meditative excursion into dark worlds before redefining electronic music towards the end with Sub-Culture, featuring hammering sequencer beats and a grandiose bass line.

New Order - Love Vigilantes

New Order - Sunrise

New Order - Elegia

New Order - Sub-Culture

Monday's Long Song

 

From time to time, it makes sense for musicians to rummage through their own archives. Nina Walsh has been doing this for some time now, opening up her treasure chest of previously unreleased music.

Last week, she dug up and released three electronic excursions again, of which Ridintg The Mistral stands out. A song in which she recalls the early days of New Order with a bubbling bass line and a metronome rhythm and breathes the spirit of Neu! into it with fine guitar picking.

Borderland

 

I have to admit that I love the pictures and footage of erupting volcanoes and hot magma running down the hills. It one of the wonders of our earth bringing us back to the days when the earth was a very young planet and of course I know that an eruption like this could destroy everything and bring death to many people. Scientists suppose that the next big volcano eruption will take place at Mount Etna, Naples because of the shift of the tectonic plates along the coastline. 

Two days ago Woodleigh Research Facility a video filmed by Iceland's Jon Arason during the last years. This video was accompanied by Andrew Weatherall's remix of a song by Nina Walsh. It seldom happens that the music and video seem to be one. The remix with strings, keyboards and a little touch of early New Order makes this 8 minutes a perfect harmony. Look, listen and enjoy 

Stutter

1986 was a good year in music and many remarkable albums were released in this year. For me one of the best albums is James' debut album Stutter. Many filed this album as a folk rock album but for me it is still a monument in songwriting. James were a part of Manchester's club scene, supporting New Order live and close to a contract with Factory records. They made complex songs with very unique arrangements you can enjoy still after a few decades. Stutter is one of those albums I will ever come back to. 

James - So Many Ways

James - Johnny Yen

James - Sculldaggery

Red Desert

 

The Vacant Lots is a Brooklyn, NYC based post-punk, electronic duo that is active since a decade and made some albums that are far over the average. A few name them as the devisee of Suicide. But you can't compare them with the synth-punk pioneers Alan Vega and Mercury Rev although you can hear fragments of their sound in their music. They have also influences of New Order, Pet Shop Boy and Human League in their songs. Red Desert is a song that could appear on any album by Sonic Boom and this is astonishing because Peter Kember mastered a few of their albums.  

And Disintegration could be song that was played often when it was released 30 years earlier.

Better Looking Brother

 

The new year started with a new discovery. Lust For Youth is a two piece Copenhagen based darkwave project by Hannes Norrvide and Mathe Fischer and their first album Compassion from 2016 was re-released a few days ago. Their music is not groundbreaking but their own definition of a sound inspired by early Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and New Order combined with a bit of post-punk is more than notable. It is good to see that young people know their idols and make something new.

Closer

40 years ago Joy Division released their second and last album Closer. When Unknown Pleasures were straight in it's darkness and sound Closer was more chaotic explosion in different kind of styles kept together by Peter Hook's bass and the voice of Ian Curtis

Joy Division - Isolation
Joy Division - Twenty Four Hours
Joy Division - Decades

24 Hour Party People

Last weekend I watched 24 Hour Party People the comedy-drama biopic about the rise of Mancester's popular music scene especially Factory Records once again on television. I think I don't have to say much about Factory Records because a lot of was already said by Adam over the last years. What I can say is that it is always fun to watch Michael Winterbottom's movie because he convey the spirit of music from the first Sex Pistols concert into rave and DJ culture. And it is also a tribute to Tony Wilson without him this probably didn't happened the way it did. The development of this music was the road in music that I decided for me. There are so many bands and songs in this movie that makes me grab out my old records and listen to them once again with a smile on my face.

Where We're Going

Another song that I heard for the first time a few days ago and I can't get rid of it was Where We're Going by Gerry Cinnamon a Scottish singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist from Glasgow area. I never heard of him before and if my investigations are right he is a hidden star filling great venues without a big promotion. You can describe his music as acoustic folk and mostly the singer and his guitar. This song is different - not only that there is a band in the background - to his other songs because it has a mood like New Order playing a guitar pop tune or The Cure when they recorded In Between Days. Very nice.

Automatic

Automatic is a new fascinating all female post-punk trio from Los Angeles and they made me listen to their debut album several times during the last days. Their roots and influence are in the early 80's best shown by singer Lola Dompé because she's the daughter of Kevin Haskins, the former drummer of Bauhaus and Love and Rocket. They borrowed their name from a song by the Go-Go's but their sound combines more than catchy vocals. They create a compelling sound over an anxious mood filled with slow driving beats and New Order-like basslines

Your Turn To Run

Back in 1981 Bettina Köster and Gudrun Gut formed a German post-punk band in Berlin that got forgotten during the last decades. Their sound was so unique and international that they got the chance for a Peel-session and the support for a tour with New Order. Malaria was part of the soundtrack of German new wave in the early 80's and their songs still sound fresh after all the years. This video is a kind of homemade movie on super-8 and it shows the attitude of these artists at these times.

Django DANCE

My youngest brother is active on Spotify as well crating new playlists during the year. One of them he named Django DANCE and he compiled early and popular tracks that got famous to many people. The list spreads from the early 80's to the 90's and I think it is worth to feature some tracks at this place. Songs I think all will know well and probably never listened to them for many years.

Tuesday's Cover

In this series it should be shown that some great (and forgotten) songs other artists keep alive doing their very own thing with this song. Not only to fill a record or serving the audience the song for an encore. I will try to promote some versions that are rather different to the original or close to it but in a way the song could be one of the songs that the band who made the cover has written originally. Ceremony by Joy Division was one of these examples. A song that never made it on an album by them was covered by Galaxie 500, a post-punk influenced band from greater NYC and they were active in the late 80's, I remember that their second record On Fire was on almost every independent turntable at these days and I have to admit that I loved their reduced independent guitar sound. The cover of Ceremony was the start to grab out the old vinyl of Galaxie 500 and it still makes me happy to listen to them after a very long time.

Sign Of Age

I came to this two-piece Montreal based band by the title of their first album. Life Is Short The Answer's Long is one of those you curious to investigate the music behind the title. Of course it is nothing new or spectacular but some kind of dream-pop on a high level. Sometimes you can hear that New Order was one of their massive influence.

Sister

These days Tracey Thorn released her newest album after several years and it is the kind of thing I expected. It continues at the place she arrived with the album before. Electric beats as a fundament for her voice. Now the beats were still programmed that way but she was assisted by some musicians of Warpaint and Corinne Bailey Rae. Music with warm synths, bells and a snarling bass like New Order; and Tracey Thorn with theirs floats above all still in such a way clarify, light and sure voice.

 

And as a bonus for Adam:

Back again

During the last years I featured The Limiñanas at this place. For me it is a band that can't make anything wrong. These French couple help oneself by a lot of music from different eras. I can hear influences by Velvet Underground, surf rock, Ennio Morricone and New Order as well. All mixed assorted to their very own unique style. After they released an EP last year they are back with an album that is on heavy rotation at my home and on the way to my office. Give them a little chance and listen and I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Call The Police

Almost six years ago James Murphy announced the breakup of LCD Soundsystem. Now a few songs from his comeback-album was released a few days ago. Call The Police shows that they unlearned anything since then. It is a big anthem and borrows liberally from the melody of New Order's Procession and the swirling guitars of Brian Eno's St. Elmo's Fire. And it is solid base to built a song that shows LCD Soundsystem back on their own high level.

Searching For The Perfect Pop Song

Back on the blog after a short time of abstraction. There were different things that kept me away from my computer and writing on this blog. For example my mother got 90 years a week ago and we celebrated her birthday last Saturday. Then there was a three games week in Germany's second league where I had to join the games on Sunday around lunch time. And finally I got a bad cold the recent days that kept me staying in bed. After all I think I left these things behind and looking forward to brighter days.

While reading the news that David Letterman is celebrating his 70th birthday I remember the first time Future Islands came to my attention when they appeared on his late-night show. After watching Seasons I asked myself what happened here. There was a singer moving like a beat-up Elvis and singing in a way that doesn't fit to the sound. It seemed like they were falling in a musical pot of new wave and adapting the sound of new romantics. To the surprise - it worked fine and a medical hype was born and their record Singles was rightly one of the best records in 2014.

Now they are back with their new album The Far Field and it is on the same level as the last one. Now with some borrowed sounds by New Order and Flock Of Seagulls. All in all a pop record that will probably accompany me during this summer

Indie Scene 1986

All things come to an end and so is this little series. It made a lot of fun to me crawling back into the days British independent music made it marks in history. Following the chronology of this kind of music development shows that I still stuck deep into this music.

So enjoy this and have a very good weekend.

Blue Aeroplanes - Lover and confident
Half Man Half Biscuit - Trumpton riots
Rose Of Avalanche - Velveteen
The Flatmates - I could be in heaven
The Mekons - Hello cruel world
The Psylons - Run to the stranger
The Weather Prophets - Almost prayed