The Redemption of Martin Hannett - Book and DVD Release

The genius of Martin Hannett (Joy Division, New Order, U2 and Happy Mondays producer) is too be celebrated with a new book and DVD film both released in April.

Hannett's story,he died of a heart attack in back in 1991 aged only 42, has gone mainly unrecorded despite the wealth of material produced on Factory Records.

Cerysmatic Factory who have seen the DVD outline it below:

featuring contributions from Tony Wilson Vini Reilly, Bruce Mitchell, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Tosh Ryan, Steve Hopkins (Invisible Girls), Mark Radcliffe, Dave Formula, Reni and Andy Couzens (Stone Roses) plus many othera.

This is no flash expensive BBC documentary, it's a gritty warts 'n' all tale of experimentation, laid bare with the minimum of trickery and a host of wide-eyed observers...."

http://news.cerysmaticfactory.info/2014/03/martin-hannett-he-wasnt-just-the-fifth-member-of-joy-division-dvd-documentary-review.html

You can order directly from here:

http://www.ozitmorpheusrecords.com/

This is great interview between Tony Wilson & Martin Hannett. .



The song being "produced" is Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls - The Visitor have a listen below. Listen to the snare drum!

There is also a sample from the video in the first two tracks from The Durutti Column's A Paean To Wilson.

Happy Birthday New Order's Technique - 25 Years Old Today

On the 30th January 1989 New Order released their LP Technique on cassette, compact disk, record and digital audio tape! Released on Factory Record with the Factory Number - FAC 275. 

Recorded partly in Ibiza (although very little of the Ibiza recordings made the final record), where the band spent the time partying, crashing cars and soaking in the emerging Acid House/Balerica Beat club culture. The new club sounds clearly influenced the band and bleed through to the LP. You can hear them in the indie acid of Fine Time to (the first single) to the general sun dappled production, upbeat melodies and rhythmic thrust. The shift from the band debut LP Movement in 1981 with its heavy Martin Hannett production and difficult lyric and deep vocals couldn't be more marked. If a year is a long time in politics then eight years is generation in musical terms. They simply don't sound like the same band at all, the only clue that links the bands is Hooky's melodic bass and the brilliance of the drumming. 

I remember buying at the time on cassette from Our Price in Woolwich. It is one record that has really stuck with me through the last 25 years, it arrived at a rather difficult part in my own personal life and I have bought it on CD a number of times as I have lost or damaged them across the years. It always brings a smile to my face and is an uplifting listen. 

 "It begins. It thumps with glee, it swirls with lackadaisical  intensity. "You're much too young to be a part of me, you're much too young to get a hold on me." And never have veterans sounded so

brilliantly arrogant, masters so eager. Jesus. "Technique" is so

effortlessly GREAT, so languidly heroic, so vibrant and thrilling

despite itself, that one wishes one could weep....."

Chris Roberts 

A can remember Chris Roberts review in Melody Maker at the time and it can viewed here 

http://www.new-order.net/terminal1.demon.co.uk/NewMM1-89album.htm

A great review from Ian Wade at the BBC website from 2008

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/nxbd

Rate Your Music Page on Technique

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/new_order/technique/

The LP reached number one in the UK Album charts, the singles released were Fine Time (11th), Round and Round (21) and Run 2 (49). It would be the last LP the band released on Factory before the label went bust and the band moved to London record for the release of Republic in 1993. 

Happy birthday Technique you are still a joy to listen to.

Cool as Ice - Be Music Productions (New Order) Spotify Playlist

Have just found this little gem on Spotify. The LP Cool as Ice collects various New Order Productions as Be Music between 1983 and 1984. This was just as New Order were dancing headlong towards electronic music and away from the Martin Hannett  Joy Division production template.




The LP collects the various members of New Order as they produced other Factory Record acts (no doubt Tony Wilson hoping that some of that chart bound magic could be sprinkled on other artists).

The Be Music productions were divided into three teams:

• Barney and Donald Johnston of ACR (aka DoJo)
• Hooky
• Stephen and Gillian 

Section 25, Marcel King (Shaun Ryders favorite ever Factory track) , Paul Haig and Quando Quando (including future M People main man Mike Pickering) were produced by Barney and Johnston, Nyam Nyam and the Be Music Theme are the work of Hooky and Life, Thick Pigeon and 52nd Street by Stephen and Gillian.

The two Section 25 tracks are wonderful, full of the fragile grace and brittle melodies that also marked out New Order at this time. They could be out takes from Movement or Power Corruption and Lies. The Looking From a Hilltop 12" Megamix is a real lost factory classic all bleeping bass, interweaving male and female vocals and a great synth string part. 

The Be Music Theme has shades of the New Order track murder in its mix of sampled(?) speech, tribal drumming and keyboard washes. Fate/Hate by Nyam Nyam is with is chugging baseline and midi synth parts is beautiful. The New Order pair of Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert also played on the Nyam Nyam record and went on to produce and play on the LP Too Crazy Cowboys released by Factory in 1984.

You can purchase the LP in CD and Vinyl formats here:

http://www.ltmrecordings.com/cool_as_ice_ltmcd2377.html