Tag Archives: New Order

Electronic Sound 54 – Factory Records

Posted on by
Reply

Issue 54 of the inestimable Electronic Sound is out now, and its major focus is on the enduring legacy of Anthony Wilson’s Factory Records.

As Mute’s artist-led focus has continued since becoming a fully independent enterprise again, the borders between the Factory back catalogue and Mute have become fuzzy; New Order now call Mute home, and A Certain Ratio‘s entire back catalogue is now looked after by Daniel Miller‘s imprint. The latest issue features interviews with ACR and Stephen Morris of New Order / Joy Division, while the accompanying double 7-inch single issued with the bundle (now sold out) features the single version of ACR’s ‘Knife Slits Water’, presented alongside tracks from Factory stalwarts The Durutti Column and Section 25, as well as the oft-overlooked Minny Pops, in a gatefold sleeve that nods reverentially in the direction of the original Factory Sampler EP.

This month I contributed a short introductory feature on Alice Hubble, the alias of Alice Hubley from Arthur & Martha. You can read a short interview with Hubley over at my Further. blog as part of a series of micro-features called 3 Questions. I also reviewed albums by Pere Ubu, Tenderlonius, sometime Jaki Liebezeit collaborator Burnt Friedman, a fine Erland Apseneth album on Hubro and a various artists record fusing the natural sounds of Michigan with intelligent sound responses.

I also reviewed the excellent new Yeasayer album, Erotic Reruns. My interview with Anand Wilder from the band can be found here.

Buy Electronic Sound here.

(c) Mat Smith / Documentary Evidence for Electronic Sound

EnglandNewOrder – World In Motion (Factory Records single, 1990)

Posted on by
Reply

Irrespective of whether England win against Croatia this evening, ‘World In Motion’ will still be a fantastic song.

That’s because, unlike ‘Three Lions’, with its raucous insistence on football ‘coming home’, ‘World In Motion’ doesn’t presuppose that we will win. Even in the (dodgy) rap by the then-England squad, it’s just talking about tactics, not some sort of incessant over-confidence in those tactics guaranteeing us success. Without that Keith Allen-penned rap, ‘World In Motion’ isn’t really even a football song; it’s just a great pop song about people uniting together through love.

In 1990, I still followed football. I still played Subbuteo, I still played football at lunchtime at school and I still collected Panini sticker albums. I bought ‘World In Motion’ (on cassette) primarily because it was a good song during a period of heightened euphoria, but it also signalled the end of my interest in football completely. In place of Panini stickers I began collecting records. I haven’t looked back, though I did find myself buying the reissued ‘World In Motion’ t-shirt and I will be wearing it tonight.

Sacrilegious though this may be, I sort of always wished that New Order had recorded a version without the rap. I think it would stand up well as one of the best of New Order’s singles without it, even though it would never have given them their only number one.

(c) 2018 Mat Smith / Documentary Evidence

Electronic Sound – Issue 29 – New Order / Erasure

Posted on by
Reply

The latest issue of Electronic Sound includes a major new interview with New Order ahead of their new live album for Mute, NOMC15. The magazine has also landed a major coup by bundling an exclusive clear vinyl 7″ with special copies of the new issue which includes a previously-unreleased remix of New Order’s ‘Academic’.

I contributed a handful of reviews to the latest issue covering the eclectic fields of pop, electronic jazz, electronic grunge and cinematic soundtrack-friendly material in the form of write-ups of new releases by Slackk, Stuff, The Mark Lanegan Band, Kilchhofer / Hainbach and Erasure. I was proud to achieve another career first this month when a quote from my Erasure review made it to the posters promoting their new album World Be Gone across London’s Underground network.

To buy the special New Order edition of issue 29 of Electronic Sound, head here.

(c) 2017 Mat Smith / Documentary Evidence

New Order- Beyond The Hits (Clash feature, 2015)

Posted on by
Reply

  
I wrote this feature for Clash which seeks to look beyond New Order‘s most celebrated tracks and showcase some of the more interesting moments in the band’s back catalogue.

You can read the piece here.

(c) 2015 Mat Smith / Clash

New Order – Music Complete (Mute Artists album, 2015)

Posted on by
Reply

  
New Order release their tenth studio album – their first for Mute Records – on 25 September.

I reviewed the album for This Is Not Retro. You can read my review here.

(c) 2015 Mat Smith / Documentary Evidence

S.C.U.M – 568 (Mojo covermount, 2011)

Posted on by
Reply

Various Artists 'Power, Corruption & Lies Covered' CD artwork

Power, Corruption & Lies Covered | mojo covermount cd | 2011

This track was recorded by S.C.U.M for a Mojo compilation celebrating the release of New Order‘s Power, Corruption & Lies thirty years before. Thomas Cohen‘s boys joined the likes of Errors, Walls and Zombie Zombie who recorded a track apiece for the compilation which, given the participants and the different music worlds they individually occupy, has a natural unevenness, unlike the sleek production of the New Order original.

‘568’ was never my personal favourite song, either in the New Order back catalogue or on Power, Corruption & Lies. It was, to me, ‘Blue Monday’-lite, with none of the classic moments that the track it was so similar to contained. Mercifully, I’m able to put that to one side with the S.C.U.M version, which dispenses with the shameless (but careless) bounce of the original and moves proceedings into a far darker place than New Order’s version suggested was possible. Cohen’s vocal is detached and sinister (but also strangely authentic compared with Bernard Sumner‘s original), while the serenity of the lengthy build up provides no clue to the musical handbrake-turn that the band are about to pull when grainy distortion and a twisted bass arpeggio swing into view. Their version is more linear, less stop-start, and winds up sounding a lot like ‘New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)’ by Simple Minds.

Sadly this was probably among the last recordings S.C.U.M ever made and it’s yet another reminder of how disappointing it was that they called it quits.

I thought it high time to post this for two reasons: the occasion of Mute announcing the somewhat unexpected signing of New Order to the label that was revealed earlier this week, and also because occasionally I like to depress myself about S.C.U.M’s untimely demise.

(c) 2014 Mat Smith / Documentary Evidence