New Order's new album, Music Complete, to be released in September on Mute

New Order has announced the release of their new album, Music Complete, out on September 25, 2015.
 

The long awaited album will be New Order’s first full studio release since 2005's Waiting For The Siren's Call, and their debut for Mute. Music Complete finds the group revitalized, and where the group has previously pushed toward electronics or guitars, here the two are in balance. Music Complete also marks a return to the studio for Gillian Gilbert; this is her first album with New Order since 2001's Get Ready.

The album will be released on CD, download, black vinyl and limited edition clear vinyl. In addition, there will be an exclusive 8-piece deluxe vinyl collection that includes the album plus extended versions of all 11 tracks on colored vinyl – Pre-order HERE.

New Order is: Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Morris, Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham.

Music Complete is produced by New Order, except ‘Singularity’ and ‘Unlearn This Hatred’, both produced by Tom Rowlands, while ‘Superheated’ features additional production by Stuart Price. Long-term collaborator Peter Saville provides art direction.

Live dates to be announced soon…

Michael Shamberg RIP

Michael Shamberg - RIP

Movie of the Week: 24 Hour Party People (2002)

If you're a fan of Factory Records and the UK post punk scene, and you've never seen this movie, you're in for a treat. Seriously, make some time over this long weekend, and watch it! It just might be the best music related biopic I know of...

Movie of the Week: Who Is Tony Wilson?

Tony Wilson by Paul Wolfgang Webster

Who Is Tony Wilson? was made by Steven Lomas, and features contributions by Kevin Cummins, Dave Haslam and Martin Moscrop. Hat tip to Cerysmatic Factory for this one.

Instant Collection: 99 Records!

The rarest of the rare. A Liquid Liquid 7" (Bellhead) that was never issued and is very difficult to find (7" single, 1981)

More goodies are up on eBay now. I thought this lot might be of interest as they're all 99 Records-related. Click each photo to view that item specifically, and see all of my eBay items here.

Bush Tetras - Too Many Creeps (7" single, 1980)

Maximum Joy - Stretch (this is a Y Records 7" issue, but 99 released a 12", 1981)

Y Pants - Off The Hook (Includes insert, 7" EP, produced by Glenn Branca, 1980)

ESG - You're No Good (7" EP as issued by Factory Records, 1981)

Congo (The Congos in disguise) - At The Feast (12" EP, 1981)

Singers & Players - War of Worlds (Originally issued by On-U Sound, and produced by Adrian Sherwood, LP, 1981)

ESG - Dance To The Beat of Moody (12" EP, 1982)

Liquid Liquid - GroupMeGroup (Includes insert, 12" EP, 1981)

Liquid Liquid - Dig We Must (12" EP, 1984)

Just for kicks, here is the insert that comes with Liquid Liquid's GroupMeGroup EP (above)

Factory Benelux & New Order To Issue Special Benefit Comp For Michael Shamberg

If you've had the pleasure of seeing New Order in the last couple of years, there's a chance they dedicated the gig to a fellow named Michael Shamberg. Now I can't really blame you for saying "Who?" Only the most trainspotting of us Factory Records fans MIGHT know who he is. He's a very low key fellow - even when he was running the US office for Factory back in the 1980's in NYC. Despite his low key profile, Shamberg played a big part in the success of band's like New Order, and others. Keep reading and you'll find out why a whole bunch of ex-Factory workers have gotten together, and allowed their music to be included on this release. Of note: 100% of the proceeds will go to Shamberg and his medical fund, and the release date is May 26, 2014.

Factory Benelux and New Order present Of Factory New York, a unique benefit album released to assist Michael Shamberg, who ran the NYC office of Factory Records during the celebrated label’s Eighties heyday.

Available on CD and double gatefold vinyl formats, Of Factory New York gathers a selection of classic tracks by artists associated with OFNY including the John Robie remix of Yashar by Cabaret Voltaire, Do the Du by A Certain Ratio, Cool As Ice by 52nd Street, Love Tempo by Quando Quango, the Megamix version of Looking From A Hilltop by Section 25 and an exclusive version of Your Silent Face by New Order, recorded live on tour in America in June 1989.

Homegrown American talent featured on the album includes Ike Yard, Thick Pigeon, Konk, Anna Domino and deejay/producer Arthur Baker. The cover art is based on an original 1983 design by Lawrence Weiner, the conceptual artist closely associated with Shamberg and Factory’s Big Apple operation.

Unfortunately in 2006 Michael was struck down with highly debilitating mitochondrial disease. All artists featured on Of Factory New York have donated their work free of charge, Factory Benelux will take no profit, and 100% of net revenues will be paid over to the medical trust which takes care of Michael.

“Michael has been with us from the very start,” explain New Order. “Initially he was in charge of Factory New York, then became creative producer for all our early videos. He brought our attention to the early works of directors such as Kathryn Bigelow, Gina Birch, Robert Breer, Peter Care, Phillipe Decouffle, Jonathan Demme, Robert Frank, Paula Greiff, Robert Longo, Bailie Walsh and William Wegman. Michael is very ill and needs constant medical attention. We want to help him, and played two fundraising shows in 2011. This new Factory New York compilation album will contribute further financial support towards Michael’s ongoing care.”

Vinyl tracklist:

A1. A Certain Ratio Do the Du

A2. Quando Quango Love Tempo

A3. 52nd Street Cool As Ice

B1. Cabaret Voltaire Yashar (John Robie Remix)

B2. New Order Your Silent Face (live 1989)

B3. Konk Baby Dee

C1. Section 25 Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)

C2. Streetlife Act On Instinct

C3. Marcel King Reach For Love (New York Remix)

D1. Thick Pigeon Subway

D2. Ike Yard Kino

D3. Arthur Baker Come On

D4. Anna Domino Summer (Arthur Baker Remix)

CD tracklist:

01. A Certain Ratio Do the Du

02. Quando Quango Love Tempo

03. Konk Baby Dee

04. 52nd Street Cool As Ice

05. Cabaret Voltaire Yashar (John Robie Remix)

06. New Order Your Silent Face (live 1989)

07. Section 25 Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)

08. Streetlife Act On Instinct

09. Marcel King Reach For Love (New York Remix)

10. Thick Pigeon Subway

11. Ike Yard Kino

12. Arthur Baker Come On

13. Anna Domino Summer (Arthur Baker Remix) 

Factory Benelux website

One man's trash...

"...rescued tapes of Martin Hannetts .. anyone interested..." 

Join the discussion.

Its nice to be noticed...

...especially when its by one of my all time favorite magazines (proud reader here for almost 20 years). Deputy Editor Andrew Male enjoyed the recent New Order Play At Home film so much he's made it Clip of the Day over at the Mojo website!

Stupefied: The Caesar (The Wake / 12 Stars) Playlist

This week's Stupefied Playlist comes courtesy of Glaswegian musician, guitarist Caesar (aka Gerard McInulty), long time leader of a band mostly associated with Factory Records, The Wake, as well as the 12 Stars Theatre Company. A big thanks to Caesar for the list - I love combination of British punk & folk with some indie and American psych & garage thrown in for good measure.  

Similar to the recent playlists by Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio, and Vini Reilly of Durutti Column, I again defer to the head of our Factory Records History Department, Professor John Cooper of Cerysmatic Factory, and his associate, Ian McCartney, for some perspective. Take it away boys:

If Factory was a label that was sometimes almost agoraphobic in its unwillingness to get out there and promote its acts, then it's fair to say that The Wake (during their time on the label) seemed to be a band that, perhaps more than any other, characterised the early-to-mid 80s Factory-era. If you wanted to find this stuff, you had to go looking for it: it sure as hell wasn't going to come looking for you. 

The band's two albums for Factory - Harmony (1983) and Here Comes Everybody (1985) - both got good notice in the contemporary music press, but beyond that, and some inspirational live shows, The Wake were so low-key that you sometimes wondered if a band could be any more mysterious. The music contained in both these discs speaks for itself, though, which was probably the idea. 

A 12" E.P. entitled Something That No One Else Could Bring appeared in 1987, clothed in a sleeve that appeared to depict a lunar landscape. Was this already distant band at its apogee? Then silence, for a long enough time to reasonably assume that The Wake had disappeared for good.

The Wake resurfaced some time later on the Bristol independent label Sarah Records, kicking off with single "Crush the Flowers", then a couple of albums followed - Make It Loud (1991) and Tidal Wave of Hype (1994).  These records sounded more 'indie' (for want of a better word) than the Factory stuff, and were full of great pop melodies and typically imaginative, literate writing.

And that was that. Or was it? A postscript to all this came in the form of A Light Far Out, eighteen years later, in 2012. The world had changed beyond measure in that time. Entire governments had been and gone. But this Glasgow band had remained true to their vision and brought us another fascinating work, another set of colourful melancholy. Another low-key classic.

- Ian McCartney

A Light Far Out CD is available on CD & digitally from LTM Records, and on vinyl from Factory Benelux (purchase here). The Wake are next playing at Indietracks 2013 (Ripley, UK) on Sunday, July 28, at 7:40pm on the outdoor stage.

Visit 12 Stars Theatre Company on Facebook.

The Wake, circa early 80's. Caesar is second from left.

01. Buzzcocks - Hollow Inside

02. X-Ray Spex - Art-I-Ficial

03. The Raincoats - Adventures Close To Home

04. The Pastels - Check My Heart

05. Nico - Le Petit Chevalier

06. Lou Reed - Vanishing Act

07. The Occasional Keepers - The Last Lighthouse Keeper

08. Trembling Blue Stars - The Far Too Simple Beauty

09. BMX Bandits - Little River Of Spring

10. Brian Eno - Sparrowfall 1

11. The Fall - (Birtwistle's) Girl In Shop

12. Stereolab - Neon Beanbag

13. The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - A Child's Guide To Good And Evil

14. The Seeds - Evil Hoodoo

15. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Zig Zag Wanderer

16. Nick Drake - Magic - Orchestrated Version 2

17. Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

18. Pentangle - Let No Man Steal Your Thyme

19. The Saints - This Perfect Day

20. Buzzcocks - E.S.P.

Peter Saville discusses the origins & influence of the debut Joy Division album cover

New Order setlist: Glastonbury, June 20, 1981

New Order setlist: Glastonbury, June 20, 1981. Via Goldmine Trash.

Before & After: Album Art 9

Before: 

Unused Peter Saville design for New Order’s “Crystal” single, 2001. 

As pictured in the book, Designed By Peter Saville.

After: 

Kanye West, Yeezus, 2013.

 Source, via. Two Kanye mentions in one day is enough, thank you.

Stupefied: The Vini Reilly Playlist

This week's Stupefied Playlist comes courtesy of legendary Mancunian musician, guitarist Vini Reilly. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Vini for not only sending a list, but also for personally writing it down in hand! The results can be seen at the bottom of this post. Thank you, Mr. Reilly! 

Similar to the recent Donald Johnson playlist, I'll once again defer to the head of our Factory Records History Department, Professor John Cooper of Cerysmatic Factory for some perspective. Take it away John:

The Durutti Column is the enduring project of Manchester's Vini Reilly, a virtuoso guitarist but also a concert pianist of very high repute. The group's name is derived from a combination of Buenaventura Durruti, the revolutionary anarchist who sought to liberate Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and the Situationist comic strip The Return of the Durutti Column.

The term "group" is perhaps a bit of a misnomer because apart from a short, disastrous (at least according to Vini) period in 1978 around the time of FAC-2 A Factory Sample (the first musical release on Factory Records), it has always been more of Vini's solo project plus collaborations with additional musicians. However, the most enduring of these has been with drummer/percussionist Bruce Mitchell since second album, LC (FACT 44), and he remains with the group until this day, many albums later and going strong at a spritely 73!

The Durutti Column's music is a wondrous thing to the many that have experienced it, both on record and live. Classifying it is somewhat difficult. Vini's distinctive guitar playing is normally prominent, embellished with effects and delays. Perhaps some piano or keyboards. Their legion of loyal fans have their own descriptions but one in particular usually springs to mind. On the rare compilation album The Sporadic Recordings (1989) the last track is called "Canadian Customs". This features a field recording of said customs guy asking what type of music The Durutti Column plays. Vini barely misses a beat, and then says "Avant-Garde Jazz Classical".

Since suffering a minor stroke in 2010, which left him with a loss of strength and feeling in his left hand, Vini's recorded output and live appearances have been severely restricted. However, Vini was interviewed by Manchester writer and DJ Dave Haslam at Manchester Town Hall in March of this year, and played an instrumental piece to a rapturous reception. Hopefully we will see more of Vini later in the year and perhaps even the much-delayed 'Chronicle' album.

Official website 

Facebook 

Twitter

A handwritten list from Vini - this deserves its own Factory catalog number

Movie of the Week: Umbrellas in The Sun - A Crepuscule / Factory Benelux Collection

Following the posting this week of Donald Johnson (A Certain Ratio)'s Stupefied Playlist, let's stick with the Factory Records vibe for the first MOTW for the weekend.

Here's Umbrellas In The Sun - an incredible collection of bands from the Crepuscule, Benelux & Factory loose family of labels. This collection wouldn't otherwise ever be possible without the hard & obsessive work of labels like LTM, so go buy a copy of this, or any of their DVD comps, now!

Umbrellas in the Sun borrows its title from the 1981 video compilation of the same name released by Belgian label, Les Disques du Crepuscule (TWI 099), and features selected clips from that project, as well as clips from A Factory Video (Fact 65), A Factory Complication (FBN 7) and A Factory Outing (Fact 71) plus previously unseen material. Featuring cover art by Crepuscule design director Benoit Hennebert, the DVD contains 23 rare clips filmed between 1979 and 1987 and runs for over 2 hours.  The definitive genre document!

Tracklist:

01. Antena - The Boy From Ipanema
02. A Certain Ratio - Back to the Start
03. Josef K - Sorry For Laughing
04. Cabaret Voltaire - Sluggin' Fer Jesus
05. Marine - A Propositio dei Napoli
06. Section 25 - New Horizon
07. The Names - Nightshift
08. Durutti Column - Marie-Louise Gardens
09. New Order - Everything's Gone Green (live)
10. Crispy Ambulance - The Presence
11. Minny Pops - Dolphins Spurt
12. Malaria! - White Sky/White Sea (live)
13. Tuxedomoon - Litebulb Overkill/Jinx (live)
14. Berntholer - My Suitor
15. Thick Pigeon - Wheels Over Indian Trails
16. Paul Haig - Heaven Sent (live)
17. Kalima - Trickery
18. Stockholm Monsters - Partyline
19. Swamp Children - You've Got Me Beat (live)
20. Kalima - The Smiling Hour
21. Quando Quango - Go Exciting (live)
22. Marine - Une Soiree Avec... (28 minute film)

Joy Division: 1979 Factory Manchester Concert Poster signed by Jon Savage

A very rare concert poster advertising a show by Joy Divison at The Factory, July 13, 1979, with artwork by noted music and cultural critic Jon Savage. This concert was Joy Division's first show in their hometown of Manchester after the release of their debut album, Unknown Pleasures (and took place at their record label's legendary club.)  The poster measures 17' x 25', and is in near mint condition, with only some very minor handling.  Any Joy Division poster is very rare, but this one—for a historic show, and with such great artwork—is highly desirable indeed. Signed in the lower right corner by Jon Savage. Buy it.

Blue Monday

Source

The Wake and Primal Scream in Glasgow, Nov 2, 1982

Source

Daily Travels: Touched By The Hand of God

New Order at Roseland, 10.18.12

New Order at Roseland 10.18.12

They did not disappoint. Of course I could quibble & nitpick, but I won't. The setlist was great, the sound excellent, and the lights were insane. I'm sorry I don't have a better camera for these events. It was great to see Barney in such happy & good form. The entire evening seemed to be geared towards showing appreciation - to Michael Shamberg who was there & the entire show was dedicated to. To the audience to whom Barney said towards the end of the set, "Thanks for being our fans for all of these years." And finally to Ian Curtis and Joy Division - the two encore songs performed were/are JD classics, and the slide/movie projections behind New Order as they played them showed classic photos of both Ian and the band. The crowd ate it up.

New Order's music has not dated. Thank god we still have them. Let's hope we don't have to wait another seven years before seeing them again.

Via

Setlist - New Order @ Roseland Ballroom, 10/18/2011
Elegia
Crystal
Ceremony
Age of Consent
Love Vigilantes
Here to Stay
Your Silent Face
1963
Close Range
Bizarre Love Triangle
5 8 6
True Faith
The Perfect Kiss
Blue Monday
Temptation
ENCORE:
Atmosphere
Love Will Tear Us Apart

For more photos & a review visit Brooklyn Vegan.

Just Because: Unknown Pleasures (this one moves!)

As it originally appeared in the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy

Factory Records 1979, idea by Stephen Morris, design by Peter Saville