Confusion: the story of New York in New Order

[Frau_Blucher]

I keep going back to Simon Reynolds fantastic [i]Rip It Up and Start Again[/i] about post-punk to look up stuff. In retrospect, one excerpt is particularly cool, "The Manhattan/Manchester Connection". In the context of that segment, the Arthur Baker "Confusion" video could not be a more literal accounting of how the song was recorded, taken to a club that night for the stamp of approval, and became part of the notion that such a scene needed to be duplicated back in Machester ala the Hacienda.

See the video and read for yourself if interested...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ymlGReKHXDI

>>>
Renee Scroggins (ESG): We were playing with a band called A Certain Ratio and that's where we met Tony Wilson who had Factory Records and he said to at the club, 'Would you like to do a record?...Next thing you know, 2 days later we're in the studio with Martin Hannett and we didn't even know who he was! This is where we did 'Moody', 'UFO', and 'You're No Good', which are now the classic ESG songs.

Martin Moscrop (ACR): Tony Wilson had been to Manhattan just before we came out there to record our first album, 'To Each'...in 1980. Tony rented a loft in Tribeca...[etc]...But we finished the LP early! There were three days of studio time free...so we asked ESG if they wanted to come and record. So that was us taking a bit of New York back to the UK. And it's the same with New Order: when they came to New York, they were still sort of in the rocky phase, but they started getting more dance-oriented. We were both taking New York back to Manchester.

Steven Morris: We used to check out the clubs in New York. Hurrah's was one of them, and Danceteria. Ruth Polsky, our American tour manager, was involved in both clubs. The other thing we used to do in New York was just listen to Kiss FM, those Shep Pettibone mastermix shows: Sharon Redd, Peech Boys, all that lot. Half the time we used to stay in the hotel listening to the radio. We didn't dance, [i]didn't[/i] dance! It takes Exstasy to make a white man dance.

Peter Hook: As New Order, we had made a good start with the single 'Ceremony', but that was really the end of Joy Division rather than the start of something new. When we got to [i]Movement[/i], it was a real low point for us and for Martin [Hannett]. We were confused, musically...and in a mess...depressed.

Steven Morris: Our Berlin friend Mark Reeder would send us tapes of electronic Italian disco that was incredibly cheerful. 'Everything's Gone Green', that was when New Order found a direction again. That was the beginning of brining the drum machine in and pressing the start button.

Peter Hook: We'd done 'Everything's Gone Green', 'Temptation', and [i]Power, Corruption and Lies[/i] and Michael Shamberg suggested that we work with Arthur Baker because Arthur was really happening with [Rocker's Revenge's] 'Walking on Sunshine' and [Freeez's] 'I.O.U.' We thought that Arthur was going to be this technolgical genius creating these dance records and really he was just a punk let loose in a recording studio who didn't know what the fucking hell he was doing - he was just pushing sliders up and down. We were terrified of going over there to meet him but when we got there we realized he was just like us.

Barney sumner: We went into [Baker's] studio in New York with no song whatsoever. We've never done that before so it was in fact a completely experimental thing with a producer we didn't know. He was working with Freeez at the same time which is probably why 'Confusion' sounds similar.

Arthur Baker: 'Confusion' was a Funhouse record...I'd tell [New Order], 'We'll do it, we'll finish it, and we'll go to the Funouse so Jellybean [Benitez] can play it right away.

Richard Grabel (journalist): Jellybean hits a button and switches from his turntables to a reel-to-reel tape deck mounted on the wall. He then turns around towards Arthur, who's standing in the booth, and gestures towards the tape...The kids don't know what this new track is, but they're moving to it. It works. But it's hard to read Baker's expressionless face. Perhaps what he's seeing is dollars jumping into frantic motion.

Martin Moscrop: The Hacienda was built because of Danceteria and Funhouse and the Roxy. New Order were coming to New York and going to these fantastic clubs, thinking, Why haven't we got this in Manchester?
<<<

[Retro_NRG]

Interesting..
Seeing it in that context, the NY urban (pre-hip hop) influence on NO's early - mid 80's material is strikingly apparent.

Another song that comes to mind that (IMO) shares the same musical DNA is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l8PSdxy-_s" target="blank">'Shellshock'</a>

I'm curious if while visiting NYC, the lads from Manchester took in such timely films as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086998/" target="blank">Breakin</a> & <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086999/" target="blank">Breakin II: Electric Boogaloo</a>[:o)][8D][;)]

Moving @The Speed of Life

[MARV]

Definitely one of the main reasons I always dug New Order. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY during the seventies and eighties I was just immersed in all that great disco/dance/early hip-hop/freestyle/house/club culture that influenced and overlapped eachother. Along came New Order and it was just such a unique and exotic take on what was happening here that it was entirely irresistable. With Blue Monday - speaking of club culture, the number one selling 12" single of all time - they just rewrote the book on dance music. To this day, New Order make some of the best dance floor remixes ever.

The reason why I like some of the other bands that I do so much is because they have always kept a finger on the pulse of what was going on in New York and clubs all around the world. Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure.....can they even still be considered New Wave bands? Eighties bands? They're all into their third decades of consistent music production. That's like calling the Rolling Stones a sixties band.

<a href="http://marvymarv.multiply.com/">[i]You on the guestlist?[/i]</a>

[glokstadt]

I think this version on YouTube is clearer, the link on Blir's post is out of focus, and was driving me dizzy... [;)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OFapeFfiaY



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