New Order - Technique

Turning point album for me. Personal Top 10 4eva.

Then Play Long reaches New Order at long last: http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/new-order-technique.html

Loved that write up, thanks.

It also made me listen to Bummed again

Random New Order question that doesn't seem appropriate for any particular thread or worthy of creating its own so I'll use this one dedicated to this remarkable album.

Does anyone know who the person was who actually did the inscribing of hidden messages on the New Order vinyls in the 80's?

I'm surprised, I must admit, that Sumner didn't write lyrics by himself before this album. Guess this explains why they're so much sharper here than usual.

Is this the one that seemed from ... self-medication?

Every album was.

Maybe I'm thinking of "Republic?" There's one album where Sumner supposedly set a regiment of maybe ecstasy to help him break his lyric writer's block (which lol lyric's block with this guy), not recreationally but almost medicinally. Maybe it was the second Electronic record? I can't remember.

In the 1990s, he took part in some BBC documentary about the effect of Prozac on creativity. I remember him talking about how it cured his writer's block. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RDCHhULhN0

The second Electronic album.

Aha, that's it! Technique was the divorce album. Love was the drug I was thinking of.

Raise the Pressure, by no means a masterpiece but under-rated I think, Forbidden City is lovely

That second Electronic album has some decent moments on it, but it's mostly dull, IMO - there's about 2 or 3 tracks I'd keep, but even then...

I'd go as high as maybe 6 if you include some b-sides from that album, but Raise the Pressure is pretty poor overall. Bizarre that the vinyl is so expensive on the 2nd hand market.

I remember those Prozac articles. If anything they were harbingers of the often bland rock pop that was to come for New Order for ages.

Does anyone know who the person was who actually did the inscribing of hidden messages on the New Order vinyls in the 80's?

Here's the description from Peter Hook's New Order bio:

"The run-out groove messages were our way of tantalising the listener with a little puzzle or lyrics from the song that was coming next, inspired by Porky Prime Cuts, a mastering plant in London. Porky (George Peckham), a record cutting engineer, was famous for scratching little missives into the run-out groove of his mastered records".

Ha, yeah... I've got a lot of records that were mastered by Porky Peckham, they usually have 'A Porky Prime Cut' in the run-out groove. His cuts were top notch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrSL6f3NMmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ11hvuiHbQ

These guys could be brilliant live. They could also be dismal.

They could also be dismal.

The performance of "Run," for starters. I can't tell if the sound people mixed Hook's bass too high, or if Gilbert didn't know her guitar part. At best I'll say it's February and they're still getting to know the new material.

That was exactly what made me post that.

I think you're onto something with the idea of new material. I saw them in 85, touring for Low Life, pretty well into the tour. One of the three best shows I've ever seen. The next year, they came to town for Brotherhood. Fucking awful. I also think Barney in particular was/is very picky about the sound system.

the "run" performance" just sounds like a terrible mix, everything except the bass and vocals is drowned out

And most of all...

Happy 35th.

Happy birthday to the greatest album ever recorded.

Annnd here's Ned's 30th anniversary piece published a decade ago: https://thequietus.com/articles/14359-new-order-technique-review