The Aesthetic & Social Roots of Joy Division-Part 1

[@moretinga]

Let me express my deepest gratitude for taking the time to transport us to this harsh environment, the start of it all.

[@woody5831]

Thats how it was in the uk especially London & that is how punk started in London

[@DIEWELTMusicChannel]

These days it's rare that YT recommends to me something special, something interesting. But tonight it happened and I discovererd your channel. As a long Joy Division and early New Order admirer ( I hate the word "fan") and living a life in which their music played a major role, inspired me to do a JD and NO magazine called STANDARD FACTUS, inspired me to start playing bass and form a band and create music up to this day , I fully enjoyed this a lot. A lot. Very interesting indeed. Looking at your other content I am very sure this will not be my only comment. All the best, I send my compliments , Max.

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thanks for the kind words. It's really nice to find that like minded individuals are enjoying what I make. I tend to make things that I wish existed. Here I didn't want to re hash the same old Joy Division stories. Nice to have you on board Max. Thanks again.

[@henryspencer9849]

Thanks for that great video. I'm french and even if there are things you can feel in the music or the lyrics of Ian Curtis (also a certain historical background explained in the excellent documentary Joy Division) your explanations go a lot deeper than the few elements evoked in '24 Hour Party People' and 'Control' or any documentary I've seen so far and are really helpful to understand the mindset of that era . Thanks again.

[@RickyKershaw]

Superb stuff. So many bands/artists from all over that these would be great for. Do all of them as and when you’re able please

[@MusicEnthuZone]

I think in time that is the plan. Use different artists as a way of looking at different time periods.

[@PontiacS.]

It Looks like Detroit, Michigan today is like Manchester was in the 70's.

[@mingmiao364]

I find myself coming back to this video over and over again. Superb work. Joy Division for me is an acquired taste, and knowing the social and aesthetic origins of it definitely helped with the acquisition process. Members of Joy Division always said that their work is open to interpretation, and here is my interpretation of the iconic cover of Unknown Pleasures. A pulsar is the terminal stage of a massive star. Its radio wave was the first signal human got to know its existence. So anthropomorphically, the radio wave is its the last cry. Fittingly, the music of Joy Division is the sound of a decaying, post industrial society, as well as an individual losing his will to live.

[@MusicEnthuZone]

You know, this is exactly where I'm coming from with the whole dub angle. Both the Pulsar and those echoes remind me of fading memories. Joy Division are an excellent lens to view lots of stuff through. Thanks for taking the time for such a thoughtful comment.

[@Mancheguache]

When you quoted Bernard's teacher saying, 'you'll end up working in a Factory lad" - yuo yourself could have said - well in a way he was right - -Factory recor.ds..." boomboom

[@MusicEnthuZone]

You're right you know and I ended up editing me saying that out because I fluffed the timing. You can hear I say 'but of course' two sentences in a row. Which niggles.

[@Mancheguache]

macmillan saidthat about never having it so good

[@MusicEnthuZone]

You are completely right. I got too absobed and mixed my Harolds up. And it was years earlier. So good catch. When I've finished the series I'm going to edit it into one complete film. So that will be changed. Thanks.

[@stefanhansen5882]

This is amazing! One of the greatest bands ever! I am looking forward to watch all your entire playlist about them! Happy New Year!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thankyou Stefan. They were special weren't they? This is all the product of me spending 3 decades trying to work out what was so special about them.

[@stefanhansen5882]

@@MusicEnthuZone They surely were. I first heard an LP with Joy Division about 20 years ago, and then borrowed it from my friend. I listened to it day and night (mostly night). Their sound was so unique, as pure emotions transformed into audible waves.

[@rawintwNIOUx2]

Loved that! So great to see where the lads grew up and what kind of environment was the foundation for their sound. Thanks for doing that! Amazing job!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thank you. I tried to use the 'picture is worth a 1000 words' rule. Really great to get lovely feedback. I'm working on the next part. We'll be going a little abstract but trust me. I'll tie the threads together.

[@hughiedavies6069]

Brilliant, this is the best thing I've seen regarding joy division and the Manchester they grew out of, I lived in hulme in the late 80s and 90s, opposite the psv or Russell club, I moved to Manchester because of factory records and joy division, thank you great video 👏

[@MusicEnthuZone]

That's almost the perfect place to listen to them. Same time as I was first obsessed by them. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@sebastiandeinemutter236]

Awesome content, my friend! I love how you incorporate socio-economic and class analyses into your videos. That`s the way! Keep up the good work

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thank you, and especially for picking up what I'm trying to do. Seems to me basically all people talking about music talk about either their own taste or overly literal histories. Luckily there's a load of books that don't do that and have been my inspiration to do things this way. Thanks again. Love getting feedback like this. Makes it worth it.

[@factoryfactory7142]

Ive got the factory sampler in the loft, wonder if its worth anything, hardly likely?

[@MusicEnthuZone]

I was curious and looked on Popsike. If it's the 2 x 7" then the last one was sold in 2022 for ~£750. Probably a grand now.

[@Mancheguache]

looking forward to the rest - well done

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Im working on outlines for the rest at the moment. Don't worry, I'm a very quick worker. I had the script and soundtrack already but this took me two days for recording and editing. As I mention in the show notes I've got an illness in the family which means returning to the uk for a while. That will just mean a little space for writing.

[@leolovetoparty]

Thank you so much for your channel, which I discovered recently. Really great work. I've learnt a lot from your videos. Having watched a few of the reggae ones, I've started watching the Joy Division ones. In particular, I love the context you have brought focus to. Superb! Thanks again!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Welcome aboard, I love comments like this they really give me a boost. Thank you

[@leolovetoparty]

@@MusicEnthuZone I can imagine and more than happy for that. Funnily enough I’m watching your liminal spaces and the music of JD. I appreciate you also tackling mental health (it’s kinda impossible to discuss Ian Curtis without doing so). As someone who has personal experience in this, I wish you all the best and hope your channel grows.

[@MusicEnthuZone]

As you might be able to guess this was a form of therapy for me. Making this video was as much me processing my life as the band. Background, I left the UK 15 years ago because I met a Spanish girl. There's lots of 'expats' here. But I'm not one of them. So I'm an immigrant, not an expat. I integrate. And that sounds great until you figure in that now you're not articulate, you can't connect. So, liminal. I had mental health problems before but as you can imagine it didn't help. So this video was me processing something. I know that now. In adolescence I was drawn towards Joy Division and never really knew why. It's happened at other times too. They become a focus of a certain sense of uncertainty and adrenalin (cortisol?). So I actually find I have to ration myself. Look not into the abyss and all that. Which is kind of why I'm currently exploring Dub Reggae. Impossible to have existential dread listening to Dub unless the siren is too harsh. You take care. Us hypersensitives have a burden, we feel too much.

[@leolovetoparty]

@@MusicEnthuZone I can relate to much of what you have shared - thank you so much for doing so. How can we connect offline?

[@woody5831]

Begining of this saying what they gew up around Thats how punk started in London

[@MusicEnthuZone]

It definitely is. No coincidence that Manchester quickly became the second city of punk I think.

[@sleepisoptional]

these are fantastic!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Glad you like them. More coming soon. I'm awful at doing the correct thing for the algorithm (releasing at the same time each week) but fear not.

[@SPAKBABBATH]

looks class, this!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thankyou. Take care Babbs.

[@dirkpehrke9909]

Great documentary! Go on!❤

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thankyou. More coming soon. I'm visiting family just now but will be back on it as soon as I get back.

[@GrenMatze]

Fantastic watch!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thank you for the kind comment. More to come...

[@MarcioSilva-ssiillvvaa]

This does the band justice. Awesome!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thankyou Marcio. It's really great to know people are enjoying the videos. More to come!

[@bworkman6094]

Good, well informed introduction....looking forward to next episode

[@MusicEnthuZone]

More to come! Glad you enjoyed it so far.

[@LONEEAGLE_space_rock]

Excellent work; we were right into Joy Division in the early 1980s. A very different context in history, cold war etc. We lived in a small coastal town here in new zealand, and from a small record shop in town we would get Joy Division albums and bootlegs imported from the UK. Joy Division definitely reached all corners of the earth

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Yes, I'm old enough to remember that era but was too young for the music. To me Atmosphere captures completely the feeling of that mutual assured destruction (even though they never commented on it) that creeping paranoia feels very much of the time.

[@steviemac8075]

Great channel excellent work sir 👍🏻

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thanks, you're welcome. Just glad it's all of interest/use to the discerning.

[@univerz0]

Great video!

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@Mancheguache]

top vid - have to say the music you did in background sounds more like Bunnymen's 'Heaven up Here' phase than JD - but, stll good pbvs

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Thanks, I'm actually in the process of making another backing track. I'll be honest I wish I could capture the sense of wild abandon that they did. They were young, I'm less so. Coincidentally I was playing with this track in my DAW tonight and slowed it down to 85%. It sounded quite a bit more in the ballpark to me, less bunnymen as it were. Anyway, there should be a Newcastle based tribute band and they should be called 'Geordie Vision'. Just an idea Take care.

[@Mancheguache]

@@MusicEnthuZone I hear you all too well there feller lol - I've been trying to write and mix something good sounding for years - got the ableton gear and a load of plug-ins, but it always sounds like, in the end, back what I was doing with two casette recorders and a Casio drum box back in '81. Did you see that American dude doing a re-mix of 'Disorder' on youtube btw? Interesting - he makes a right balls of it - but he puts the song through a channel stripper - o no now I'm thinking of that club in Salford - and you gte to hear all the individual tracks. On the vocal you can hear Curtis gasping and catching his breath and the origin of that whooshy sound on another. Hannet was a genius...

[@Mancheguache]

@@MusicEnthuZone I hear you all too well there feller. Good track. I've been trying for years to come up with something half decent - got Ableton a load of plug-ins but it still ends up sounding like when I was messing about with two casssette recorders and a Casio drum box back in 1981. Did you see that yotube vid of the American guy channel stripping 'Disorder'. He makes a balls of it but you get to hear thte origin of that whooshing noise and hear Curtis catching his breath in the takes.

[@Mancheguache]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4bJfnmilJKnq7s

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Oh that is interesting. Wonder where he got the multitracks from... I've had a few over the years. There was a 'Blue monday' one doing the rounds. He misses the Martin Hannett style doesn't he. Ends up sounding like Raw Power.