Archive for the new order tag

Miss Kittin: On The Way To San Jose

It's from last year, but this mix deserves a post. Recorded for Death Disco Radio, the megatalented French musician and DJ Miss Kittin (of Miss Kittin and The Hacker fame) reaches back to her roots with this perfectly executed freestyle-heavy retro mix. Yes, Miss Kittin doing freestyle. I'm not even much of a fan of the genre, but I love this mix. You have to hear it. She drops some Ebn-Ozn, Yaz, Anne Clark, New Order, and Exposé in here, if that gives you an idea.

Available (for free!) on the Death Disco Radio Podcast or on Podfeed, for the less iTunes-inclined. Also check out the other mixes and live recordings; they're quite good as well and include a stellar list of djs and producers.
Death Disco Radio on MySpace

Atomic’s 2 year anniversary / Cut Copy: Sands of Time

Join us tonight to celebrate two years of the best new wave party in Chicago with special guests Dark Wave Disco.
facebook event page

How time flies...
People ask me sometimes how we get so many people to come out to Neo on Thursday nights. There's a lot of factors involved (remnants of a built in crowd, people really like Depeche Mode, Neo's new wave-steeped history), but the short answer is that Kamar and I knew what we wanted to do; we had a good idea, we executed it, and it worked. We've never gotten a whiff of press coverage. We're more likely to pluck our guest djs off of our own dance floor than book a big name. At the end of the night, what brings people back every week is the energy of the music and the crowd, the feeling that everyone is welcome, and that anyone can be and dance how they want.

The first thing we decided, and the one thing we've very much stuck to our guns about, is that it's not an "'80s night". We've all been to '80s nights. There's nothing special about most of them and we've all heard more than enough cheesy pop for our lifetimes. It's not what Atomic is about. There is an astonishing number of current acts in the new wave/synthpop/new romantic genres, and the best way to keep the music -and the crowd- fresh week after week is to include that.

The one band that matches our style perfectly, hands down, is Cut Copy. Their New Order-reincarnate sound has been a staple every week for the last two years, right in there with all the Soft Cell and Human League where it belongs. Now if they would just get a little more prolific...

official site
"Sands of Time" is unreleased; buy Cut Copy on Amazon

Colder: To The Music

I'll complete our series of New Order tribute posts this week with a look towards the future and an artist I have been dying to write about since we started this blog. The work of Parisian graphic designer Marc Nguyen Tan, Colder bears some resemblance to the fashion industry he works in by day; dark minimalism comes across as stylish and sexy despite it's mechanical synthesized structure and disassociated vocals. Is this meant to be heard on a dance floor, or alone at home with the lights out?

"To The Music" is a particular favorite of mine, an anthem to the solitary dancer, lost in the music and oblivious to the gaze of bystanders. I can think of few songs more appropriate for Neo, where it seems all eyes are on the floor. It's taken from Heat, but if I were to recommend only one Colder album, I'd first choose 2003's solid Again. Though the influence of Joy Division couldn't be more obvious, it's an equally fine example of modern French new wave.

Without an official website (or even so much as a MySpace page) and a now-defunct label, it's difficult to know if/when there will be another Colder album out. In this rare interview in 2005, he seems to indicate that making music is not a high priority, so we may be waiting a while. He also hints at a collaboration with Chris & Cosey. Yes, that Chris & Cosey.

Finally, no post on Colder would be complete without including Nguyen Tan's unbelievably good remix of Depeche Mode's "Clean". I feel like Depeche Mode doesn't get enough credit for how spot-on they are with choosing the most perfect and current producers to remix their stuff, and they really nailed it with this one. Do I dare say it? I like it better than the original.

Colder on Amazon

Coincidentally, Marc Nguyen Tan released a new album just last week; it's a collaboration with his long time friend Guillaume Ollendorff, under the name Scratoa!. Called Live en San Antón, it was recorded in the barrio of the same name in Alicante, Spain two years ago. It's improvised noisy experimental sound is quite a departure from Colder, and will more likely appeal to Nurse With Wound fans. Scratoa! on Amazon

Electronic: Getting Away With It

In honor of the New Order tribute this week at Atomic, I present Electronic. Electronic served as a side-project of New Order lead singer Bernard Sumner. Joining forces with him was ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, both sharing a mutual love for both electronic (obviously) and house music.

This likely combo also dragged along Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys for the ride on their 1989 debut single "Getting Away with It." Rumor has it that the lyrics of the song were a parody on Morrissey's lyrics and public interviews, including the chorus: "However I look / It's clear to see / I love you more than you love me."

The first Electronic album of the same name is ranked highly among my favorite work of Sumner and is definitely worth pursuit if you are new to the band.

Hear this song and other New Order related tracks this week on Thursday, February 4th for Atomic at Neo... See you in the dark.

Electronic on Amazon

New Order: Tribute at Neo 2/4/10

I  still get excited every year when we do our New Order Tribute Night. It’s not only a chance for us to play a bunch of New Order that we don’t normally play at Atomic, but it’s now one of the few times a year that I indulge in the brilliance of one of the most influential bands over the last thirty years.

The two songs here represent two completely different New Order styles, but they share that sentimental touch that ties the history of the band together. "Dreams Never End" is from their debut album Movement. Musically, the album still had a Joy Division feel to it, but it laid the ground work that turned them into international pop stars later in the decade. It's one of the few New Order songs with Peter Hook on vocals. Listen to Dreams Never End (1982) and then The Cure’s Inbetween Days (1985). Trust me. The second song, "Here to Stay" was recorded for the 24 Hour Party People Soundtrack in 2002 and was dedicated to Martin Hannett (Joy Division/New Order producer), Rob Gretton (Joy Division/New Order manager), and Ian Curtis (Joy Division lead vocalist).

New Order Online [official fansite]

Boxcar: Freemason (You Broke the Promise)

It would be easy to dismiss this band as simply another one of those synthpop rip off bands from the late 80's and early 90's; especially considering their similar sound to late 80's New Order and their work with Arthur Baker. However, this Australian band formed in the mid-80's and experimented with house, techno, and trance for over ten years. This single (originally released in 1988) was taken from their 1990 album called Vertigo. They had minimal overall success on the charts but this track hit #8 on the Billboard Dance Chart 21 years ago.

If you like this song and like bands such as Red Flag, Cetu Javu, Camouflage, Kon Kan, Information Society, Depeche Mode, New Order and Cut Copy; check out the rest of the album:

Boxcar - Vertigo