News & Updates — Joy Division

There are so many interesting artists born on July 15 that it is impossible in my schedule to write pieces about them. So here are some shorties, along with a video or two for each. --Francis Bebey / July 15, 1929 - May 28, 2001 This unique Cameroonian composer and his interesting DIY synth-pop crossed with traditional music has been justly making new fans in recent years. --James Jacson / July 15, 1932 - Aug 10, 1997 Happy cosmic birthday to James Jacson, one of my favorite characters from Sun Ra's Arkestra. Jacson is the one who was instructed to...

One of the great figures of post-punk, Martin Hannett virtually shaped the Joy Division sound at Strawberry Studios. A famed producer of many great UK groups of the era, he was also co-founder of Factory Records. He utilized loops, echos, delays, synths with a meticulous obsession for getting the drum sounds exactly as he heard them in his head. He would put the young groups through torture to get what he needed artistically. From about '77 til his early death he produced Joy Division, The Durutti Column, Basement 5, Magazine, Buzzcocks, Psychedelic Furs, A Certain Ratio, New Order, Section 25,...