Martin hannett

Hors sujet :

Citation : il avait fait fabriquer un dôme en plâtre au-dessus de la batterie pour obtenir une réverbération particulière

Citation : It wasn't until the end of '78 that the band finally returned to the studio to record two new songs for an upcoming Factory Records sampler.   In the intervening months, they'd acquired both a manager in the form of Rob Gretton, and been introduced to the mercurial talents of Tony Wilson.   It was him who suggested that the group enter the studio with a producer called Martin Zero (who later became Hannett).   It was to be one of the most important steps they ever took.

"Martin didn't give a f- about making a pop record," enthuses Bernard.   "All he wanted to do was experiment.   His attitude was that you get a load of drugs, lock the door of the studio and you stay in there all night and you see what you've got the next morning.   And you keep doing that until it's done.   That's how all our records were made.   We were on speed, Martin was into smack."

The band had never met anyone like it before.   Peter Hook, in particular, took a while to get acclimatised.

"Bernard and I were very down to earth," he recalls, "and he was, like, from another planet.   He was just this really weird hippy who never talked any sense at all.   At least, I never knew what he was talking about anyway.

"Still, you had a rapport with him.   He used to say to Rob, 'Get these two thick stupid c-s out of my way'.   In the studio, we'd sit on the left, he'd sit on the right and if we said anything like, 'I think the guitars are a bit quiet, Martin,' he'd scream, 'Oh my God!   Why don't you just f- off, you stupid retards.'   It was alright at first, but gradually he started to get weirder and weirder."

Acting like a post-punk Phil Spector, Hannett would try his hardest to ignore the wishes of the band whenever possible, which meant most of the time the recording studio was the scene of epic battles for control.   Invariably, Hannett won.

It's impossible to underestimate the contribution he made to Joy Division's music.   He was certainly overwhelmingly responsible for fashioning the sound that six months later would manifest itself as the band's debut album and first masterpiece, 'Unknown Pleasures' - as far as Sumner and Hook were concerned it was designed as a raw rock record.

In fact, it emerged as a deeply claustrophobic experience shrouded in Hannett's echoing, hyper-urban production.   Packaged in graphic designer Peter Saville's evocative black and white sleeve, it was an album of immense gravitas that contained a frequently harrowing, virtually unmatchable emotional impact.

Curtis' poignant and alienated lyrics combined with the nasal harshness of his voice to create an atmosphere at times bordering on unmitigated despair.   Understandably, the album received gushing reviews, and Joy Division's reputation was cemented