It took mere months, following the death of Ian Curtis in May 1980, for Joy Division’s Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris to regroup, with a new name – New Order – a new member, Gillian Gilbert, and a new set of songs. In this new (re)incarnation they bestrode the 80s like a colossus, propelled by new ideas and newer technology.
By the time New Order released this, their fifth album, they were already the masters of fusing post-punk guitars with the beats they picked up in clubs around the world. In some respects, then, ‘Technique’, was business as usual from Sumner, Hook and co. But rather than looking to the warehouses of New York or German synthrock, they turned to Ibiza for inspiration, and the club nights where they heard Acid house alongside novelty pop, Queen and homegrown Spanish tunes.
The resulting album, partly recorded on the island at Peter Hook’s insistence after a series of records made in dark, London basements, is the sound of a band leaving behind their old selves to tread new ground and move beyond the confines of what a four-or-five piece guitar band could achieve.
This is the album that New Order recorded in Ibiza. Obviously, it bears the mark of some of the island’s chemical distractions. ‘Fine Time’, ‘Mr Disco’ and ‘Round & Round’ feature electronic percussion, heady four AM atmospheres and synth experimentation – though the latter count is more in the realm of “electronic sheep baa’s” and “orchestra stabs” than Delia Derbyshire-esque gauntlet-pushing.
Although ‘Technique’ is widely known as the Ibiza album, it’s more indie-disco than Balearic rave. This is fast and exciting music positioned somewhere between Felt and David Bowie’s ‘Berlin’ trilogy. It has Bernard Sumner’s trademark off-key sing-song vocals and includes two of New Order’s greatest achievements in ‘Fine Time’ and ‘All the Way’. ‘Technique’ is the honeymoon period in New Order’s stormy marriage of dance and rock.
While the other great Manchester album of 1989, The Stone Roses is credited with ushering in Madchester, ‘Technique’ was no less influential, and 35 years on sounds as fresh and vital as it ever did. It’s a short record too, its brevity part of its brilliance. Don’t pick one or two songs to listen to, dive right in to the whole thing.