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New Order Presents Be Music \ [FBN 60 / CD]


New Order Presents Be Music is a compilation of productions by members of New Order, including classic dance and electro tracks released on Factory Records between 1982 and 1985, as well as more recent remixes for current artists such as Factory Floor, Marnie, Tim Burgess and Fujiya & Miyagi.

The generic tag Be Music was first used in 1981 and covered studio production work by all four members of New Order: Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert. Sumner often teamed with Donald 'Dojo' Johnson of A Certain Ratio, including the pioneering electro cuts featured here by Quando Quango, 52nd Street, Marcel King, Paul Haig and Surprize. Morris and Gilbert worked with Thick Pigeon, Life, Red Turns To and also 52nd Street. Although more rock orientated, Hook proved he was no slouch on the dancefloor either with the mighty Fate/Hate by Nyam Nyam.

'Producing was a really important sideline,' recalls Bernard Sumner of the Factory era. 'It's OK doing it because although all the groups are skint, you learn a lot and you're helping somebody.'

After 1985 the band focused more on producing their own records, both as New Order and solo projects such as Electronic, Revenge, The Other Two, Monaco and Bad Lieutenant. However in recent years Stephen Morris in particular has remixed several newer artists, notably London industrialists Factory Floor, as well as former Factory workers A Certain Ratio and Section 25.

Bonus tracks on the 3xCD box set include Knew Noise by Section 25, produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton of Joy Division way back in 1979, and the complete 22 minute version of Video 586, recorded by New Order themselves in 1982.

All tracks (12 on vinyl, 36 on the CD) are newly remastered. The liner notes feature commentary on the tracks by the artists and also members of New Order. Design by Matt Robertson.


3xCD tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Quando Quango Love Tempo
2. Marcel King Reach For Love
3. 52nd Street Cool As Ice
4. Section 25 Looking From A Hilltop
5. Nyam Nyam Fate/Hate
6. The Beat Club Security (Remix)
7. Paul Haig The Only Truth
8. Shark Vegas You Hurt Me
9. Marcel King Keep On Dancin
10. Section 25 Reflection
11. Quando Quango Tingle
12. Surprize Over Italia

Disc 2

1. 52nd Street Can't Afford
2. Thick Pigeon Babcock + Wilcox
3. A Certain Ratio Bootsy (Swingfire Mix)
4. Factory Floor (Real Love)
5. Section 25 Another Hilltop
6. The Other Two Inside
7. Marnie The Hunter (Remix)
8. Fujiya & Miyagi Daggers (Remix)
9. Tim Burgess Oh Men (Remix)
10. Factory Floor A Wooden Box (Remix)
11. Life Tell Me
12. Life Tell Me (Theme)

Disc 3

1. Peter Hook Lavolta Lokota Theme
2. Section 25 Knew Noise
3. Stockholm Monsters All At Once
4. Royal Family & the Poor Motherland
5. Winston Tong Theoretical China
6. The Beat Club Security (Dub)
7. Marcel King Reach For Love (US Remix)
8. Thick Pigeon Jess + Bart (Remix)
9. Red Turns To Deep Sleep
10. Ad Infinitum Telstar
11. Section 25 Sakura
12. New Order Video 5-8-6


2xLP tracklist:

Disc 1

A1. 52nd Street Can't Afford
A2. Section 25 Looking From A Hilltop
A3. The Beat Club Security (Remix)
B1. Marcel King Reach For Love
B2. Quando Quango Love Tempo
B3. Nyam Nyam Fate/Hate

Disc 2

C1. A Certain Ratio Bootsy (Swingfire Mix)
C2. Factory Floor (Real Love)
C3. Marnie The Hunter (Remix)
D1. The Other Two Inside
D2. Fujiya & Miyagi Daggers (Remix)
D3. Tim Burgess Oh Men (02 Remix)


Available on boxed triple CD. Double gatefold vinyl is sold out. To order CD please select correct shipping option and click on Add To Cart button below the cover image, or else contact FBN by email for other payment methods.

Be Music [FBN 60 CD]
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Reviews:

"This well-crafted compilation is a reminder that aside from Prince, much of the best music is made by collaboration. 7/10" (Mixmag, 02/2017)

"A great education, and a welcome addition to any audiophile's collection - 9.5 out of 10" (DJ Mag, 2/2017)

"New Order's secret adventures as producers on the frontier between post-punk and electronica's future. This new compilation spiritually extends the Be Music brand beyond the years it existed, expanding to include both recent work - Stephen Morris' remixes for the likes of Factory Floor - and earlier family explorations, including Knew Noise, one of three tracks Ian Curtis and manager Rob Gretton co-produced for Section 25 in 1979. During Be Music's adventurous '83-'85 prime, Bernard Sumner dived in deepest and came up with the most lasting results, and his work dominates Disc 1. Working often with Donald Johnson of ACR, Sumner shaped three classic singles almost everyone in the UK ignored at the time but which stand as significant markers in the development of electronic music, even though each signposted a completely different way forward: 52nd Street's Cool As Ice, the UK's first electro-funk, quickly adopted by NYC's club underground; Marcel King's Reach For Love, sad, sweet soul wrapped in a machine mesh; and Section 25's Looking From a Hilltop, a glistening thing of backwards drums and synths, dazed vocals, soul sonic force and Kraftwerkian drive wrapped around psychedelic Blackpool melancholia. It still sounds like nothing else."

"Disc 2 pays tribute to New Order's Bogart and Bacall, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert. They helmed Be Music's furthest-out undertaking, Thick Pigeon, a collision between New York art anti-pop and thin, spooky, handmade electronica. But with their more recent remix work this disc casts The Other Two against type as New Order's hardest edge, underlining how Morris has kept the flame burning for his earliest influences, traces of Can and other elektronische brethren. Best of all is Stephen and Gillian's own Inside, rescued from a 2011 EP, a gleaming, jagged slab of propulsive Blade Runner motorik."

"Disc 3 is more ragbag, gathering odds, ends and remixes. Important here is the inclusion of the full 22 minute Video 586 from the days when New Order were trying to persuade machines to play endless encores, and the prototype for both Power, Corruption & Lies track 586 and Blue Monday. The majority of the tracks on this 3xCD set pont back to the fertile, swampy era when New Order were DIY-ing the future by cross-mixing guitars, Euro experimentalism, early hip-hop's minimal electro and whatever else sounded good. It was in this period, 1982, that The Hacienda opened, and although the club is associated with its acieed-drenched Madchester heyday, this set suggests more interesting music was being played and made before then, when the dancefloor was half-empty. Not every track is killer, but even the filler fascinates. 8/10" (Uncut, 03/2017)

"A digital-crisp extended encapsulation of early 1980s UK electronic pop etiquette: elongated passages of drum machine, sequencer, and vocals full of glacial passive-aggression, all aimed hopefully at the dancefloor. Marcel King's Reach For Love, however, is a glorious fellow traveller to Scritto Politti's mid-80s hit period. Paul Haig's The Only Truth has a chorus with the ecstatic weightlessness typical of New Order themselves. The 21st century is represented by charming tracks from Factory Floor and Helen Marnie from Ladytron, giving currency to a fascinating time capsule. 4 stars" (Mojo, 3/2017)

"This is what reissues are there for: a huge stack of New Order's scattered productions for side-projects and friends, all brought together in one place for the first time. Some of the best material here comes in the form of straightforward dance productions from the late 80s, such as Beat Club's regularly compiled Security. As with almost everything else here, New Order's touch is immediately apparent, making this set a potential source of delight for fans" (Record Collector, 2/2017)

"A collection of glistening electronic dance anti-anthems released on Factory between 1979 and 1985, as well as more recent mixes for current artists such as Factory Floor, Marnie, Tim Burgess and Fujiya & Miyagi. There is underground magic here, as well as should-have-been mainstream hits like Marcel King's glorious, house-predictive Reach For Love, Section 25's brooding, brave new club paradigm Looking from A Hilltop, or The Beat Club's lovely Security, with a synth pattern that is pure Gilbert. Paul Haig's The Only Truth offered one possible future for the ex-Josef K wonder, as a Euro club crooner; Thick Pigeon suggested that not just Manchester but London, New York and beyond were in the thrall of New Order, just as, a few years earlier, the music firmament had been in thrall to Joy Division. 52nd Street's Can't Afford To Let You Go should have been massive, a stellar pop song streaking across the night sky. 5/5" (Classic Pop, 2/2017)

"New Order Presents Be Music is a lovingly compiled, nicely presented tribute to the talent spring around the North West (with acts from all other points of the compass coming into the fold along the way) and damn listenable to boot. It will bring back memories those quite beautiful, spellbinding but slightly impenetrable Peter Saville sleeves and the supremely danceable 12-inch singles housed in them, providing the perfect stepping stone between post punk obtuseness and the dancefloor. But allied to that there is plenty of fresh material for your delectation. This is a varied collection for certain, but one that benefits greatly from the range of sounds on offer and acts as a bit of an eye-opener for anyone still believing the 'Factory sounded all the same' myth" (Louder Than War, 02/2017)

"An enjoyable, often Proustian, rush of nostalgia for indie/electro fans, and a compilation I have already spent far more time listening to than I expected. Disc 2 is devoted to Steve and Gillian Morris and is a sleeker, shinier, more contemporary beast. As well as their own, wonderful Inside (as The Other Two), the disc features throbbing techno remixes of tunes by Factory Floor, A Certain Ratio, Tim Burgess, Fujiya & Miyagi, and Ladytron's Helen Marnie, and is very very wonderful indeed. There's also room for one of Factory's great lost singles, Tell Me by the obscure Life, one of Steve's first production jobs and an utterly joyful piece of electronic indie pop" (God Is In the TV, 02/2017)

"The degree to which New Order innovated by incorporating new equipment and the attendant impact on their music is emphasised by the extraordinary new productions-by compilation New Order Presents Be Music. The band hungrily acquired new kit as it came on the market and, once it was in their hands, instantly began tinkering to find ways of exploiting it. This affected their sound, but it was a two-way process: they were going to make the music they were going to make and the new technology helped them make it. They also brought what they were learning to bear on the records they produced for other bands... This is a revelatory compilation as not only does it show that being New Order did not stop with the band name, but also as it includes some amazing, previously obscure, music. Fans of New Order and Joy Division need New Order Presents Be Music. As does anyone with a passing interest in development of British popular music" (The Arts Desk, 02/2017)

"While the impact of New Order on both the alternative scene and dancefloor alike is rarely overlooked, it's always worth taking a step back and really grasping the abnormality of their success. Rising from the ashes of the archetypical post-punk band, these pasty Mancunians got to grips with some the most cutting edge gear of the day, added their genuine love of soul and the emerging hip-hop scene, before smashing it straight back stateside - all via an indie label. Bizarre. Of course, one does not simply write Blue Monday overnight, so here collected for the first time is a 36-track selection of the group's production efforts outside the day job. While examples of members' more recent work are included, what will truly prove of interest to fans is the material released from 1983 to 1985. Utilising the moniker Be Music when behind the desk, New Order members set about cutting their teeth (and their gear) on a host of eclectic material from various Factory label-mates."

"Electro pioneers Quando Quando get the Sumner treatment on Love Tempo, a funk indebted riot that wouldn't sound out of place on a James Murphy release 20 years later. Elsewhere Shark Vegas' brooding You Hurt Me will cling to the heart of any introspective soul wrapped in a trench coat, while Stephen Morris reveals a lightness of touch on the fizzing indie of Life's Tell Me. The most avid fans get treats too, namely Section 25's snarling Knew Noise as produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton, Hooky's demonic live take Lavolta Lakota Theme, and Order's own 22-minute version of Video 586. It must be said that a few of the dance mixes will sound a tad repetitive to modern ears, but what really proves fascinating is the melting pot of influences on display. Be Music stands as a snapshot of an age where the underground clubs of New York fused with the bite of new wave, thus creating a transatlantic cultural exchange which strengthened the early days of these synth pioneers. With the likes of Stranger Things and John Carpenter re-issues proving cult hits the world over, it could be argued there's a wider market for these tunes now more than ever before. 7/10" (Clash, 02/2017)

"Reach for Love by Sweet Sensation singer Marcel King still sounds amazing 33 years after it first came out thanks to an irresistibly funky electro rhythm and King's soulful vocal. 52nd Street's Cool As Ice marries a looped bass groove with woozy synthesizer sounds, crisp motorik beats and hip-hop style rhymes to sublime effect. The Morodor-esque Megamix of Section 25 Looking From a Hilltop scales equally lofty heights, while New Order's rarely heard 22 minute instrumental Video 5-8-6 (their first ever tune using only sequencers, synth and drum machines) provides the template for Blue Monday and True Faith" (The Big Issue North, 02/2017)

"Pioneering electro cuts from the likes of Quando Quango, 52nd Street, Paul Haig, Thick Pigeon, Red Turns To, Marcel King and Surprize. There's also remixes of several newer bands like Factory Floor and A Certain Ratio" (Louder Than War, 03/2017)

"Despite their success, New Order still got their hands dirty in helping to produce a number of acts for Factory Records and other associated labels such as Factory Benelux, Les Disques du Crepuscule and Robs Records. Whether you are a fan of NO and the legend of Factory, or would like to discover some lesser known but brilliant electronic pop jewels, this terrific collection is a must" (The Electricity Club, 02/2017)

"Collecting a dazzling array of New Order production jobs stretching back to the 80s, the scope and scale of Manchester's finest when behind a mixing desk is laid bare on this rather fine compilation" (Electronic Sound, March 2017)

"All four members of the band (plus manager Rob Gretton and even, very briefly, Ian Curtis) enjoyed secondary careers as producers to a greater or lesser extent, usually working under the umbrella name of Be Music. This compilation collects together their more overlooked productions across three discs, stretching from Gretton and Curtis' work with new wavers Section 25 in 1979, right up to a 2015 Stephen Morris remix for Brighton krautrockers Fujiya & Miyagi, and traces a genuinely fascinating journey through the expansion and development of electronic pop, and works beautifully as a companion piece to any New Order retrospective.

"We're presented with an alternative history of the band. It makes sense that between 1983's Power, Corruption and Lies and 1985's Low Life Peter Hook was working on Nyam Nyam's twitchy, mesmerising Fate/Hate, while Sumner helmed Paul Haig's brilliantly funky The Only Truth. The two are blood brothers to songs like The Perfect Kiss and Sub-Culture. Shark Vegas' You Hurt Me would fit comfortably on any mid-80s New Order record. As the band themselves approached their recent electronic renaissance with 2015's Music Complete, Stephen Morris' head was clearly in dancier realms, remixing Helen Marnie and Factory Floor and, alongside partner Gillian Gilbert, knocking out a banging, atmospheric mix of Tim Burgess' Oh Men. It all fits together rather neatly.

"It’s actually Morris, working alone or with Gilbert, that really shines here. While Sumner hitches his wagon to a series of minor pop hits for the likes of Quango Quango and Marcel King, and Hook pisses about with anything that interests him, creating an intro tape for Manchester's Lavolta Lakota, or working with his mates in Factory's Stockholm Monsters; Morris and Gilbert forge a consistent and credible body of work through the prism of other peoples songs, and through their own productions as The Other Two. A rippling, energetic take on Factory Floor's (Real Love) can sit next to a dreamy remix of Section 25's Another Hilltop, and the robotic, tick-tock of the duo's own Inside and all feel of a piece. That you barely notice the decades separating them is testimony to Morris's timeless approach to electronic music.

"Managing simultaneously to sound like a New Order best-of featuring songs you've somehow never heard, and an excellent oddball dance compilation, which (just about) successfully melds 80s synth pop to esoteric naughties dance music, Be Music is an enjoyable, interesting curio that sits alongside the 2002 collection as a fascinating companion to one of our most unique groups; and a satisfying journey into electronica in its own right" (Drowned In Sound, 03/2017)