Editing Closer (Joy Division album) (section)

== Composition and recording ==
The songs on ''Closer'' were mostly written or structured during [[jam session]]s in the band's practice room.{{sfn|Sumner|2014|page=78}} The songs were drawn from two distinct periods. The earlier guitar-driven compositions were written during the latter half of 1979: "[[Atrocity Exhibition (Joy Division song)|Atrocity Exhibition]]", "Passover", "Colony", "A Means to an End" and "Twenty Four Hours"<!---SONG TITLE IS TWENTY FOUR HOURS, NOT 24 HOURS--->. All were played live during that year, with some being recorded for various radio sessions. The album's other songs were written in early 1980, and included more prominent use of [[synthesiser]]s: "Isolation", "Heart and Soul", "The Eternal" and "Decades".{{sfn|Sumner|2014|page=128}} "Atrocity Exhibition" features a [[Synare]] drum synth put through a [[Distortion (music)#1960s: fuzz, distortion, and introduction of commercial devices|fuzz]] pedal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2015 |title=STEPHEN MORRIS Interview |url=https://www.electricityclub.co.uk/stephen-morris-interview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301141912/https://www.electricityclub.co.uk/stephen-morris-interview/ |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |access-date=April 25, 2025 |website=Electricity Club}}</ref>

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| quote = "While we were working on ''Closer'', Ian said to me that doing this album felt very strange, because he felt that all his words were writing themselves. He also said that he had this terrible [[claustrophobia|claustrophobic]] feeling that he was in a whirlpool and being pulled down, drowning."|source=[[Bernard Sumner]], recollecting on Ian Curtis's mindset during the recording sessions for ''Closer''. October 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/dark-star-the-final-days-of-ian-curtis-by-his-joy-division-bandmates-394281.html|title=Dark star: The final days of Ian Curtis by His Joy Division Bandmates|access-date=25 September 2017|newspaper=The Independent|date=6 October 2007|archive-date=23 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623200011/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/dark-star-the-final-days-of-ian-curtis-by-his-joy-division-bandmates-394281.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
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The fiction of [[J. G. Ballard]] was a significant influence on the lyrics, especially ''[[The Atrocity Exhibition]]'' – a collection of "condensed novels" published in 1970 – which shares its title with the opening track.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127241.ece |title=J. G. Ballard – ''Times'' Online |date=5 January 2008 |journal=[[The Times]] |access-date=12 October 2012 |archive-date=16 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616011344/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127241.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Closer'' was recorded between 18 and 30 March 1980 at [[Britannia Row Studios]] in Islington, London.<ref name="official" /> It was produced by Martin Hannett. His production has been highly praised, with ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' describing it as "sepulchral."<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11624-unknown-pleasurescloserstill/ |title=Joy Division: ''Unknown Pleasures'' / ''Closer'' / ''Still'' |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=29 October 2007 |access-date=5 July 2015 |last=Klein |first=Joshua |archive-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220630/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11624-unknown-pleasurescloserstill/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, as with their debut album, both Sumner and bassist [[Peter Hook]] were unhappy with Hannett's work. Hook later complained that the track "Atrocity Exhibition" was mixed on one of his days off, and when he heard the final product he was disappointed that the abrasiveness of his guitar part had been laden with effects and toned down. He wrote; "I was like, head in hands, oh fucking hell, it's happening again. ''Unknown Pleasures'' number two{{nbsp}}... Martin [Hannett] had melted the guitar with his [[Delay (audio effect)#Solid state|Marshall Time Waster]]. Made it sound like somebody strangling a cat, and to my mind, absolutely killed the song. I was so annoyed with him and went in and gave him a piece of my mind but he just turned around and told me to fuck off."{{sfn|Hook|2013|page=42}}