Editing Joy Division (section)

== Musical style ==
=== Sound ===
Joy Division took time to develop their style and quickly evolved from their punk roots. Their sound during their early inception as Warsaw was described as fairly generic and "undistinguished punk-inflected hard-rock". Critic [[Simon Reynolds]] observed how the band's originality only "really became apparent as the songs got slower", and their music took on a "sparse" quality. According to Reynolds, "Hook's bass carried the melody, Bernard Sumner's guitar left gaps rather than filling up the group's sound with dense riffage and Steve Morris's drums seemed to circle the rim of a crater."{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=110}} According to music critic Jon Savage, "Joy Division were not punk but they were directly inspired by its energy".{{sfn|Curtis|1995|loc="Foreword"}} In 1994 Sumner said the band's characteristic sound "came out naturally: I'm more rhythm and chords, and Hooky was melody. He used to play high lead bass because I liked my guitar to sound distorted, and the amplifier I had would only work when it was at full volume. When Hooky played low, he couldn't hear himself. Steve has his own style which is different to other drummers. To me, a drummer in the band is the clock, but Steve wouldn't be the clock, because he's passive: he would follow the rhythm of the band, which gave us our own edge."<ref name="Mojo 1994"/> By ''Closer'', Curtis had adopted a low [[baritone]] voice, drawing comparisons to [[Jim Morrison]] of [[the Doors]] (one of Curtis's favourite bands).{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=112}}

Sumner largely acted as the band's director, a role he continued in New Order.<ref name="Lester">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/aug/31/popandrock.joydivision |title=It Felt Like Someone Had Ripped Out My Heart |last=Lester |first=Paul |date=31 August 2007 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=1 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801024727/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/aug/31/popandrock.joydivision |url-status=live }}</ref> While Sumner was the group's primary guitarist, Curtis played the instrument on a few recorded songs and during a few shows. Curtis hated playing guitar, but the band insisted he do so. Sumner said, "He played in quite a bizarre way and that to us was interesting, because no one else would play like Ian".{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=75}} During the recording sessions for ''Closer'', Sumner began using self-built synthesisers and Hook used a six-string bass for more melody.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=116}}

Producer Martin Hannett "dedicated himself to capturing and intensifying Joy Division's eerie spatiality". Hannett believed punk rock was sonically conservative because of its refusal to use studio technology to create sonic space.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=112}} The producer instead aimed to create a more expansive sound on the group's records. Hannett said, "[Joy Division] were a gift to a producer, because they didn't have a clue. They didn't argue".<ref name="Mojo 1994"/> Hannett demanded clean and clear "sound separation" not only for individual instruments, but even for individual pieces of Morris's drumkit. Morris recalled, "Typically on tracks he considered to be potential singles, he'd get me to play each drum on its own to avoid any bleed-through of sound".{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=113}} Music journalist [[Richard Cook (journalist)|Richard Cook]] noted that Hannett's role was "crucial". There are "devices of distance" in his production and "the sound is an illusion of physicality".<ref name="Cook">{{cite magazine |last=Cook |first=Richard |date=24 December 1983 |title=Cries & Whispers |magazine=[[NME]]}}</ref>

=== Lyrics ===
Curtis was the band's sole lyricist. He typically composed his lyrics in a notebook, independently of the eventual music to evolve.{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=74}} The music itself was largely written by Sumner and Hook as the group [[Jam session|jammed]] during rehearsals. Curtis's imagery and word choice often referenced "coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse, loss of control".{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=110}} In 1979, ''NME'' journalist [[Paul Rambali]] wrote, "The themes of Joy Division's music are sorrowful, painful and sometimes deeply sad."<ref name="Rambali">{{cite magazine |author=Rambali, Paul |author-link=Paul Rambali |date=11 August 1979 |title=Take No Prisoners, Leave No Clues |magazine=NME}}</ref> [[Music journalist]] Jon Savage wrote that "Curtis's great lyrical achievement was to capture the underlying reality of a society in turmoil, and to make it both universal and personal," while noting that "the lyrics reflected, in mood and approach, his interest in [[romantic literature|romantic]] and [[science-fiction literature]]."<ref name="savageguardian">{{cite web|last1=Savage|first1=Jon|title=Controlled chaos|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/10/popandrock.joydivision|website=The Guardian|date=9 May 2008 |access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref> Critic [[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]] wrote that [[William S. Burroughs]] and [[J. G. Ballard]] were "obvious influences" to Curtis, and Morris also remembered the singer reading [[T. S. Eliot]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Palmer |first=Robert |date=August 1988 |title=The Substance of Joy Division: A Talk with New Order |magazine=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]}}</ref> Deborah Curtis also remembered Curtis reading works by writers such as [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], [[Franz Kafka]], and [[Hermann Hesse]].<ref name="savageguardian"/>

Curtis was unwilling to explain the meaning behind his lyrics and Joy Division releases were absent of any lyric sheets.<ref name="Rambali"/> He told the fanzine ''Printed Noise'', "We haven't got a message really; the lyrics are open to interpretation. They're multidimensional. You can read into them what you like."{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=75}} The other Joy Division members have said that at the time, they paid little attention to the contents of Curtis's lyrics.<ref name="Lester"/> In a 1987 interview with ''[[Option (music magazine)|Option]]'', Morris said that they "just thought the songs were sort of sympathetic and more uplifting than depressing. But everyone's got their own opinion."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Woodard |first=Josef |date=November 1987 |title=Out from the Shadows: New Order |magazine=[[Option (music magazine)|Option]]}}</ref> Deborah Curtis recalled that only with the release of ''Closer'' did many who were close to the singer realise "[h]is intentions and feelings were all there within the lyrics".{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=139}} The surviving members regret not seeing the warning signs in Curtis's lyrics. Morris said that "it was only after Ian died that we sat down and listened to the lyrics{{nbsp}}... you'd find yourself thinking, 'Oh my God, I missed this one'. Because I'd look at Ian's lyrics and think how clever he was putting himself in the position of someone else. I never believed he was writing about himself. Looking back, how could I have been so bleedin' stupid? Of course he was writing about himself. But I didn't go in and grab him and ask, 'What's up?' I have to live with that".<ref name="Lester"/>
{{quote box
| quote = "I saw three attacks, and it was always two-thirds of the way through a set ... it came to a point where in the last year, you'd watch the group and suddenly you'd feel Ian may be dancing great and suddenly really great. [[Peter Hook|Hooky]] and [[Bernard Sumner|Barney]] would be looking nervously at the stage and you could see what was going through their minds ... for something was happening within a set, doing what he did, that actually took him to that point, that actually overcame the drugs and made him have the attack."
| source = [[Tony Wilson]], reflecting upon Ian Curtis's seizures while performing live with Joy Division.{{sfn|Curtis|1995|p=114}}
| width = 30em
}}

=== Live performances ===
In contrast to the relatively polished sound of their studio recordings, Joy Division typically played loudly and aggressively during live performances. The band were especially unhappy with Hannett's mix of ''Unknown Pleasures'', which reduced the abrasiveness of their live sound for a more cerebral and ghostly sound. According to Sumner "the music was loud and heavy, and we felt that Martin had toned it down, especially with the guitars".<ref name="Mojo 1994"/>

The group did not typically interact with the audience during concerts. According to Paul Morley, "During a Joy Division set, outside of the songs, you'll be lucky to hear more than two or three words. Hello and goodbye. No introductions, no promotion."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Morley |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Morley |date=16 February 1980 |title=Simply the First Division |magazine=NME}}</ref> Curtis would often perform what became known as his "'dead fly' dance", as if imitating a seizure; his arms would "start flying in [a] semicircular, hypnotic curve".<ref name="Mojo 1994"/> Simon Reynolds noted that Curtis's dancing style was reminiscent of an epileptic seizure, and that he was dancing in the manner for some months before he was diagnosed with epilepsy.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|p=115}}

Curtis' diagnosis made live performances difficult for the band. Sumner later reflected in 2007, "We didn't have flashing lights, but sometimes a particular drum beat would do something to him. He'd go off in a trance for a bit, then he'd lose it and have an epileptic fit. We'd have to stop the show and carry him off to the dressing room where he'd cry his eyes out because this appalling thing had just happened to him."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lester |first=Paul |date=November 2007 |title=Torn Apart: The Legend of Joy Division |magazine=[[Record Collector]]}}</ref>

===Influences===
Sumner wrote that Curtis was inspired by artists such as the Doors, [[Iggy Pop]], [[David Bowie]], [[Kraftwerk]], [[the Velvet Underground]] and [[Neu!]].{{sfn|Sumner|2014}} Hook has also related that Curtis was particularly influenced by Iggy Pop's chaotic stage persona.<ref name=hook /> The group were inspired by Kraftwerk's "marriage between humans and machines",<ref name=morris>{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/05413-joy-division-new-order-stephen-morris-interview-favourite-records?page=13 |work=[[The Quietus]]|author=Hewitt, Ben|title=Bakers Dozen: Joy Division & New Order's Stephen Morris On His Top 13 Albums|date=7 December 2010|access-date=1 August 2013}}</ref> and the inventiveness of their electronic music.{{sfn|Sumner|2014}} Joy Division played ''[[Trans-Europe Express (album)|Trans-Europe Express]]'' through the PA before they went on stage, "to get a momentum".<ref name=morris /> Bowie's "[[Berlin Trilogy]]" elaborated with [[Brian Eno]], influenced them; the "cold austerity" of the synthesisers on the B-sides of ''[["Heroes" (David Bowie album)|"Heroes"]]'' and ''[[Low (David Bowie album)|Low]]'' albums, was a "music looking at the future".{{sfn|Sumner|2014}} Morris cited the "unique style" of Velvet Underground's [[Maureen Tucker]] and the [[motorik]] drum beats, from Neu! and [[Can (band)|Can]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Jones |title=Tanks for the Beats: an Interview with Stephen Morris |work=Telekom Electronic Beats |publisher=Electronicbeats |url=http://www.electronicbeats.net/stephen-morris-tanks-for-the-beats/ |date=28 June 2011 |access-date=1 August 2013}}</ref> Morris also credited [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] because their "first drummer [[Kenny Morris (musician)|Kenny Morris]] played mostly toms" and "the sound of cymbals was forbidden".<ref name=play>{{cite book|first=Stephen |last=Morris|author-link=Stephen Morris (musician)|title=Record Play Pause: Confessions of a Post-Punk Percussionist: The Joy Division Years Volume I |publisher=Constable|year=2019|isbn=978-1472126207|quote=It would be Siouxsie and the Banshees to whom I most felt some kind of affinity.{{nbsp}}... the bass-led rhythm, the way first drummer Kenny Morris played mostly toms. In interviews Siouxsie would claim the sound of cymbals was forbidden{{nbsp}}... The Banshees had that{{nbsp}}... foreboding sound, sketching out the future from the dark of the past.{{nbsp}}... hearing the sessions they'd done on John Peel's show and reading gigs write-ups, I had to admit they sounded interesting.}}</ref> Hook said that "Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of our big influences{{nbsp}}... The way the guitarist and the drummer played was a really unusual way of playing".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qthemusic.com/articles/playlists/playlist-peter-hooks-field-recordings-favourite-live-tracks-stooges-rolling-stones/|title=Playlist – Peter Hook's "Field recordings|work=Q magazine |date=23 April 2013|access-date=10 January 2018|url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107061143/https://www.qthemusic.com/articles/playlists/playlist-peter-hooks-field-recordings-favourite-live-tracks-stooges-rolling-stones/|archive-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> Hook drew inspiration from the style of bassist [[Jean-Jacques Burnel]] and his early material with [[the Stranglers]];<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/peter-hook-bringing-joy-division-and-new-order-to-new-audiences-with-the-light|title=Peter Hook: Bringing Joy Division and New Order to New Audiences with the Light |first=Bill |last=Murphy |publisher= Bassplayer.com |date=1 September 2017 |access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> he also credited [[Carol Kaye]] and her musical basslines on early 1970s work of [[the Temptations]].<ref name=hook>{{cite news |first=Jule|last=Rogers|title=Peter Hook: Soundtrack of my Life|newspaper=The Guardian |date=27 January 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/27/peter-hook-soundtrack-of-my-life|access-date=1 August 2013}}</ref> Sumner mentioned "the raw, nasty, unpolished edge" in the guitars of the [[Rolling Stones]], the simple riff of "[[Vicious (Lou Reed song)|Vicious]]" on [[Lou Reed]]'s ''[[Transformer (Lou Reed album)|Transformer]]'',<ref name=spin>{{cite journal|first=Adrienne|last=Day|title=The Records That Changed My Life: Bernard Sumner|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|date=4 July 2005|url=https://www.spin.com/2005/07/records-changed-my-life-bernard-sumner-new-order/|access-date=11 August 2017|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142102/https://www.spin.com/2005/07/records-changed-my-life-bernard-sumner-new-order/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Neil Young]].<ref name=gq /> His musical horizon went up a notch with [[Jimi Hendrix]],<ref name=spin /> he realised "it wasn't about little catchy tunes ... it was what you could do sonically with a guitar."<ref name=gq>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/bernard-sumner-joy-division-new-order-interview|first=Lee|last=Gale|title=Icon: Bernard Sumner|magazine=GQ|date=19 September 2012|access-date=22 November 2017|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614055127/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/bernard-sumner-joy-division-new-order-interview|url-status=live}}</ref>