Liam Gillick

Two summers ago, New Order took the stage at Manchester’s Old Granada Studios for a special five-night residency. Part of the Manchester International Festival, the intimate sets were dubbed “∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif) New Order + Liam Gillick: So it goes..” and saw New Order reimagine songs from their extensive catalog, including their last album, 2015’s Music Complete. The band’s performances were accompanied by mesmerizing visuals from MoMA and Tate Britain exhibitor Liam Gillick.

As part of the 2017 Manchester International Festival, New Order played a five-night residency at a special place, Old Granada Studios, where Joy Division made their television debut in 1978. To make the event even more special, the band added a 12-member synthesizer orchestra to their regular lineup and utilized the striking stage design of visual artist Liam Gillick. They were inspired by the setting to play a set that spanned their entire career from their early days as Joy Division to 2015's Music Complete. Most albums rated a song apiece and the selections weren't obvious ones for the most part. For example, they don't play late-period highlight "Crystal"; they instead play "Behind Closed Doors," which was the B-side. The choices are striking, and it makes it clear that the band's catalog is extremely deep…

Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most acclaimed bands of the 1980s; embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contemporaries, the group's pioneering fusion of new wave aesthetics and dance music successfully bridged the gap between the two worlds, creating a distinctively thoughtful and oblique brand of synth pop appealing equally to the mind, body, and soul.