BY LARRY
CRANE, CHRIS
HEWITT
From the moment I first heard Joy Division's two studio albums, Unknown PleasuresURLhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVvoQIdD80U and CloserURLhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVVdEqBbr4k, I was affected. Initially I returned the LPs to my friend Steve, saying, "These are too gloomy. I don't want to listen to them." But soon I was asking to borrow them again. These records were like beacons from another planet, in the early '80s in the US, and also not the easiest items to procure. The other college students I knew were rocking out to commercial radio bands like Journey or Foreigner, while I was immersing myself in this dark world of post-punk, created by some lads from Manchester a scant six years older than myself. Soon I learned that the architect of the LP sounds I adored was a producer named Martin Hannett. His specialties included reverbed drums, echoing vocals, icy synthesizers, clanking/crashing sound effects, prominent bass, and effected guitars. After a life of constant alcohol and drug abuse, Martin's life was sadly cut short in 1991, due to heart failure. As a recordist I have always felt that Martin left a lot behind for us to study and absorb. I also feel he played a large part in changing the way record production was perceived; he was a precursor to many of the advances that came into play in the studio in the years following his late '70s and early '80s masterpieces.
This article is composed of excerpts from Chris Hewitt's book, Martin Hannett; Pleasures of the UnknownURLhttp://www.ozitmorpheusrecords.co.uk, a slightly chaotic but thorough collection of interviews, history, and memories published earlier in 2014. Thanks to Chris for allowing us to present some of this work in Tape Op. For more information about Martin, please check out the book, as well as the nearly 4-hour DVD, He Wasn't Just the Fifth Member of Joy Division — a film about Martin Hannett. Below is partial history of the man who produced records for Joy Division, U2, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Nico [& The Invisible Girls], Magazine, Crispy Ambulance, Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, Happy Mondays, Section 25, Blue in Heaven, and Stockholm Monsters.
