Dark Wave Unveiled - Joy Division, New Dawn Fades

Recently rediscovered @depot69's Punk Classics and @paradigmprospect's Conscious Music. The mixture of interesting new music and half-forgotten teenage thrashes, led me back to perhaps my favourite period and genre: Dark Wave.

I never liked the labels "post-punk" or even "new wave" as they seemed to define a period rather than a style. Below the surface of the gaudi punkistas lay an altogether different sound; a music to match a gloomy November night in a rain-drenched urban sprawl. Bands that reigned supreme in the indie charts barely made a peek into the mainstream singles charts. A few did, of course, and some became famous and wealthy, such as Depeche Mode, but many were destined to remain largely hidden.

According to Wikipedia, "Dark wave is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics, and have been perceived as being dark, romantic, and bleak, with an undertone of sorrow." Add some thunder and lightning to the gloom and we're there; a kind of musical equivalent of Edgar Allan Poe's poem Alone.

I was a teenager when punk exploded onto the London scene. It coincided with a technological breakthrough - cheap vinyl records - meaning that hidden talent could break out and be heard without bowing to the then record companies. It also meant a lot of crap! Same now, but that's another story.

Out of the maelstrom rose some flagship new companies, such as Rough Trade, Beggars Banquet and, perhaps the most dark wave of labels, 4AD. But let's start away from London; let's begin our trip with Factory Records.

The first Factory LP was Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, released in June 1979.

I think this is the most haunting track on the album: New Dawn Fades.

This is the best version I can find on YT; if it should disappear, just search.

If you are pondering the meaning of the lyrics, there are a few relevant pages available on Google Books taken from So This Is Permanence: Joy Division Lyrics & Notebooks.

More to come...

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