I declared my position on the phenomenon of “Blue Monday” hereabouts last year and while that hasn’t changed, I’ll not let the opportunity for some low-hanging fruit content pass me by. So here’s a clip of New Order appearing on Dutch music programme Countdown on May 27, 1983. Before a live performance of the single, released just a couple months earlier, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner gleefully give the host a tour of the space-age drum machines and synthesizers they’re using, just before said technology craps out and forces them to re-start the song. Marvellous on all levels.
While we’re on the topic, Computer Music has marked today with a look at the synths the band used to record the track, and how to recreate the sound of the Moog Source used for the bassline with the popular – and free – free u-He BazilleCM VST:
Greatest synth sounds: New Order – Blue Monday @ Computer Music via MusicRadar
Another tutorial does the same using the Korg Minilogue XD analog synth, and considering I just picked one of these up last week, I’ll be giving this a try later today.
And an addendum, since I don’t want to wait until next year – Gear4Music took a deep dive into the Kraftwerk-y choir parts on the track, and how to recreate it using a variety of soft synths:
