''Always Now'' is the debut studio album by
Section 25. It was released in September 1981 through iconic Manchester record label
Factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...
with the catalogue number FACT 45. The album was produced by
Martin Hannett
James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...
, best known for producing both of
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...
's studio albums. Joy Division front man
Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...
has been credited as co-producing the record, in parts produced before his death in May 1980.
Recording took place in February 1981 at
Britannia Row Studios
Britannia Row Studios was a recording studio located in Islington, London N1 (1975–1995), and then in Fulham, London SW6, England (1995–2015). The original studio was built by the British rock band Pink Floyd in a three-story block at 35 Brita ...
in
Islington, London, owned by
Pink Floyd.
A version of Dirty Disco with French lyrics was released as a single on
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
. The short, improvised instrumental C.P. was a musical collaboration (‘collective project’) between the band and Hannett. Two tracks recorded and finished at Britannia Row (Human Puppets and One True Path), were not included on the original vinyl album. English dance rock band
Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires are an English indie rock band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008, and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelv ...
later took their name from the opening track.
While recording the album Section 25 supported
New Order at London nightclub
Heaven on 9 February 1981. Hannett mixed the live sound for both bands, using quadraphonic equipment rented from Britannia Row.
The album was reissued on CD in 1991 through
LTM Recordings
LTM Recordings (originally les temps modernes) is a British independent record label founded in 1983, and best known for reissues of artists and music from 1978 to the present day, as well as modern classical and avant-garde composition. The l ...
with several bonus tracks. An expanded double CD edition on
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
in 2015 re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, and added a bonus disc featuring their 1981
John Peel radio session as well as a complete live concert from 1980. The packaging replicated the original wraparound cover designed by Saville.
Recording
"We recorded and mixed in ten days," recalled singer and bassist Larry Cassidy. "We went in with about six or seven finished numbers, while others were more improvised. C.P. was made up on the spot. I was playing a cheap bass in an expensive studio." The group were then a trio composed of Larry, younger sibling Vin Cassidy on drums, and guitarist Paul Wiggin. Musically the album combined austere post-punk rhythms with abstract and/or abrasive guitar textures, together with elements of
Can,
krautrock and psychedelia.
Packaging
The album was packaged in a lavish sleeve devised by Factory design director
Peter Saville (credited as Grafica Industria). "I did get a fascinating brief from Larry," Saville told author James Nice in Factory history ''
Shadowplayers''. "I seem to remember he wanted something quite European, but psychedelic – and with some Oriental influences. After that, I was on my own."
The exterior sleeve featured black
Berthold
Berthold or Berchtold is a Germanic given name and surname. It is derived from two elements, ''berht'' meaning "bright" and ''wald'' meaning "(to) rule". It may refer to:
*Bertholdt Hoover, a fictional List_of_Attack_on_Titan_characters, character ...
type on a yellow background, printed on heavy card die-cut to form a ''pochette'' envelope, and sealed with a small red I Ching sticker. The psychedelic element was concealed within, the lining and separate inner sleeve featuring a rich marbled pattern in dark blue, yellow and red supplied by specialist French paper company Keller-Dorian. Some copies of FACT 45 also included a home-made poster, printed cheaply by the group and featuring lyrics and photos.
Reception
The first edition of ''Always Now'' went on to sell 5,000 copies and entered the indie Top Ten, although the cost and complexity of the packaging made it problematic to license abroad.
On release in September 1981 the album was reviewed in scathing terms by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', who drew comparisons with Factory labelmates
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...
. Dutch magazine ''Vinyl'' also expressed reservations, observing that early Section 25 "always had something paper-thin about it - a sound, or rather an absence of sound, giving the impression that the slightest breeze would blow it away." However, in 2006 ''
Q'' described ''Always Now'' as "one of the best albums Britain's second city has unleashed", while avant garde magazine ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
'' also praised "the wind-dried skeins of their blasted guitar harmonics and skimped electronics."
In February 2016 album track "Hit" was sampled by
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
on a new song, "FML", featured on his seventh studio album, ''
The Life of Pablo
''The Life of Pablo'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 14, 2016, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2013 to 2016, in I ...
''.
Track listing
LTM reissue extra tracks
LTMCD-2308, 1991
Section 25 - Always Now (CD, Album) at Discogs
/ref>
*"Haunted" (3:17)
*"Charnel Ground" (3:55)
*"Knew Noise" (4:30)
*"Up to You" (4:00)
*"Girls Don't Count" (4:16)
*"Oyo Achel Ada" (4:21)
*"After Image" (2:50)
*"Red Voice" (1:49)
Factory Benelux 2015 reissue
Disc one
:same tracks as LTM reissue
Disc two
# "One True Path" (Peel Session)
# "Babies in the Bardo" (Peel Session)
# "Hit" (Peel Session)
# "Je Veux Ton Amour" (7")
# "Loose Talk (Costs Lives)" (live)
# "Human Puppets" (live)
# "Knew Noise" (live)
# "Friendly Fires" (live)
# "Girls Don't Count" (live)
# "New Horizon" (live)
# "Haunted" (live)
# "You're On Your Own" (live)
# "Floating" (demo)
# "Friendly Fires" (outtake)
# "One True Path" (outtake)
Personnel
* Martin Hannett
James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...
– production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
* John Caffrey – engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1981 debut albums
Section 25 albums
Factory Records albums
Albums produced by Martin Hannett