"New Dawn Fades" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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 ...

from their 1979 debut album ''

Unknown Pleasures ''Unknown Pleasures'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Joy Division, released on 15 June 1979 by Factory Records. The album was recorded and mixed over three successive weekends at Stockport's Strawberry Studios in April 1979, wi ...

''. The song opens with a backwards and heavily modified sample from a previous song, "Insight", presumably added 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 ...

, post-production. The song relies on an ascending guitar riff by

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the po ...

played against a descending bass riff by Peter Hook. The song uses the same progression throughout, but grows in intensity as the song progresses, reaching its peak with

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 ...

singing "Me, seeing me this time, hoping for something else", and ending with a guitar solo. The song closes side one of ''

''. It's also one of few Joy Division songs with two distinct guitars playing, one distorted and one a clean electric guitar picking notes from the guitar chords.

Cover versions

It has been covered by Moby, and he later featured on New Order's cover for the ''

24 Hour Party People ''24 Hour Party People'' is a 2002 British biographical comedy-drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Wint ...

'' soundtrack. There is also a version from

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

guitarist

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

Ambient techno Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, the Black Dog, ...

act The Sight Below covered it on its second album '' It All Falls Apart'', featuring vocals by Jesy Fortino of Tiny Vipers. Rheinallt H Rowlands recorded a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

version of the song, ''Gwawr Newydd Yn Cilio''.

In popular culture

"New Dawn Fades" has been featured in several films. In the 1995 film ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

'', an instrumental version of Moby's cover plays during the car chase leading up to Al Pacino's and Robert De Niro's first on-screen meeting. Joy Division's original was used in the 2005 remake of '' House of Wax'', and a live version was featured in the 2006

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominee ''

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

''. An instrumental version was produced by Christopher Drake on the ''Batman Year One Soundtrack''. It was most recently used in the soundtrack for Antoine Fuqua's 2014 movie '' The Equalizer'', starring Denzel Washington. It is in the soundtrack of '' ACAB - All Cops Are Bastards''.

References

1979 songs Joy Division songs Song recordings produced by Martin Hannett Songs about suicide Songs written by Bernard Sumner Songs written by Ian Curtis Songs written by Peter Hook Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician) {{1970s-song-stub