"Isolation" is a song by the English rock band Joy Division. It appears on their second and final studio album '' Closer'' (1980). The song is based on an electronic drum beat by Stephen Morris, accompanied by a thin, trebly keyboard part by Bernard Sumner. Midway through the song, a rushing drum and hi-hat motif come in, propelling the song toward its dramatic end.

Composition

"Isolation" is a song that contains elements of

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

and lasts for a duration of two minutes and fifty-two seconds. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, it is written in the

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of common time, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 148

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. "Isolation" is played in the key of C major, while Ian Curtis's vocal range spans one

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

, from the low-note of B₃ to the high-note of B₄. The song has a basic sequence of G–F–G in the verses, changes to B–A–G–F–G at the chorus and follows G–F–G–G–G during the coda as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

. Bassist Peter Hook said the ending came as the serendipitous result of Martin Hannett's efforts to rescue the original master tape from a botched edit by a junior sound engineer.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Ned Raggett complimented "Isolation," writing, "the song structure and delivery is all Joy Division and as such makes the song an intriguing twist on a style and a highlight of the excellent '' Closer'' album."

Personnel

* Ian Curtis – vocals * Bernard Sumner – synthesizer * Peter Hook – bass guitar * Stephen Morris – electronic drums

Cover versions

The song has been covered many times, including versions by: * New Order played an electronic-based cover in a Peel Session in 1998, released on the compilation album '' In Session'' (2004). * Northern Irish rock band Therapy? covered the song on their second studio album '' Troublegum'' (1994). This version also incorporates elements from " Atrocity Exhibition". * In 1995, a cover version by

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

spin-off band Starchildren appeared on the tribute album '' A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division''. * Industrial band

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

released the Al Jourgensen produced 12" single in late 1988. * 26 April 2020, Canadian rock band the Tea Party released a newly recorded cover to coincide with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the isolation orders that much of the world is under to stop the spread of the virus. * 18 May 2020, Mark Lanegan and Cold Cave released their cover of the song.

References

Sources

* Curtis, Deborah. "Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division". London: Faber & Faber, 2005. * Hook, Peter. "Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division". London:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 2012. * Bernard, Sumner. "Chapter and Verse - New Order, Joy Division and Me". Corgi, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Isolation (Joy Division Song) 1980 songs Joy Division songs Songs about loneliness Songs written by Bernard Sumner Songs written by Peter Hook Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician) Songs written by Ian Curtis