Was it a mistake to lose it?
There's been nothing Techniquey since Technique apart from Here To Stay and Krafty (possibly).
Maybe they'd have more platinum gongs if they'd kept that Techniquey sound?
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The Technique sound...
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Errr....no. Technique sounds, to my ears, far more dated than even Low-Life or PCL (timeless even?). Various samples and sounds on Technique just scream late-80's/early-90's.
Aye yer not wrong Ronno.
To a music geek both lowlife AND technique sound dated as fuck.....technique has feckin orchestra hits on it, these were ALREADY old hat in 89. Lowlife has suffered less by being "weirder". Likewise PCL, apart from sore thumb reverbs and stand-out-a-mile drum machines, is so far off the beaten track it's hard to date. But NO's music doesn't date as fast as some...take a PSB or DM record of the same era and it sounds OLD.
well 'The Kids' are now into the sound of the early 80s again, so perhaps Technique is a little ahead of what they'll be into soon.
I'll agree that PC&L has aged the best of all the albums - a lot of the tracks on there could be current.
Technique suffers from too much 808 drum machine, the aforementioned orchestra hits (I can't listen to Round & Round anymore), and a lot of bass synth, pads, and bell tones that SCREAM 1989.
there's no 808 on it, they've never really used all that much Roland gear apart from the DR-55 in the early days and the Octopad.
*sorry to be a pedantic geek.
No, it wasn't a mistake to lose it.
If Republic, Get Ready and WFTSC had all been sporting an identical Technique-y sound then the band would've been panned critically and (probably) commercially for having no ideas left, and rightly so.
Being on a treadmill of constantly creating songs with a Technique sound would've bored the band into early retirement as well; they'd have become indie-dance's answer to Status Quo which is hardly flattering.
EDIT: plus who seriously gives a toss about "platinum gongs"? That's not the reason they're in a band (accolades) and is a crap reason to stay in a band. Making a specific type of music to get recognised at award ceremonies is about as anti-punk as you could possibly get isn't it? Only publicity whores like Madonna and U2 care about that sort of thing.
I really don't get fans who long for New Order to be as big as they possibly can, I wouldn't want them to get the same level of arse licking U2 get in the muso press, it would devalue everything they've achieved.
johnny james wrote: there's no 808 on it, they've never really used all that much Roland gear apart from the DR-55 in the early days and the Octopad.
*sorry to be a pedantic geek.
Don't think anyone's ever asked you, but what is your connection to the band? You know so much really fascinating intricate detail every time, and it's always bang on the money.
No actual connection, I guess I know a fair few of those more directly associated over the years.
johnny james wrote: No actual connection, I guess I know a fair few of those more directly associated over the years.
Well not to be even more of a pedantic geek but they actually currently use a fair bit of Roland stuff however just for the live shows.
They use the Roland XP80's to trigger Roland XV-5080's which everything is sampled into... So while the stuff on the XV-5080's are most likely samples loaded on pre-tour rather than true Roland sounds NO technically do still use Roland gear... Just not for the origonal recordings...
Okay, the geekiness endeth here...
Wasim wrote: What is the Technique sound? Genuine question.
Its the sound of New Order's 5th studio album. 
I guess what I meant was all the classic Roland (analogue) gear which all have a uniquely identifiable sound, like tr-909, tr-808, tb-303, Junos, Jupiters etc.
They always seemed (in the 80s) to go with the more unusual and less used by everyone else stuff like the Oberheim DMX, Voyetras etc. This probably helps to give them a more unique sound since it's not so familiar. I mean if they'd done Blue Monday on a 909 then it would sound like many, many of the house tunes which followed it.
They did use an 808 on Confusion though, which was no doubt Arthur Baker's since they didn't use it live since.
Point taken... You're absolutely right they never went for the "classic" defining Roland sounds...
Also on the Roland subject I think there was a keyboard magazine that said that the strings on WFTSC are all Roland sounds... but once again not the "classics" like the Junos, 808's etc.
And I never really thought about it before but you're right by not using those heavily used Roland keyboards or DX7's etc. they did make their electronic sounds stand out from the herd which is probably why I still find the stuff infinitely listenable compared to what other bands were doing at the same time.
I'm going to have to give Technique another listen in a bit, but I'm pretty sure regardless of what gear they may have owned, there is the unmistakable sound of a TR-909, be it sampled or otherwise, and the sound of a Roland D-50 on this album. Sorry to add to the gear geekfest...
"All Day Long" has 808 all over it.
They definitely had one... at least Bernard did... just listen to all the work he did with Section 25 and 52nd Street and all them. They didn't use it a lot, though.
Come to think of it, Vanishing Point has some 909 elements in it too... but those could very well just be samples.
Once they stopped using DMX for everything (after Low-Life) their drum machine sounds came from a little bit of everything. I'm thinking they got creative and maybe even made up some of their own.
The Technique sound?
Well all the shite in the papers blamed it on theBalearic Beats.....but if you look at it (or listen to it) closely enough, the only song that reall has that transitional period is FINE TIME ......and even that is at a push.
If you remember the Rapido interview that feature one S. Morris, you'll see he was the one that did all the pissing about with Don't Do It (A classic that shirley deserved more than being put on a b-side)
Technique overall is hard to define, it has a nice texture of subtle beats and "soft rock" (yes I said soft rock) which perfectly suits that time period.
To me it is the quintessential album, don't get me wrong, I love DNE, AOC, TPK et al, but Techinique from start to finish is a pure masterclass of musicians comfortable and at the top of their game.
(and yes, I have had a few beers this afternoon) 
Kerry Harris wrote:
Also on the Roland subject I think there was a keyboard magazine that said that the strings on WFTSC are all Roland sounds... but once again not the "classics" like the Junos, 808's etc.
WARNING MORE GEAR GEEKIENESS
I'm sure that steve and phil said that the string sounds on WFTSC (track) was a mellotron plug in, it certainly does have a mellotron grainyness to it.
More to the point of the post, i think a strong point of NO is that they don't keep the same sound all the time (other than Hooky, but that's perfection), also using unusual keyboards, voyatra, kerzwiel, dmx drums etc, ensured they didn't sound like everyone else, which is why most stuff hasn't dated too badley, having said that, whoever thought orchestral stabs still sounded good in 1989 needed slapping (obviously barney, cos electronics 1st album was covered in them too).
Technique is definately one of he best (very hard for me to judge, as the first track starts whatever I'm listening to is best!), but they sholdn't try to replicate the sound, the feel maybe, but not the sound.
Jed:
I don't know who is the bigger gear geek between us but I dug this up out of an old interview:
As it turned out, the demos that Sumner coaxed into being ended up defining most of the sound of Sirens' Call before the band even met with an outside producer. “The synths are a good example of that,” he says. “The Roland string sounds are so good that very often, we just ended up using them — we just couldn't beat those demo versions. Sometimes, the synth that you wrote the track on ends up sounding the best, because if you get a certain sound when you're writing, you also tend to find the best area in the keyboard for that sound. It might be just one octave where it sounds best, and if you try and place it somewhere else or duplicate it on another keyboard, you can't beat it.”
http://remixmag.com/artists/remix\_manchester\_united/
Okay, I officially have waaaaaaaaay too much time on my hands.
And I still remember when my roommate in University came home with Technique and put it on the stereo for the first time... My heart kind of fell when Fine Time came on but everything after that was great... Oddly enough Fine Time has actually grown on me as well, perhaps not because it's a great song but simply because it's now considered "vintage" New Order.
As a young 'un, I think it sounds great overall. That and PC&L have the best production in my book. WFTSC is a little overcooked, but still quite good too on the production standpoint.
I like the sound, and although it's a matter of personal preference, just because something is somewhat "dated" doesn't mean it's bad.
Kerry Harris wrote: Oddly enough Fine Time has actually grown on me as well, perhaps not because it's a great song but simply because it's now considered "vintage" New Order.
I kind of feel the same way, but maybe I didn't understand what you meant in "vintage New Order"
It's interesting that so many people think it sounds 'dated'. Did Here To Stay sound dated to people?
Sure the sound would have evolved, but maybe more in a Prodigy / Basement Jaxx direction?
Platinum Gong wise... Well, it would have been good for the lining of their pockets and I would have really enjoyed a couple more runs on the technique treadmill...
it would be a bit boring if all of their songs were based on synthesizers like they were in technique. think of the songs we wouldn't have: crystal, turn, etc. what's great about NO is that they use different sounds, from guitar-based to bass-heavy to synthesizer-based songs.
I think some songs on PCL do sound dated, however. The Village sounds like early Depeche Mode, 586 sounds very 80s with the intro and the synth rhythms, and Your Silent Face sounds the most dated with the synths sounding like they were written as background music for an old Bennetton ad. That's not to say I don't like those three songs.
To me, dated doesn't equal bad. Fine Time is dated, but I love it. But that's another can of worms that I don't care to open up again.
J
Let's Go, WFTSC, and Turn sort of remind me of Technique. However, I do agree that NO tries something different on each of their albums...
MLANH- "My Life Ain't No Holiday" wrote: Your Silent Face sounds the most dated with the synths sounding like they were written as background music for an old Bennetton ad.
ridiculous!
