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Does anyone know who did most of the synth playing for NO? When they played live was it Gilliam who did all the synth work?
I know Stephen plays the drums but didn't he do some synth on the albums?
Also it seems that much of NO songs are highlighted by the synth work, atleast on the SUBSTANCE album. Was that mostly Gilleans creation and skill?
Originally posted by Nikos Malakas Does anyone know who did most of the synth playing for NO? When they played live was it Gilliam who did all the synth work?I know Stephen plays the drums but didn't he do some synth on the albums?Also it seems that much of NO songs are highlighted by the synth work, atleast on the SUBSTANCE album. Was that mostly Gilleans creation and skill?
I think Gillian and Barney did the synth work. Barney plays keyboards from time to time and he did a lot of that in Electronic, too. I don't think Steve did much of it. Your third question I have no idea.
I remember an interview (87/88) when he said something like "that´s the way I create things, I sit by the keyboard and try to produce strange noises, interesting sounds. then I´d put a melody and some words. then we play it at the rehersal studio, add some more words and if it works then we´d test it live"
Originally posted by Nikos Malakas Does anyone know who did most of the synth playing for NO? When they played live was it Gilliam who did all the synth work?I know Stephen plays the drums but didn't he do some synth on the albums?Also it seems that much of NO songs are highlighted by the synth work, atleast on the SUBSTANCE album. Was that mostly Gilleans creation and skill?
Most of the synths live were played by sequencer. Gillian triggered a few samples and pre-recorded bits here and there, and added a few notes to this and that (usually notable by errors :)). Barney is behind most of the melody sound on record.
Steve has an important part too. Apart from programming the drum parts, he also plays synths on at least TPK and BLT. Hooky wrote the synth melody on TBTHOG, at least he said so in a interview! Basically, they're all multi-instrumentalists...
Originally posted by JORGE TEIXEIRA Hooky wrote the synth melody on TBTHOG, at least he said so in a interview!
really? did you notice that the TBTHOG synth melody is suspiciously similar to the smiths´ "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out "? if you didn´t then listen carefully at the end of the song while moz sings There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.... maybe that´s what barney meant when some time said something about "interaction between bands" :)
Originally posted by almanso > Originally posted by JORGE TEIXEIRA> Hooky wrote the synth melody on TBTHOG, at least he said so in a interview!
really? did you notice that the TBTHOG synth melody is suspiciously similar to the smiths´ "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out "? if you didn´t then listen carefully at the end of the song while moz sings There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.... maybe that´s what barney meant when some time said something about "interaction between bands" :)
OK, OK... but an ex-girlfriend of mine (from the 1987 era) said that TBTHOG reminded her of...
ABC's "When Smokey sings"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know who did most of the synth work, but I do know that Robert Smith was crouched in the corner scribbling furiously.
If most of the videos are anything to go by, they pretty much share instrumental roles. Steve's the computer boffin, so I'd say most of the sequenced stuff originates with him, whereas the actual synth playing is probably mostly Barney/Gillian. Gillian's original role was to provide live cover for Barney, who had difficulty back then singing and playing at the same time, although he seems to have gotten better as time went by.
I always assumed Bernard wrote all the keybboard parts anyway whilst Gillian just played them. But then again, perhaps Gillian's input has been vastliy underappreciated anyway. What I'd like to know is who was responsible for the brilliant rattling sequencers parts on a lot of earlier New Order tunes like Temptation, Hurt, The Village, Confusion, Perfect Kiss, ..etc (the ones that go "digga digga digga" are just ace!). Gillian or Bernard?
I agree with the digga digga basslines especially Everythings gone green/Hurt/The Village/ Temptation 7" are pure class.
