The new Come Home EP by The Distractions is now available via Occultation Recordings. The main format for this release is 12" vinyl which comes in a special spot-varnished sleeve. Stocks are expected to arrive in the first week of November.

A limited number of CD promos will also be available for purchase and a special 12" + CD promo set will also be available.

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More info at Distractions Nothing

Labels: The_Distractions

Joy Division, Polite Cards' latest set of postcards featuring the work of Kevin Cummins (following on from the Manchester and Liverpool boxed collections) is also their most impressive. Housed in a dark grey 'hessian'-style box reminiscent of a cut-down-in-size entry in the Factory Records cassette box series, the 20 black and white A6-sized postcards on quality card stock are presented in suitably reverential fashion. A simple black ribbon poking out to facilitate the easy removal of the cards is a lovely touch.

Understandably, half of the cards feature Ian Curtis and the most iconic shots we know and love are all present and correct (Ian dancing on stage at the Leigh Rock Festival, Ian seated and smoking a cigarette, Ian close-up smoking a cigarette and looking into the lens) but we also get several less familiar shots, both in performance and rehearsal.

The other half of the collection includes various group shots of Joy Division in rehearsal at TJ Davidson's and several of the classic shots from the famous snowbound Hulme 'Joy Division footbridge' shoot.

However, perhaps the most interesting is of a relaxed looking Joy Division sitting together and looking relaxed (and decidedly normal) at Art & Furniture in Manchester in January 1979. This was on the same day as the Hulme shoot but after the snow, as Kevin Cummins explained to Cerysmatic Factory:

"It was after the snow. I wanted to be safe and get some indoor shots in case they [the NME] wouldn't use the snow pics. It was a shop in town. Art & Furniture was owned by Jonathan Silver who owned a couple of, er, boutiques in Manchester. I'd bought a suit off him and Ian bought his wedding suit. It was all very-anti rock 'n' roll - that shot looks like it's shot in a gentleman's club or something...."

If you didn't have the cash to splash out on one (or all) of Kevin's large prints from his Arca exhibition or the Juvenes coffee table art book, then this box set is a highly recommended medium budget option.

We have one copy of Joy Division by Kevin Cummins courtesy of those lovely people at Polite Cards. All you have to do is answer this simple question, which in time-honoured tradition is set by none other than Kevin Cummins:

Which of the four members of Joy Division was the last to join the band?

Answers please by email to reach us no later than 22:00 GMT on Sunday 14 November 2010. Usual Cerysmatic Factory competition rules apply - only one entry per person and the winner will be pulled out the Cerysmatic hat shortly after the closing deadline. Good luck!

Joy Division by Kevin Cummins is available to buy now online from the Polite Cards Shop for delivery from 1 November 2010.

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Postcard Box Set Special Boxed Edition
20 Postcards
148 x 105 mm / A6
Hand Made Box
Printed in England
RRP £25

Labels: competition, Ian_Curtis, Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins, photography

Lindsay Reade will be signing copies of her new book Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl, at 1.00pm on Thursday 28 October 2010 at Waterstones in the Trafford Centre.

Lindsay's new book details her relationship with the late Factory Records boss Tony Wilson in searingly honest detail and is a highly recommended read.

Labels: book_signing, books, Lindsay_Reade, Tony_Wilson

Thanks to everyone who joined in on the great Freebass It's A Beautiful life album giveaway in which three lucky readers got to win a copy. The album is still on sale via all good retailers.

Labels: Freebass

PMT House of Rock, Chris Hewitt and Peter Hook present an evening exhibition of vintage musical equipment on Friday 12 November 2010 at the Red Rose Centre in Salford.

The evening will feature:

- An exclusive display of Joy Division and New Order vintage equipment
- A short LIVE performance from Peter Hook
- Q&A session about Joy Division etc with Peter Hook, hosted by John Robb
- A chance to look inside the Ronnie Lane Mobile Studio used to record amongst other Physical Graffiti and Quadophenia
- Plus an exhibition of Brian Eastwood guitars

Tickets priced 10.00 GBP are strictly limited to 251 places and available in-store at PMT Manchester
0161 877 6262

Venue details: Red Rose Centre, Regent Road, Salford M5 3GR

Meanwhile we have three signed copies of the It's A Beautiful Life album by Freebass to give away. The first three people to contact us will each receive a copy.

Labels: events, exhibition, Joy_Division, New_Order, Peter_Hook

White Columns and Rizzoli are proud to present a book launch plus a one night only exhibition of Kevin Cummins' seminal photographs of Joy Division on Monday 1 November 2010 at 6pm.

Kevin Cummins will be present to sign copies of his extraordinary new book Joy Division which features an introduction by Jay McInerney and a conversation with Bernard Sumner.

The book will be available for purchase on the night, price $45.00. White Column's Matthew Higgs will provide a Factory Records soundtrack and there will be drinks and refreshments.

All are welcome

White Columns
320 West 13th Street
(enter on Horatio Street between 8th Avenue + Hudson)
New York 10014

Labels: Bernard_Sumner, books, Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins

Vini Reilly played and talked with Paul Morley at a special spoken word event at the Purcell Room in London last Wednesday. The event was part of Morley's ongoing preparations for a forthcoming book about Tony Wilson. The other guests were poet Mike Garry and Richard Boon (ex-Buzzcocks manager).

The interviews were interspersed with previously unseen footage shot by Paul's sister Carol of Tony Wilson (c. 2005) in preparation for a film about a Joy Division tribute band from China. Undoubted star of the show was William the dog (recently the winning answer of a Cerysmatic competition) who shows great enthusiasm for barking and less for getting back into the car!

Check out the full review at thedurutticolumn.com.

Labels: books, Paul_Morley, review, Tony_Wilson, Vini_Reilly

The Distractions will release their new compilation album via Occultation Recordings in early 2011. Entitled Nothing it will include the 12" debut EP, the classic FAC 12 (Time Goes By So Slow b/w Pillow Fight), half a dozen tracks recorded in the mid-90s and possibly more. The Distractions' one and only album to date, Nobody's Perfect, is not available for release at the moment due to licensing restrictions.

Meanwhile, the band are about to release their first new material in three decades, following last month's digital release of some mid-90s material, the Black Velvet EP (and a track on Scream City SC5.1). Recorded in Liverpool this summer with original Distractions, Steve Perrin and Mike Finney, the Come Home EP will be released on 12" vinyl and digitally with a limited number of CD promos also available.

Official release date is expected to be mid-late November, but vinyl/CD orders will receive free mp3s immediately.

More info at www.thedistractions.co.uk and www.occultation.co.uk.

With thanks to Dan on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board.

Labels: The_Distractions

Ike Yard return with a new album via Phisteria under exclusive license to French label Desire (includes the Nord mini mix for you to stream). The album was recorded in New York with producer Paul Geluso and is out now.

Check out the rave reviews in Bleep and FACT.

Tracklisting

Traffikers
Mirai
Masochistic
Oshima Cassette
Metallic Blank
Beautifully Terrible
Type N
Citiesglit
Shimmer
Orange Tom
Robot Steppes

Full release details at discogs.com

Labels: Ike_Yard

The Orch's debut album of "spoken word and electronica" Small Times is due to come out on Manchester label Skinny Dog Records on 6 December and a Manchester gig is promised to coincide - full details to follow.

If taster track Without a Trace is anything to go by it will have been well worth the long wait since the Factory Sample Too.

More info plus video clips and other stuff at myspace.com/thisistheorch

Labels: The_Orch

The feature documentary Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields starts its US theatrical run on Wednesday 27 October at New York City's Film Forum reports the House of Tomorrow newsletter. Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields will appear in person alongside the filmmakers at the 8:10pm shows on Wednesday 27 October and Friday 29 October. Tickets go on sale 20 October via Film Forum.

Tickets are also on sale now for the Los Angeles screenings, which start 5 November 5 at Laemmle's Sunset 5. Stephin and the filmmakers will be making guest appearances at the Friday and Saturday evening shows:

The film's current run includes stops in Austin, San Francisco, Dallas, and Seattle. Screenings and special events related to the film are being added regularly by the filmmakers.

More info including film showtimes, news of a Magnetic Fields exhibition and a film series curated by Stephin Merritt on Facebook and the Official Website.

Meanwhile, Cerysmatic, gets a UK preview of Strange Powers tomorrow as it debuts at the London Film Festival 2010.

It's good to be back!

Labels: Magnetic_Fields, Stephin_Merritt

Section 25 regretfully announce that their upcoming show at The North Bar, Blackburn on Oct 22nd has been postponed due to unfortunate circumstances outside their control.

Details of a rearranged show will be made available as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the band look forward to the FAC251 gig on Sat Nov 20th.

Labels: FAC251_The_Factory, Section_25

To coincide with the launch of her book Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl: The Story of Tony and Lindsay Wilson, Lindsay Reade will be joined by a celebrity panel - including Peter Hook and Elliot Rashman - to discuss her book’s perspective on the life and work of Tony Wilson at FAC251 The Factory on October 13th 2010.

"This heartfelt and searingly honest memoir details the relationship between legendary music impresario Tony Wilson and his first wife, Lindsay Reade.

In 2007 Manchester figurehead and music-industry veteran Tony Wilson passed away at the age of fifty-seven, following a battle with cancer. Thirty years earlier, he married his first wife Lindsay Reade, and the couple’s passionate, volatile but indelible bond was to endure until the very end, played out against the ever-shifting backdrop of a city whose musical legacy defined generations.

Here, for the first time, Lindsay tells the full story of her and Tony’s marriage, divorce, and subsequent lifelong connection, giving a candid and moving account of two lives lived in the midst of a musical and cultural revolution; of two people who went their separate ways but never truly separated.

Through a frank examination of her own memories and those of the people with whom she shared the experience, Reade details pivotal moments in Manchester’s history, from the birth of the seventies punk scene to the founding of Factory Records, from the recording of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures to her role in the discovery of the Stone Roses, from the opening of the Hacienda and the subsequent emergence of the ‘Madchester’ scene to the making of 24 Hour Party People.

A poignant chronicle of love and loss, Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl also presents an incisive portrait of the unique individuals and often fraught relationships that shaped the life of a modern legend."

Labels: books, FAC251_The_Factory, Lindsay_Reade, Peter_Hook, The_Stone_Roses

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