"Atmosphere" is a song by the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

. It was originally released in March 1980 by the

Sordide Sentimental Sordide Sentimental is a French record label, founded in 1978 by Jean-Pierre Turmel and Yves Von Bontee, notable for its releases of early works by Joy Division, Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and others. Artists * Monte Cazazza * Davie Allan & T ...

label as the "Licht und Blindheit" (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "Light and Blindness") package, a France-only limited edition single featuring the track "

Dead Souls ''Dead Souls'' ( , pre-reform spelling: ) is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov ...

" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. Following

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

's death in May 1980, it was re-released as a 12" single by

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

in September with "

She's Lost Control "She's Lost Control" is a song by British post-punk band Joy Division. Released on their 1979 debut album, ''Unknown Pleasures'', "She's Lost Control" was first performed live by the band in June 1978 and draws primary lyrical inspiration fro ...

" as the B-side. The single was re-released in 1988 to coincide with the release of the compilation album ''

Substance Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug, a chemical agent affecting an organism Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ' ...

'', and a music video was produced for the song.

Recording

Joy Division had written an early version of "Atmosphere" titled "Chance", which was recorded for a

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

radio session in June 1979. They later recorded the final version of "Atmosphere" in October 1979 with

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...

Cargo Studios Cargo Studios was a recording studio located on Kenion Street, off Drake Street, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was opened in 1977 by John Brierley (who had gained notoriety in the early 1970s as producer of Tractor's first two albums) ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. The keyboards used in the song were a "

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses Australia and New Zealand * Woolworths Group (Australia), the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand; named after the American F.W. Woolworth company, but unrelated * W ...

Winfield brown

Bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...

plastic

reed organ The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

," and a

Solina String Ensemble The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral string synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United S ...

. Both of which were performed by

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and ...

. According to drummer Stephen Morris, the shimmering sound present in the song was achieved by striking "a tambourine balanced on a pair of scissors" and then manipulating the sound with a variety of effects, including

delay Delay or DeLay may refer to: People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and movie stunt pilot * Dorothy DeLay (1917–2002), American violin instructor * Florence Delay (born 1941), French academician and actor * Jan Delay, stage name ...

Release

The song was originally released on 18 March 1980 by the label

as a France-only 7" single under the title "Licht und Blindheit" (

for "Light and Blindness"). It was limited to 1578 copies and featured the track "

" as the

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

played "Atmosphere" for the first time on his show on 11 March 1980 and "Dead Souls" the following night. Following the death of lead vocalist

in May 1980, "Atmosphere" was released as a 12" single along with "

". "Atmosphere" was the A-side for the UK release but the B-side for the US release. "She's Lost Control" is an alternative version of the one that appears on the band's debut studio album ''

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

'' (1979). The single peaked at number 1 in New Zealand in August 1981, and it would later re-chart there in July 1984 (number 17) and when it was reissued in August 1988 (number 5). "Atmosphere" also reached the top of the UK Indie Chart in October 1980, hit the number 2 spot of that same chart in July 1988,, and hit number 34 in the UK Singles Chart during June 1988. The single was re-released in 1988 to coincide with the release of the compilation album ''

''.

Music video

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released for the song with the single's re-release in 1988. It contains characters wearing black-hooded

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

s and white burial

shroud Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to ''burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the Jewish '' ...

s carrying around large pictures of the band. It was directed by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

(responsible for much of the early Joy Division photography, and who later directed the Ian Curtis 2007 biopic ''

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...

'').

Critical reception

Ned Raggett of

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 ...

wrote, "Atmosphere" is another one of those prime Joy Division songs, like "

Transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...

" or "

Love Will Tear Us Apart "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock music, rock band Joy Division, released on 27 June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis' marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was r ...

", where

's production becomes so essential to the end result that it couldn't have been heard otherwise", noting that, in regard to Ian Curtis's mental state and subsequent death, "there's a feeling of a requiem here, an awesome musical farewell." In 2009, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' voted the song number 1 in its list "The 20 Greatest

Goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

Tracks".

Legacy

The song featured in the film ''

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 ...

'' (2002) just after Ian Curtis's suicide is portrayed.Usage in film and television: se
"Joy Division - Soundtrack. 'Atmosphere'"
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

. The song is also used at the end of the Ian Curtis biopic ''Control''. It was also played at

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

's funeral. "Atmosphere" is used during the final scenes of ''

Hounds of Love ''Hounds of Love'' is the fifth studio album by the English musician Kate Bush, released on 16 September 1985 by EMI Records. It was a commercial and artistic success and marked a return to the public eye for Bush after the relatively low sales ...

'' (2016), an Australian thriller, as well. It was used in the trailer for the third series of BBC "northern noir" drama '' Happy Valley''. Joy Division's bassist,

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...

, has said he regards the song as one of the band's greatest.''teamrock.com''
/ref>

Track listings

All songs written and composed by Joy Division (

, Stephen Morris and

). ; "Licht und Blindheit" (7") ; "Atmosphere" (12") ; 1988 re-release ; 7" ; 12" ; CD

Chart positions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atmosphere (Joy Division Song) Joy Division songs 1980 singles Songs released posthumously Number-one singles in New Zealand Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Black-and-white music videos Rock ballads Factory Records singles 1980 songs Songs written by Bernard Sumner Songs written by Peter Hook Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician) Songs written by Ian Curtis 1980s ballads UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles