New Order
New Order formed in Manchester in 1980 when the surviving members of Joy Division — Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris, later joined by Gillian Gilbert — regrouped after the death of singer Ian Curtis. Fusing post-punk's austerity with electronic dance rhythms and synthesizers, they helped define 1980s synth-pop, and their 1983 single 'Blue Monday' became one of the best-selling 12-inch records of all time. Their bridging of guitar rock and club electronics shaped decades of alternative and dance music.
New Order have repeatedly credited Kraftwerk as a foundational influence, drawing on the German group's precise, machine-driven electronics as they moved from post-punk toward synth-based dance music.
listen forListen to the robotic, sequenced pulse of Kraftwerk's 'The Robots' and then the relentless synth-and-drum-machine engine of 'Blue Monday' — the same cold, mechanized groove repurposed for the dancefloor.
The pulsing, sequenced synth-disco that Giorgio Moroder pioneered in the 1970s fed directly into New Order's dance-oriented productions, which married that electronic sequencing to a rock band's instincts.
listen forSet Moroder's throbbing electronic 'From Here to Eternity' against 'Temptation' — both ride a hypnotic, arpeggiated synth sequence that keeps building, driving the track forward more than any drummer could.
Bowie's late-1970s Berlin experiments with synthesizers and mood — records the band came up on — informed New Order's blend of melodic songcraft with electronic texture.
listen forCompare the icy, minimal synth wash of Bowie's 'Sound and Vision' with the shimmering guitar-and-sequencer sweep of 'Age of Consent' — both set a plaintive melody against cool electronic atmosphere.