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“It was kinda like the soundtrack to the discontent of my youth,” says Blake Miller of MOVING UNITS about one of his musical idols, British postpunk legends JOY DIVISION, fueling a creative storm that has resulted not only in a tribute tour celebrating the music of the seminal postpunk legends but also a companion album for release on February 17, 2017 entitled Collision With Joy Division.
Lighting the spark on February 21st in El Paso, TX, the LA-based dance rock stalwarts will begin a national tour entitled Moving Units Present the Songs of Joy Division, a live homage which will include a wealth of covers as well as songs from their own oeuvre. “I was drawn to the moody industrial sound of their debut album Unknown Pleasures when I was a freshman in college,” he continues about the band’s sultry lure. “And [late Joy Division lead singer] Ian Curtis has this ‘Frank Sinatra smacked out on valium and uppers’ vocal style I really love. I remember feeling captivated by this band while I drove around my desolate hometown in suburban Detroit.”
Putting their own spin on such important tracks as “Disorder”, “Digital”, “She’s LostControl”, “Atmosphere”, and of course, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, among others, Moving Units will lovingly recreate the Manchester band’s tragic beauty faithfully. “I think we share a deep artistic connection with their music,” he says about the reasons behind waging such a daunting tour. “Our band was very inspired by Joy Division and similarly innovative post punk bands from that era like A Certain Ratio, PiL, Section 25 and The Fall. So when we approached the material, we decided to learn the songs note-for-note and then apply our own musical brush strokes and accents to our versions.”
As mentioned above, February 17, 2017 marks the release of the companion album Collision With Joy Division featuring songs they will be performing live. The recordings were produced by Dave Trumfio (Wilco, Jesus & Mary Chain, Built To Spill) and Blake Miller. Says Miller excitedly, “I think we captured the raw impulsive attitude of their songs and their performance style in a way that both honors their legacy and breathes fresh air into the music.”
Moving Units will also play a second set each night of Moving Units originals that will span their catalog of LPs from Dangerous Dreams to Damage With Care.
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