Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner were already legendary musicians in their own rights – as members of The Smiths and Joy Division/New Order respectively – when they decided to join forces in a synth/guitar love-a-thon by the name of Electronic. The band came together in the late 80s following Marr’s acrimonious split with the Smiths. Around the same time, Sumner shocked his bandmates by announcing that he planned to take time out from New Order; frustrated that they weren’t more receptive to his synth-leading desires.
Marr and Sumner co-wrote much of their Electronic catalogue between 1987 and 1998, including collaborations with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, of Pet Shop Boys; and former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos.
Electronic | “Getting Away With It”
Marr and Sumner had first met in 1984 when Marr added guitar to "Atom Rock" by Quando Quango, an electro-dance track co-produced by Sumner. Marr summed up their coming together for Electronic: “We were two musicians who wanted to get away from the suffocating politics of the band. At the same time, it was OK for duos and DJs and non-groups to make records, and that really appealed to Bernard and me.”
The project is a joyous intersection of Sumner and Marr’s influences and talents. Despite originating from such differing genres, the experimental dance-pop of New Order and the full-bodied jangle of The Smiths blend together seamlessly in a balanced symmetry of shiny pop; simultaneously fragile, bold and impossibly catchy. Electronic’s self-titled debut album went to sell over a million copies worldwide and still stands up as one of the most important electronica albums of all time. It featured the top 10 single, "Get The Message" which was met with huge acclaim at the time of its initial release in May 1991.
Electronic | "Get The Message"
Now, Electronic by Electronic is to be reissued as a limited-edition white vinyl pressing on 24 January 2020, available exclusively through Rhino.co.uk. The album will also be available on black vinyl through all other retailers. For the first time on vinyl, both versions will come with the black cover which was first used on the version of the CD released in 1994. Electronic is available to pre-order here.
"Electronic is simply a 100 per cent pure distillation of Marr and Sumner's respective talents. The hit single 'Get the Message' has it in a nutshell: it breaks no new ground; it simply achieves perfection" – The Vox.
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