Friday, November 30, 2012

An update

Removed text of email. Ihave asked for clarification if this is a general Cease and Desist request for all things Joy Division/New Order; I will update with any response.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

DMCA: it's happened again, with Joy Division this time.

Today I received two notices from Mediafire stating the two Joy Division files (Part 1.zip and Part 2.zip) for the University of London Union were suspended due to DMCA complaints.

Dear MediaFire User:


MediaFire has received notification under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") that your usage of a file is allegedly infringing on the file creator's copyright protection.

The file named JD - 1980_02-08 ULU (2012 master) part 2.zip is identified by the key (8nwbdu0xrzkvyge).

As a result of this notice, pursuant to Section 512(c)(1)(C) of the DMCA, we have suspended access to the file.

The reason for suspension was:

                I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

Information about the party that filed the report:

Company Name: GrayZone, Inc
Contact Address:
Contact Name: GrayZone, Inc.
Contact Phone: (718) 360-9941
Contact Email: grayzone@grayzone.com


Copyright infringement violates MediaFire's Terms of Service. MediaFire accounts that experience multiple incidents of alleged copyright infringement without viable counterclaims may be terminated.

If you feel this suspension was in error, please submit a counterclaim by following the process below.

 I have no idea who GrayZone is.

This is very frustrating.  This material, while released at one point, was given to the label by US.  We enter the questionable area of ROIO (Recordings of Independent Origin) copyright.  Is it worth it for me to file a counterclaim?  Do I - as an "originator" of this work, have any grounds to do so?

I am not re-upping the files.  I also am not going to post High Wycombe (Still's CD2 from the 2007 reissues), also freshly mastered by me after discarding my 2006 work as-released.  That said, punters who did not download ULU yet can find it on the darker sides of the internets; I know at least one site that might be known as why.cd or some similar name has the FLACs available.

Additionally, Mediafire (the 2nd account I used) has suspended the analogloyalist account.  Therefore all previous re-upped links are dead.

At this time I am not re-upping anything - if I decide to re-up anything - until I finally sort out hosting.  It is expensive; with the bandwidth used the contributions from my readers doesn't really cover more than a week or so from what I've researched so far.

Due to the heavy spotlight on this blog, I question whether I can post anything not recorded/owned by me myself and I, such as my old bands.  Why would I want to?

Let's see comments.

Drew

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Joy Division set over at TPoIT...

As it's not fit for this blog, at least by my own definition of what WOULD fit, I've posted a monstrously-improved Joy Division set over on the big daddy blog The Power of Independent Trucking:

Joy Division - 8 February 1980 University of London Union (2012 Analog Loyalist mastering)

Go, read, grab and enjoy!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Joy Division - Warsaw (original 1989 CD issue) remaster.

NOTICE:  Please read this first!!! 

Welcome back.

Slowly, I am returning to this project.  Time away has been eventful; the Analog Loyalist batcave has a new location and, after meeting the band, a new appreciation and outlook on this series.



So it is that I slightly divert from this blog's stated mission and bring to you my remastering attempt of Joy Division's legendary 1978 RCA album sessions bootleg Warsaw, from the original 1989 CD release on RZM.  It's critical to disregard any other known CD release of this bootleg, because the most common version, 1994's Movie Play Gold CD issue of this, is flat-out terrible.  Too (FAR too) bassy, low-quality source material, the works.  I suspect the best bootleg version of this session is the original 1981 LP issue (also on RZM), but I don't have a line on a decent transfer of it.

Legend has it that RZM is code for (Alan) Erasmus, an original Factory partner who, with Tony Wilson and Peter Saville, started Factory Records in 1978.  The legend states that Erasmus (say it aloud, and then say R-Z-M) arranged the 1981 bootleg release of the aborted 1978 album, and then further arranged for the material's first appearance on CD in 1989.  Frankly, I believe it.

None of the CD releases of this set have been spectacular in sound quality.  I think the problem is that the original tape was not that great, and that the mastering-for-CD process - possibly to disguise vinyl lineage, as I suspect that the original LP was the ultimate source for all the various CD issues - really clamped down on the upper midrange and higher frequencies.  It's always sounded muffled, and boomy (the 1994 Movie Play Gold release, with the baby on the cover, is the worst in this regard).  I've fixed this.  I've also fixed up some of the harsher song starts, as it's easy in the digital domain (ain't no ProToolin' in 1978!) and the CD has a few of the intros cut off.  Why did I fix them?  Because the missed intro to "Transmission" has always bugged me, among others.  "Interzone" too.

I think this is the best we're going to get with this material.  Already it blows the few tracks released on 1997's Heart and Soul box set away, and unless someone leaks the original mixdown tape from the 1978 session, we won't find better.  That said, I do have a line on a dub of a band member's personal cassette copy of this session, but I don't have it handy and what I remember from listening to it when I did was that it wasn't really all that much different or better than the '89 CD release.  I am trying to dig it up again, and if it does indeed better this, then I will tart it up and post it as well.

Joy Division
"Warsaw"
(unreleased May 1978 album sessions)
RZM CD 01 (1989 pressing)
November 2012 Analog Loyalist mastering


01 The Drawback
02 Leaders of Men
03 They Walked In Line
04 Failures (of the Modern Man)
05 Novelty
06 No Love Lost
07 Transmission
08 (Living In The) Ice Age
09 Interzone
10 Warsaw
11 Shadowplay

FLACs here.

Enjoy!