WHEN THE CURRENT INCARNATION OF NEW ORDER BEGAN LOOKING FOR WAYS TO FRESHEN UP THEIR SOUND WITHOUT PETER HOOK, THEY TURNED TO A MAN WITH AN UNIMPEACHABLE PEDIGREE – COMPOSER / ARRANGER EXTRAORDINAIRE JOE DUDDELL.

His arrangements feature on five tracks of the recently released MUSIC COMPLETE, and offer the band which were his teenage heroes a new angle on a familiar aesthetic. This summer a collaborative fund-raising single saw him set ST ANTHONY – poet Mike Garry’s eulogy to Factory supremo Tony Wilson – to an orchestrated version of New Order’s classic 1983 album track YOUR SILENT FACE. Duddell has also worked with Elbow (a one-off concert with the Hallé, plus work on 2011 album BUILD A ROCKET BOYS!) and James – orchestrating parts of their vast back catalogue for a 2011 tour. His showcase concert with Richard Hawley at Yorkshire’s Magna centre was a career highlight for both.  He’s also a member of Stella Martyr, who are about to release their debut EP. In this new edition of The Mouthcast we talk about all of this work, and reflect on the qualities needed to be one of the most sought-after arranger / orchestrators in popular music today…

Buy a download of the Stella Martyr EP here and the vinyl here
Buy ST ANTHONY (in aid of Manchester cancer hospital Christie’s) here