#avantgarde — Public Fediverse posts

The Durutti Column – Vini Reilly (1989, UK)

Our next spotlight is on number 184 on The List, submitted by thesweetcheat.

The Durutti Column in the shape of a full band as assembled in 1978 by Alan Erasmus and Tony Wilson existed for only a fleeting moment, though long enough to be part of history by playing the opening “Factory” nights at The Russell Club in Manchester (May 1978, alongside Joy Division and Cabaret Voltaire) and appearing on the first Factory Records release, A Factory Sample (aka FAC-2[1], 1979). And, thankfully, that fleeting moment also brought one of the finest guitarists of our time into the spotlight as, starting with the first studio LP, The Return of The Durutti Column (FACT 14, 1980), “The Durutti Column” has been the name of the (primarily) solo project of enigmatic guitar virtuoso Vini Reilly.

By the time we get to the seventh Durutti album, Vini Reilly (FACT 244) – the title making it clear just who ‘the band’ was – Reilly already had a few great “avant garde jazz classical”[2] albums under his belt, all released by Factory Records and all very distinct from the rest of the label’s output, ranging from ambient post-punk, dreamy art rock, and experimental new wave to minimalist chamber music and neoclassical. While Reilly’s usual gorgeous (acoustic and electric, often flamenco-inspired) guitar work remains the focus here – sometimes on a subtle bed of synths (introduced in full force in the previous Durutti album, The Guitar and Other Machines [FACT 204, 1987]), sometimes ever so softly punctuated by the “Real Drums [by] Real Drummer” Bruce Mitchell,[3] a frequent Durutti collaborator since LC (FACT 44, 1981) – this album adds something new to the Durutti bag of tricks, courtesy of an Akai sampler. Sprinkling in a healthy dose of opera,[4] soul, and pop samples, the layering of borrowed, looped, and sometimes rather obscured vocals plus some freshly recorded vocals (by guests and Reilly himself) over Reilly’s otherwise largely unadorned guitar chords has a rather stunning effect.

And while the whole album is incredible, I think the 3-song run on the vinyl version from the end of side A to beginning of side B is perfection, showcasing just how good an ear Reilly has for stitching seemingly disparate sounds together, resulting in something that would perhaps seem commonplace to us a quarter of a century after Moby’s Play (1999) was here, there, and every-f*cking-where, but in 1989 was quite possibly ahead of its time. “Finding the Sea” is a mini triptych piece that begins with Reilly playing a chamber-style piano section with guest vocals by Chinese librettist Liu Sola (also on previous track “People’s Pleasure Park”), then shifts to Reilly on guitar interspersed with a sample of Annie Lennox singing “another day is over” (originally from “Brand New Day” on Eurthymics’ Savage [1987]), and then back to the piano and Sola. “They Work Every Day” leans heavily on soul samples[5] plus guest vocals by Manchester busker Rob Gray. And in the middle of these two songs is the album’s crown jewel, the first track on side B. On “Otis”, Reilly’s calming, hopeful guitar is accompanied by three intertwining samples: Mahalia Jackson singing “I walk”, from a recording of her take on the traditional Christian hymn “The Last Mile of the Way“; a down-tuned Tracy Chapman singing “another sleepless night for me”, originally from “Behind the Wall” on her 1988 s/t; and, as the track’s title hinted, Otis Redding, singing “come back, come back”, originally from “Pain in My Heart” on his 1964 debut album of the same name.

My introduction to Durutti Column/Vini Reilly was via the soundtrack album for the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People (FAC 401), a faux documentary/dramatization of the Manchester music scene from 1976 to 1992, focusing on the whole Factory Records thing with Tony Wilson as the central character. Though not in the film, “Otis” to me is a really poignant part of the soundtrack, as I interpret its placement in the center of the album – between Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” (played in the film following the funeral of Ian Curtis) and A Guy Called Gerald’s “Voodoo Ray” – as a very gentle, delicate way to transition from the very sad end of the film’s first act to the second act that is primarily about Factory Record’s The Haçienda nightclub (FAC 51), Happy Mondays, the birth of rave culture, and all the ‘Madchester’ raucousness that ensued.[6] While Reilly has a song commemorating Ian Curtis (“The Missing Boy” on LC), due to the placement and vibe of “Otis”, it’s the Durutti song that is forever connected in my mind with Curtis. But I digress. As it is very easy to do when it comes to anything in the Tony Wilson/Factory Records world. I might as well also throw in here that the next Durutti album after Vini Reilly, Obey the Time (1990), sees Reilly bringing in the then-popular acid house sound, so the placement of “Otis” in the soundtrack kinda sorta also works as a look at where Durutti would go next.

Anyway, the timing of this spotlight is brought to you by the fact that The Durutti Column has just released their 21st studio album, Renascent (2026) – their first in 16 years – and it’s a great one. And, yes, I did say “their”, as the current Durutti era sees Bruce Mitchell as a full-fledged member, as well as Keir Stewart, who has been a frequent collaborator I believe since Time Was GIGANTIC… When We Were Kids (1998). I for one am quite pleased to see a lot of Durutti Column articles these days, as, tbh, I wouldn’t have otherwise known Reilly was still active. Maybe we’ll now even get a Wikipedia page for Vini Reilly and the rest of the albums no kind soul has yet volunteered their time for.

As God (who looks like Tony Wilson) says to Tony Wilson at the end of 24 Hour Party People: “Vini Reilly, by the way, is way overdue a revival…it’s good music to chill out to.”

• Bandcamp: The Durutti Column – Vini Reilly
• Discogs: The Durutti Column – Vini Reilly

1. Factory Records assigned numbers to releases and other items (such as posters and Tony Wilson’s coffin) in roughly chronological order, with ‘FAC’ generally being used for non-albums, ‘FACT’ generally (but not always exclusively) for albums, and the last digit often designating something specific, with those ending in a 4 generally (but not strictly) reserved for The Durutti Column. Only 2 other numbers were reserved for particular bands – 2 for Happy Mondays, 3 for Joy Division/New Order. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_Records_discography. ↩︎
2. As per Reilly himself in a recent interview in The Guardian: “…I wanted to create something that wasn’t a recognisable form. When we were trying to get into Canada, the customs guy asked what kind of music we played and I piped up: ‘Avant garde jazz classical.’ It was a joke, but it stuck.” Also, for a quick rundown of these earlier albums, check out this cool feature that was just recently published on Bandcamp “The Durutti Column’s Factory Years, Reconstructed”: https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/durutti-column-factory-album-guide. ↩︎
3. Mitchell was also on A Factory Sample, playing on John Dowie’s tracks. ↩︎
4. Bits of soprano singer Joan Sutherland probably makes up the bulk of the vocal samples throughout the album, starting from the first track, though from what works I have no idea. ↩︎
5. I can’t find credits or even guesses on the samples used in “They Work Every Day” but methinks the “make me blow my cool” line *might* be a sample from Sly & The Family Stone’s “Dog” on A Whole New Thing (1967)??? I have no clue for the “just another working day” line. Let me know if you know! ↩︎
6. Full disclosure: this interpretation was largely due to my belief right up until the writing of this spotlight that “Otis” was actually in the film, the result of both watching the film and listening to the soundtrack dozens of times over the last 20 years and my brain syncing up the two artifacts so well that I thought the soundtrack album was a faithful mirror of the film’s actual soundtrack. What can I say. I now know the song isn’t in the film, but my interpretation of why it shows up in the middle of the soundtrack still stands. ↩︎