Organisation (album)

Organisation is an album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1980. As with all OMD's early sleeve art, it was created by Peter Saville Associates and features a photograph by Richard Nutt of the cloud-covered peak of Marsco, in the Red Cuillin hills, overlooking Glen Sligachan on the Isle of Skye with Allt Dearg Mòr in the foreground. The album's title refers to the band Organisation, a precursor to Kraftwerk. The album was remastered and re-released in 2003, with several bonus tracks.

The album is notable for its melancholy tone. The band said that at the time they had been heavily influenced by Joy Division; this can be traced through Organisation’s use of jarring drum sounds and moody songs. "VCL XI" is a good example of this sound. Also notable is OMD's move away from pure Gary Numan-Kraftwerk-ian pop, embracing a grander sound, an increasing use of acoustic instruments, and sound collages. The group would continue to expand their sound this way on the next two albums Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships. The advances of Organisation and Architecture & Morality are made all the more impressive by the fact they were recorded and released within eighteen months of each other.

"Enola Gay" was the only single released from the album. It could be perhaps perceived as deceiving, as it had little in common with the style of the rest of the album, even though its subject matter is poetically grim. It bears much in common with the sound of the group's debut album. Andy McCluskey is noted as saying it was written at the time of most of the debut was written.

"Motion and Heart" was also considered for a single release, but was dropped. A new recording was made which was released as a B-Side to Architecture & Morality’s "Souvenir" and can be found on the remastered edition of that album.

"VCL XI" was the name of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys' short lived group, which itself was named after a valve on the back of Kraftwerk's Radio-Activity album (although the name of the valve is actually written "VCL 11" on the Kraftwerk album).

Malcolm Holmes had played drums with Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys before, notably on "Julia's Song" which was featured on the band's debut, and for Organisation he was recruited as a full-time member replacing the TEAC tape recorder affectionately named 'Winston'.

NME named Organisation as one of the 50 best albums of 1980.