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When Tony Wilson first signed the Manchester-based Durutti Column, the pair began a fruitful and influential journey through the early 1980s underground.  In a fitting display of gratitude and devotion, the band have recorded an instrumental tribute album to their old friend and mentor, who died in 2007.

The new album, A Paean to Wilson, stems from an instrumental written just before Wilson’s death. Durutti founder Vini Reilly composed the piece for Wilson to listen to while in the hospital, just before his death. Wilson loved the piece, inspiring Reilly and co. to put their efforts into a full-length release.

“I was at the hospital when he died,” Reilly told Fact Magazine.  “We were very, very close. Afterwards, many things were done in his name. They were all about ‘Mr. Manchester,’ and about what Tony had done for music, art and literature. I didn’t attend many of them. I’d just lost one of my closest friends and I had all the grief that you feel under such circumstances. Once I’d got my act together though, I decided to do something for myself and for Tony.”

As the first band signed to Factory Records (Joy Division, Section 25, A Certain Ratio), The Durutti Column released several influential records during a particularly innovative period in music. Punk had come and gone, and out from the sheer fury of discontent rose a colder, more atmospheric form of music.  Factory Records was instrumental in cultivating post-punk music, ushering in a wave of alternative sounds that still leave their mark upon today’s music.

This new direction for the Durutti Column was further influenced by Wilson, who would always encourage Reilly to write and compose instead of singing . “After he died, I decided to make a body of work which did not have traditional song structures and which was concerned solely with the musical content. My only objective was to create some music that Tony would thoroughly approve of. I think I’ve done that and, if his spirit lives on – which I like to think that it does – I want him to know that this is for him.”

A Paean to Wilson will be released on January 24th, 2010, the 32nd anniversary of Factory’s humble beginnings.  The band will also play two hometown shows surrounding the release, showcasing the new material.

Click below the cut for the full tracklisting.

Disc one – A Paean To Wilson

I. Or Are You Just A Technician
II. Chant
III. Quatro
IV. Requiem
V. Stuki
VI. Along Came Poppy
VII. Brother
VIII. Duet With Piano
IX. Darkness Here
X. Catos Revisited
XI. The Truth
XII. How Unbelievable

Bonus Disc: Heaven Sent
(It Was Called Digital. It Was Heaven Sent)

1. Bruce
2. Keir
3. Neil
4. Mike
5. Alan
6. Anthony