Hot 8 Brass Band. Photo by Melissa Fargo

Hot 8 Brass Band covers Joy Division in latest video

On Wednesday, the Grammy-nominated New Orleans outfit Hot 8 Brass Band released the video to their cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The video is filmed entirely in and throughout New Orleans, including panoramic downtown shots from the Hotel Monteleone. All the bands’ members act in the music video along with other actors shown in hotel rooms, dancing and finding romance. Rolling Stone called the video a reflection “on heartbreak and romance” and noted the song’s “funky swagger” that the group adds to the classic post-punk favorite.

Hot 8’s connection to the U.K. has deeper roots than just a single cover. In 2015, Hot 8 filmed the music video for their Marvin Gaye cover “Sexual Healing” in the seaside town of Brighton, England. Throughout the years, they’ve performed in London and toured around the U.K. On the song “Love Will Tear Us Apart, the band said, “We fell in love with this song a long time ago. It has a deep emotional meaning. Although we do listen to a lot of funk, jazz and rap, we listen to British music all the time here in New Orleans and love England’s punk scene.”

Hot 8 Brass Band formed in 1995 and have since undergone tremendous changes, tragedy, and triumph. They’ve toured worldwide, collaborated with Lauryn Hill and Mos Def, and introduced their unique blend of jazz, funk, and hip-hop to a global audience. Tragically, they have lost four of their members. They suffered in Hurricane Katrina but still kept the ball rolling. Through the good and the bad, the spirit of the music shines.