"Isolation" is a 1980 song appearing on the post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 band Joy Division

Joy Division

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...

's second album, Closer

Closer (Joy Division album)

Closer is the second and final studio album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released , two months following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The album was originally scheduled to be released on . The record was originally released on the Factory Records label as a 12" LP and...

. The song is based upon an industrial beat by Stephen Morris, accompanied by a high-pitched keyboard line by Bernard Sumner

Bernard Sumner

Bernard Sumner , also known as Bernard Dickin, Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrecht is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer....

. Midway through the song, a rushing drum and hi-hat

Hi-hat

A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...

 motif come in, propelling the song toward its dramatic end in what resembles a compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 skipping, followed by a sudden electronic crescendo.

The song also appears on the Heart and Soul box set and on Permanent. A live version from the band's last concert appears on Still

Still (Joy Division album)

Still is a compilation album by Joy Division, consisting of previously unused studio material and a live recording of Joy Division's last concert, performed at Birmingham University. Originally planned for release in August, it was eventually released on 8 October 1981. The CD version was...

. The song is also used in the 2007 Joy Division biopic Control.

Covers

• Die Krupps
  Die Krupps
  Die Krupps is a German industrial rock/EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf.-History:Their initial sound throughout the 1980s combined synthesizers with metallic percussion...
  
   covered the song on 1997 compilation album Metalmorphosis of Die Krupps
• Hard rock band Therapy?
  Therapy?
  Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...
  
   covered the song on their 1994 album Troublegum
  Troublegum
  Troublegum was the second major label album by the band Therapy? It was released on February 7, 1994 on A&M Records. The album was recorded in 1993 at Chipping Norton Studio in Oxford, as well as Rak Studios and Church Studios, both in London. It had a melodically dark, metal-like sound. The album...
  
  .
• In 1995, a cover by Smashing Pumpkins spin-off band Starchildren
  Starchildren
  Starchildren was a side project of The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. From 1990 to 1994 the band played a few scattered live shows, each usually featuring a different lineup of band members with only Corgan having constant involvement...
  
   appeared on the tribute album A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division
  A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division
  A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division is a tribute album, featuring various artists covering the songs of Joy Division.-Track listing:#"She's Lost Control"...
  
  .
• Industrial band Dessau
  Dessau
  Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
  
   released the Al Jourgensen
  Al Jourgensen
  Alain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...
  
   produced 12" single in late 1988.
• Carissa's Wierd
  Carissa's Wierd
  Carissa's Wierd was an indie rock band from Seattle that formed in 1995 and disbanded in late 2003. Their sound has been described as "chamber rock". The band deliberately misspelled the word "Weird" in their name...
  
   included a cover of the song on their on their 2003 album Scrapbook.

Dessau leader John Elliott had worked with Joy Division producer Martin Hannett

Martin Hannett

Martin Hannett , sometimes credited as Martin Zero, was a record producer and an original partner in Factory Records with Tony Wilson...

in 1982 as a member of Chicago new wave act Stations, and on the 1985 Dessau release Red Languages. Their version also appears on the Dessau LP Exercise In Tension. In 1995 Mausoleum / BMG released a compilation Dessau which also contained "Isolation".