DELTA MACHINE | ANÁLISE COMPLETA AO NOVO ÁLBUM

SAMULI (a.k.a. Eldridtch), jornalista e fã de DEPECHE MODE de longa data, esteve presente numa das sessões de audição de DELTA MACHINE que tiveram início a semana passada, escreveu uma análise detalhada ao novo álbum.

É uma análise longa, música a música, mas vale muito a pena. Disfrutem.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer 1: remember that I have heard this only once – and while I usually detect what I like or not like on the very first hearing, these are still first impressions.

Disclaimer 2: I had no lyric sheet so the lyrical quotes may not be totally correct

Disclaimer 3: I loved PTA and disliked SOTU, so if your opinions vary from mine concerning those two albums, you might disagree with very much of what I write.

Sooo… overall impressions first. For all the talk about Flood being on board and of Martin describing the album as ”a mixture of SOFAD and Violator”, the way that I hear it is that it’s very much the third part of the Ben Hillier album trilogy. The sound is cleaner and harsher than on PTA, but some overall problems still persist. But like Mark1975 wrote, PTA was in many ways a tribute to DM’s past, so there are similar nods to past glories scattered all over the album.

One of those problems is the much-talked about lack of middle-eights, which really plagues especially the first half of the album. I’ll mention it here, because otherwise I would moan about it on almost every other track review. It’s frustrating because there are some excellent DM songs on Delta (Welcome To My World and Secret to The End to name a couple), which are separated from the future classic status only due to the lack of somebody making them go the extra mile.

Another thing I’ll mention here, that I don’t think DM is capable of providing us with anything truly new and original. So Delta Machine won’t really give us anyhting totally new, but otherwise it shows a reinvigorated band at the top the game of being a 32-year Depeche Mode. And at its best moments (of which there are a lot) it provides the old themes and subjects with new twists.

01. WELCOME TO MY WORLD

A soft techno pulse makes one wonder if this is an instrumental like some predicted, but then Dave comes in: ”Welcome to my world / step right through the door”. More like the slow build of In Chains instead of the burst of energy that was APTIUT, this is an intelligent and promising start which leads into a spine-tinglingly wordy and ascendant chorus in which Dave half-promises and half-threatens to ”penetrate your soul” and ”bleed into your dreams”. We are instructed to ”watch the sunlight fade” and ”see the moon begin to blush” and blimey, this is great indeed – like WIME pojected into the 2013. After the second chorus I’m ready to be swept off my feet, but – blah – once again the song bleeps and bloops out of sight instead of giving us anything more. Still, a very good start.

02. ANGEL

The one we already know. I didn’t want to overplay it before the album and because I wasn’t blown by it, it was easy to save it for the album. So I’ll just say that I spot no major deviations from the track we’ve heard.

03. HEAVEN

I’ll just say that as a single it’s quite underwhelming, but it provides a welcome respite from all the harsh electro on the album.

04. SECRET TO THE END

The album picks up with an uptempo electro stomp, spiced with some dirty guitar. For once we have a proper chorus (hooray!) which may look silly on paper but works intensively accompanied by music: ”The problem should’ve been you / (”should’ve been you”) / (”would’ve been you”)/ (”could’ve been you”) / If it hadn’t been me / (”hadn’t been me”) / (”hadn’t been me)” – Martin and Dave shouting the latter parts of the chorus on top of each other. I suspect it’s a Dave track, because out of the first six ones it’s the one I can’t instantly recognize as pure Gore. But it’s not a sign of disrespect, this is a strong song. Some very It’s No Good –style sounds in the instrumental section after the second chorus.

05. MY LITTLE UNIVERSE

With ”My little universe is expanding” and ”beautiful emptiness surrounds me” being among the opening lines and pointillistic beats peppering the sparse soundscape, this sounds very much like a Martin track – but it’s still sung by Dave for some reason. Short sharp bursts of melody break the sonic surface here and there, but this is still very much ”experimental DM” in the style of Macro and Counterfeit 2. The chorus is surprisingly non-melodic and solipsistic: ”Here I am king / I decide everything / I let no-one in / no-one”. I like this a lot, but I’m sure this will be among the more controversial tracks of Delta. The tempo picks up a bit towards the end in the style of IAMX’s Music People, but to nowhere as dramatic an effect.

06. SLOW

After a couple of very electronic tracks, the blues influence is back with a bang: ”Slow, slow, slow as you can go / I want my senses to overflow” the song starts with its chorus-substitute (this is one of the songs, where one can’t really say what is verse and what is chorus). The guitars drawl more traditionally than usual and while some might moan the lack of a catchy hook, I personally love this and find some good couplets here and there: ”I let the world keep its colourful pace / I prefer to just study your beautiful face”.

07. BROKEN

After a couple of perhaps less commercial tracks, the single-writing DM is back with a bang. This is an instant hit with me: sound-wise and thematically between the haunting but intense Little 15 and the mysterious speeding drama of Behind The Wheel. The chorus is by far the most catchy and commercial on the album: ”When you fall in / I will catch you / You don’t have to fall that far / You can make it/ I will be there / You were broken from the start”. For the life of me, I can’t decide whether this is Dave or Martin – because I love it, I feel it’s Mart, but writing down those lyrics (which once again work much better while sung) I can’t help feeling it’s Dave. Well done, whoever! They were insane to not put this out as the first single.

08. THE CHILD INSIDE

The soft baby steps of Intrespectre-y synths pitter-patter in so this must be the first instrumental, right? But no, Martin follows them with a truly creepy lyric, with the first verse ending with something like ”you really should have dug a little deeper / the body parts that you’re beginning to find / are starting to scare the child inside away” (I most likely got the phrasing wrong, but that’s the definitely the general idea). Brr! Martin’s tremolo is also getting more advanced, the older he gets. This is not one of those lush Martin ballads many of us (me included) wish that he still wrote, but this is still atmospheric and rather brilliant. ”You really should have taken all your dolls to bed with you”.

09. SOFT TOUCH / RAW NERVE

Rather curiously, so far Delta has been rather slow or midtempo, but with this track the album speeds up instead of calming down – which is what albums usually do two thirds in, right? The song opens with Dave barging in like a brute: ”Have I got a soft touch? / Have I got a soft touch? / Or is my radar that off?” Well, frankly, yes. The overall mood is quite Better Days, but the song is softer than that and a more melodic ”Oh brother, give me a helping hand” part gives the song some inventive dynamics. Unless I’m totally wrong, this even has a middle eight. Hooray! I’m sure I’ll love this after more listens.

10. SHOULD BE HIGHER

Another stomper, this time Gary Glitter on amphetamine being the main influence. I’m not wondering why this has been rumoured as the second single: it does build up nicely and the chorus works well in a rather epic, non-DM style. Dave’s vocals are mixed curiously low in the chorus and his emotive singing reminds of HIM’s Ville Valo here. The rather hopelessly naff chorus lyrics: ”Your lies are more attractive than your truth / Love is all I want / Your lies are written down there in your heart / Love is all I want” reveal that this must be a Dave track, but otherwise it’s a goodie.

11. ALONE

Another potential uptempo single with the lyrics playing the usual DM game of love-as-religion: ”I am your father, your son, your holy ghost and your priest”. The chorus ”I couldn’t save your soul / I couldn’t even take you home / I couldn’t have played that role / Alone” has hints of an epic backing melody that I wish would have been taken further. But yes, another track, another hit.

12. SOOTHE MY SOUL

The first 11 tracks have taken us past the 50-minute mark and perhaps that’s where Delta should have ended, since with SMS the album finally runs out of steam. This is cliched sub-Corrupt stuff indeed: ”I’m coming for you when the sun goes down / I’m coming for you when there’s no-one around / I’ll come to your house and break your door / I’m coming for you because I need to feel your skin”. All this because, as the chorus goes, ”there’s only one way to soothe my soul”. All this is very naff indeed and perhaps a bit sad coming from fifty-something men. I must say the actual tune is not that bad in its b-side-y way, but otherwise than that, this is the one true misstep on the album. I truly hope this is a Dave song, because this kind of laziness just shouldn’t be expected from Mart at this stage.

13. GOODBYE

After hiding in the background for a while, the blues guitars make a comeback – this time in a Pleasure Little Treasure style. The vowels are very stretched in the vocals, so I had a hard time writing anything comprehensible about them – but the chorus goes ”Goodbye again”, the ”again” perhaps soothing down those who try to read too much into the title. The track has a false ending and them crashes back with an explosive last minute. This is not a bad song, and definitely a grower, but with Soothe My Soul breaking the album’s spell, this feels a bit unnecessary. Perhaps they should have called it quits while they were still ahead.

Crédito: Eldridtch @ Home

HEAVEN | O REGRESSO DOS DEPECHE MODE!

Aqui está o tão aguardado momento do regresso dos DEPECHE MODE aos discos. Após uma conferência de imprensa na capital francesa, no passado mês de outubro, em que os rapazes de Basildon confirmavam o seu regresso sem, no entanto, e à excepção da digressão, adiantarem qualquer pormenor significativo relativamente ao novo disco (não revelaram nem data de lançamento, nem sequer o seu título) eis que finalmente é desvendada a primeira amostra retirada de "DELTA MACHINE", o 13º longa duração da banda. 

"HEAVEN", é assim o novíssimo single dos DEPECHE MODE (e o 50º da sua carreira) e dá o pontapé de saída a esta nova etapa, cuja digressão mundial tem já assegurada passagem por PORTUGAL A 13 DE JULHO deste ano, como cabeças de cartaz do festival OPTIMUS ALIVE '13.

O novo single está à venda a partir de hoje acompanhado de um videoclip realizado TIMOTHY SACCENTI, contrariando os primeiros rumores que apontavam para o holandês ANTON CORBIJN. 
  

Com o selo da Columbia, "DELTA MACHINE" é produzido novamente por BEN HILLIER (o mesmo produtor de "PLAYING THE ANGEL" e "SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE") e as misturas ficaram a cargo de FLOOD (que, por sinal, foi o responsável pela produção de albuns tão icónicos como "VIOLATOR" e "SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION").

/ / ALINHAMENTO DE DELTA MACHINE
01 WELCOME TO MY WORLD

02 ANGEL (tema revelado na integra durante a conferência de imprensa em Paris)
03 HEAVEN (primeiro single extraído de DELTA MACHINE)

04 SECRET TO THE END

05 MY LITTLE UNIVERSE

06 SLOW

07 BROKEN

08 THE CHILD INSIDE

09 SOFT TOUCH / RAW NERVE

10 SHOULD BE HIGHER

11 ALONE

12 SOOTHE MY SOUL

13 GOODBYE

/ / EDIÇÃO ESPECIAL
(A edição especial de DELTA MACHINE conta ainda com 4 temas extra (5 no formato digital))
14 LONG TIME LIE
15 HAPPENS ALL THE TIME
16 ALWAYS
17 ALL THAT'S MINE
18 HEAVEN (Live Studio Session) *
* em formato digital apenas.
 

"HEAVEN" está, a partir de hoje, à venda em formato single e inclui ainda o "Lado-B" "ALL THAT'S MINE". No formato CD-Maxi, encontram-se as remisturas de OWLLE, STEPS TO HEAVEN, BLAWAN e ainda de MATHEW DEAR vs AUDION para "HEAVEN".

/ / CD SINGLE
01 Heaven
02 All That's Mine  







/ / CD MAXI
01 Heaven
02 Heaven (Owlle Remix)
03 Heaven (Steps to Heaven Remix)
04 Heaven (Blawan Remix)
05 Heaven (Matthew Dear vs. Audion Vocal Mix)

DM REVELAM FAIXA NOVA EM PARIS... E POUCO MAIS.

A conferência de imprensa realizada no início desta tarde em Paris, mostrou uma banda bem disposta e sorridente mas com muito pouco de concreto para revelar.  Para desalento de muitos fãs que acompanharam em direto a entrevista feita pelo público presente (e por outros, via vídeos previamente "postados" no Youtube), os DEPECHE MODE não revelaram sequer o título do novo longa duração. Até o vídeo apresentado no início do evento, contendo imagens de estúdio ficou sem esclarecer se a faixa inédita que lhe servia de "banda sonora" seria ou não o novo single. Aliás, nem o título da faixa foi adiantado (segundo ANDY FLETCHER, porque ainda não tem).  O novo álbum deverá chegar às lojas na próxima primavera, sendo que a data exacta de lançamento não está ainda definida.  Também não foi adiantada qualquer data para o lançamento do single que se espera anteceder o novo e 13º álbum dos rapazes de Basildon.

MARTIN GORE, falou do novo disco como sendo um «HÍBRIDO ENTRE "VIOLATOR" E "SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION"».  Por estes lados e pela primeira amostra revelada hoje, ficámos com a sensação de que a sonoridade continua a roçar o "mal amado" «SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE».  

A NOVA MÚSICA NA ÍNTEGRA:


A CONFERÊNCIA DE IMPRENSA:

DEPECHE MODE AO VIVO EM PORTUGAL A 13 DE JULHO

Depois de confirmada a vinda ao nosso país do «mestre» ALAN WILDER para uma projeção de "STRANGE HOUR IN BUDAPEST" na sala Black Box, em GUIMARÃES, já no próximo DIA 23 DE NOVEMBRO, eis que horas antes da tão aguardada conferência de imprensa em Paris, a informação já "escapou" para a rede: Os DEPECHE MODE têm já agendadas cerca de 3 dezenas de concertos para a digressão europeia de 2013 e Portugal será contemplado.  No entanto, desta vez (e à semelhança do que era suposto acontecer em 2009) teremos mesmo de "partilhar" a sua vinda com fãs de outras bandas, uma vez que o concerto se enquadra no cartaz do festival OPTIMUS ALIVE.  Está portanto confirmado e os Depeche Mode estarão no Passeio Marítimo de Algés a 13 DE JULHO DE 2013 (data que, por sinal, quase coincidia com os 20 anos da sua primeira passagem por Portugal).

É natural que as datas que já "escaparam" sejam relativas apenas à primeira "leg" da digressão europeia, uma vez que estranhamente não contempla qualquer data em Madrid, nem em Barcelona (a única data por terras de "nuestros hermanos" é em Bilbao - e curiosamente também num festival).
Também a Alemanha, que por norma recebe sempre bem acima de uma dezena de datas, tem até ao momento "apenas" 7 concertos anunciados.  Curiosidade é também a primeira data "oficial" da tour, em Tel Aviv (parece haver um "concerto de aquecimento" em Londres a 27 de Maio). Se bem se lembram, Israel seria a derradeira passagem da digressão "Touring The Angel", mas o concerto foi adiado devido ao conflito que entretanto estalara com o Líbano.  Na digressão seguinte, os Depeche Mode fizeram questão de começar lá a "Tour Of The Universe" (se excluirmos o "aquecimento" feito algumas semanas antes no Luxemburgo) e optaram por repetir a mesma cidade para o "kick off" oficial da Tour 2013. 

Recorde-se que, neste preciso momento, faltam pouco mais de 7 horas para se dar início à aguardada conferência de imprensa, a realizar-se em Paris e a ser difundida em streaming via o site OFICIAL DA BANDA. Da capital francesa, é espectável ouvirem-se "snipets" de algumas das novas músicas (à semelhança do que aconteceu com "Peace" e "Wrong"), assim como data de lançamento do novo album, respectivo título e as mais relevantes informações relativas ao regresso dos Depeche Mode.

As datas já adiantas são as seguintes:

05-07 Tel Aviv, Israel - Hayarkon Park
05-10 Athens, Greece - Terra Vibe
05-12 Sofia, Bulgaria - Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
05-15 Bucharest, Romania - National Stadium
05-17 Istanbul, Turkey - Kucukciftlik Park
05-19 Belgrade, Serbia - Usce Park
05-21 Budapest, Hungary - Puskas Ferenc Stadium
05-23 Zagreb, Republic of Croatia - Hippodrome
05-25 Bratislava, Slovakia - Inter Stadium
05-28 London, England - O2 Arena
06-01 Munich, Germany - Olympic Stadium
06-03 Stuttgart, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena
06-05 Frankfurt, Germany - Commerzbank Arena
06-07 Berne, Switzerland - Stade De Suisse
06-09 Berlin, Germany - Olympic Stadium
06-11 Leipzig, Germany - Red Bull Arena
06-13 Copenhagen, Denmark - Parken
06-15 Paris, France - Stade De France
06-17 Hamburg, Germany - Imtech Arena
06-22 Moscow, Russia - Locomotive Stadium
06-24 St. Petersburg, Russia - SKK Arena
06-27 Borlange, Sweden - Peace & Love Festival
06-29 Kiev, Ukraine - Olympic Stadium
07-03 Dusseldorf, Germany - Esprit Arena
07-07 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-11 Bilbao, Spain - BBK Festival
07-13 Lisbon, Portugal - Optimus Alive Festival

07-16 Nimes, France - Antic Arina
07-18 Milan, Italy - San Siro Stadium
07-20 Rome, Italy - Olympic Stadium
07-23 Prague, Czech Republic - Olympic Stadium
07-25 Warsaw, Poland - National Stadium
07-27 Vilnius, Lithuania - Vingis Park
07-29 Minsk, Belarus - Minsk Arena

DEPECHE MODE ANUNCIAM DATAS DA NOVA TOURNÉE EM PARIS

Os DEPECHE MODE vão voltar à estrada em 2013 para apresentar o NOVO ÁLBUM que está a ser finalizado. No próximo dia 23 vão dar uma CONFERÊNCIA DE IMPRENSA em PARIS, transmitida em direto via Internet para todo o mundo, onde vão anunciar as datas da nova tournée.

Os rumores dão conta de que no próximo verão também passarão por Lisboa.

Para ver as fotos de estúdio passem pela nossa página no facebook.

Álbuns de fotografias de estudio:
[ #1 | depeche mode no estúdio | 2012 ]
[ #2 | depeche mode no estúdio | 2012 ]

NOVO ÁLBUM | ÚLTIMA SESSÃO EM NOVA YORK

A quarta e última sessão de estúdio para a gravação do NOVO ÁLBUM dos DEPECHE MODE teve início ontem em NOVA YORK. Os membros da banda, produtores e amigos estão reunidos nos estúdios "Jungle City Studios" para misturar e masterizar o novo álbum. FLOOD (produtor dos álbuns Violator e Songs Of Faith And Devotion), juntamente com a banda estão encarregues da mistura final.

Aguardamos para breve notícias oficiais sobre o novo álbum. Os rumores dão conta de que haverá CONFERÊNCIA DE IMPRENSA em Paris em 23 de Outubro de 2012.

Fonte: depechemode.de

NOVO ÁLBUM | “IT’S REALLY A STRONG RECORD” - DANIEL MILLER

Numa entrevista a uma rádio dinamarquesa DANIEL MILLER, o patrão da MUTE RECORDS, falou sobre o NOVO ÁLBUM dos DEPECHE MODE. Sem se alongar muito referiu que o álbum ainda não está acabado, mas é um álbum muito forte.

Ouçam aqui as declarações:

DEPECHE MODE | VIOLATOR - 22 ANOS

Neste dia, há precisamente 22 anos era editado 'VIOLATOR' no Reino Unido. Com 'HALO' versão ao vivo retirada do DVD 'ONE NIGHT IN PARIS', recordamos hoje 'VIOLATOR' esta que é uma das pérolas da discografia dos DEPECHE MODE. Disfrutem:

Recordem o vídeo de homenagem do DMPORTUGAL ao 20º aniversário de VIOLATOR.

DEPECHE MODE REUNIDOS PARA NOVO ÁLBUM?

ANDREW FLETCHER está neste momento em Santa Bárbara na Califórnia, reunido com os restantes membros da banda com o objectivo de discutir o FUTURO próximo (produtor, novo álbum?). Recordamos que Andrew tinha falado sobre este encontro em Novembro, como AQUI tinhamos dado conta.

Ouvem-se também alguns rumores de que existem neste momento perto de 20 DEMOS, as quais serão ouvidas neste primeiro encontro! Aguardamos confirmação.

A fonte desta notícia é o sítio DM:DE, que se baseia numa mensagem de Twitter , de 8 de Janeiro, da esposa de Andrew, Grainne Fletcher.

O twitter de Grainne:

First morning in LA hanging with my BBF for a few days! Hubby went ahead to Santa Barbara last night. Time for a hike now I think.

— GrainneFletcher (@GrainneFletcher) Jan 8, 2012

O MELHOR DE 2011

2011 foi um ano morno no que a DEPECHE MODE diz respeito. Fica-nos sem dúvida um punhado de boas remisturas onde se destacam os trabalhos de ALAN WILDER e VINCE CLARKE. Fica-nos também a versão de SO CRUEL (U2) e o prémio para o vídeo PERSONAL JESUS 2011.

Por outro lado ALAN WILDER esteve em grande destaque. Os SELECTED EVENTS 2011 deram continuidade ao grande sucesso de 2010, deixando muito boas notas por onde passou. Pena não termos tido o privilégio de assistir a um destes eventos em Portugal. Com a remistura de IN CHAINS, ponto alto de REMIXES 2, Alan Wilder mostra-nos uma vez mais toda a sua mestria. E por fim COLLECTED fez as delícias dos coleccionadores, deixando-nos ainda um delicioso pequeno documentário em DVD, que serviu de promoção ao leilão.

Sobre o FUTURO, os rumores já se começam a fazer ouvir e prometem um 2012 muito interessante.
Um bom ano para todos os devotos.

// DESTAQUES

Ano em que os Depeche Mode editaram o segundo álbum de remisturas 'REMIXES 2: 81-11'.
A ouvir: IN CHAINS - ALAN WILDER REMIX. A minha compilação 'REMIXES 2'.
Ano do 'regresso' de VINCE CLARKE e ALAN WILDER ao som dos Depeche Mode após abandono da banda à 29 e 17 anos, respectivamente.
Ano da estreia mundial da obra-prima, 'IN CHAINS - ALEX FX REMIX', do produtor português ALEX FX. Mais uma vez, o nosso muito obrigado ao ALEX, pela fantástica viagem que 'IN CHAINS - ALEX FX REMIX' nos proporciona.
Ano do regresso de RECOIL à estrada com os 'SELECTED EVENTS 2011'.
Ano da colaboração de MARTIN L. GORE no projecto MOTOR, resultante na fantástica 'MAN MADE MACHINE'.
Ano de homenagem a DAVE GAHAN pela MUSICARES.
Ano de 'COLLECTED – THE ALAN WILDER/DEPECHE MODE AUCTION'.
Ano em que os Depeche Mode prestaram o seu tributo aos U2 com a versão de 'SO CRUEL'.
Ano em que o vídeo 'PERSONAL JESUS 11 (STARGATE REMIX)' vence o prémio Best Alternative Video. Ver o VÍDEO.
Ano de mais uma colaboração singular, 'VINCE CLARKE E MARTIN GORE - VCMG'. OUVIR.
Ano em que, mais uma vez, ANDY FLETCHER nos deixa cheios de esperança.
ACTUALIZAÇÂO [09-01-2012]:
Ano de mais um soberbo trabalho de ALAN WILDER -  ‘MINUTES – ALAN WILDER EXPANSION MIX’.

// ATRACÇÕES

Artigos mais visitados em 2011:

1. IN CHAINS | "THE" Remix Premiére - 19 Abril 2011 - 11 comentários
2. Remix | DM - The Remixes 2 81>11 - 28 Fevereiro 2011 - 2 comentários
3. Video | Personal Jesus (Stargate Remix) - 09 Maio 2011 - 11 comentários
4. Personal Jesus - Alex Metric Remix - 28 Março 2011 - 4 comentários
5. Single | Personal Jesus 2011 - 06 Abril 2011 - 1 comentário

Balanços anteriores:
O melhor de 2010

DM | REGRESSO AO ESTÚDIO JÁ EM MARÇO

É muitas vezes da boca de ANDY FLETCHER que as "fugas de informação" relativamente à actividade dos DEPECHE MODE conhecem a luz do dia. Desta vez não foi diferente e, embora nem sempre se possa aplicar a expressão "de fonte segura", num vídeo, gravado no mês passado em Itália, Fletch revela haver uma reunião agendada  já no próximo mês de Janeiro para traçar as coordenadas do que será o sucessor do "mal amado" "SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE". Andy Fletcher adianta ainda que O REGRESSO AO ESTÚDIO ESTÁ PROGRAMADO PARA MARÇO DE 2012. Por aqui e a confirmar-se a notícia, torcemos apenas para que na reunião esteja igualmente convocado um senhor chamado...ALAN CHARLES WILDER!

U2 Cover | Depeche Mode "So Cruel"

Depeche Mode “So cruel” é uma das músicas incluída no álbum de versões “Ahk-toog Bay-bi Covered” que presta tributo a "Achtung Baby" dos U2. O álbum é gratuito na compra da revista Q edição de Dezembro.

Todas as outras versões estão disponíveis para escuta no post anterior.

Álbum | "Ahk-toog Bay-bi Covered"

"Ahk-toog Bay-bi Covered" é o nome do álbum de versões que presta tributo a "Achtung Baby", dos U2, que celebra o seu 20º aniversário. Para além de Depeche Mode, o álbum conta com contribuições de Nine Inch Nails, The Killers, Gavin Friday, Garbage, entre outros. O álbum será incluído gratuitamente na edição de Dezembro da revista Q a editar em 25 deste mês.

Aqui fica o alinhamento completo:

01 Nine Inch Nails - Zoo Station << escutar
02 U2 - Even Better Than The Real Thing (Jacques Lu Cont Mix) << escutar
03 Damien Rice - One << escutar
04 Patti Smith - Until The End Of The World << escutar
05 Garbage - Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses << escutar
06 Depeche Mode - So Cruel << escutar
07 Snow Patrol - Mysterious Ways << escutar
08 The Fray - Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World << escutar
09 Gavin Friday - The Fly << escutar
10 The Killers - Ultraviolet (Light My Way) << escutar
11 Glasvegas - Acrobat << escutar
12 Jack White - Love Is Blindness << escutar

Mixmag nomeia Depeche Mode

São 10 dezenas de nomeados e, convenhamos, não poderia ser de outra forma. A conceituada revista britânica Mixmag colocou recentemente em votação a eleição da melhor performance ao vivo de todos os tempos, no território da música electrónica.

Os nomeados incluem nomes como Depeche Mode, Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, KLF, Massive Attack, Portishead, Daft Punk, Jean Michel Jarre, Herbert, LCD Soundsystem, Booka Shade, Happy Mondays, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Human League, Moby, Goldfrapp, Faithless, Gorillaz, Gui Boratto, Laurent Garnier, Plastikman, Soul II Soul, Royksöpp, Kruder & Dorfmeister, entre dezenas de outros.

A lista de nomeados, apesar de ter sido apresentada com 100 nomes, não se resume a estes. No caso de alguém achar que algum outro projecto deveria fazer parte da lista (Recoil, por exemplo, não consta desta!) poderá solicitar a sua inclusão enviando um email para greatest@mixmag.net.

A votação encerra à meia noite de 23 de Dezembro e podem votar aqui *

*tratando-se de uma página facebook, para votarem têm de clicar em "gosto" primeiro e depois cliquem na foto dos Depeche Mode (sim, os outros não interessam para o caso!) ;)

Depeche Mode fazem versão de 'So cruel'

Ainda não existem ainda notícias oficiais sobre a versão que os Depeche Mode gravaram de uma músca dos U2. No entanto depois da conferência de imprensa de Andy Fletcher em Minsk muito se tem falado neste regresso ao estúdio (ainda que tenha sido para gravar apenas uma cover).

‘So cruel’, cantada por Dave Gahan foi gravada em Santa Barbara e Nova York  e produzida pelo próprio Martin L. Gore! Os arranjos ficaram a cargo de Medway Smith.

Para quem nunca ouviu (deviam ter vergonha ;) ) ou para recordar aqui fica ‘So cruel’:

Fonte: Home

Depeche Mode gravam música de U2!

Durante a conferência de imprensa em Minsk, para promover mais uma data da sua 'DJ Tour', Andy Fletcher revelou que os Depeche Mode gravaram uma versão de uma das músicas dos U2!

Esta versão estará relacionada com a reedição de Achtung Baby, que celebra o 20º aniversário e terá edição em Novembro. Andy não revelou o nome da música ou qualquer outro detalhe.

Podem ver o vídeo abaixo:

Outros vídeos da conferência de imprensa podem ser vistos aqui.

'Alan Wilder - Collected': parte 4

Com mais de 400 lotes em leilão dentro de apenas alguns dias, é possível ter um preview de todos os artigos de COLLECTED – The Alan Wilder/Depeche Mode Auction em http://auction.recoil.co.uk, e descobrir a sua história e condição, bem como os comentários de Alan sobre cada peça. O catálogo está disponível para download em formato pdf.

E por fim a última parte do documentário 'Alan Wilder - Collected' dirigido por Martin Vladar. Que recordações...

'Collected parte 1 e 2
'Collected parte 3

'Alan Wilder - Collected': parte 3

A terceira parte do documentário 'Alan Wilder - Collected' dirigido por Martin Vladar já está disponível online há uns dias e provavelmente já o viram, mas não podia deixar de o colocar aqui no dmportugal. Apreciem:

'Alan Wilder - Collected' is a documentary about the musician and producer Alan Wilder. At Wilder's Sussex residence, Vladar discovered the house was filled with memorabilia spanning 35 years of a career spent in music, most notably during the 80s and 90s covering the musician's stint with one of the most famous & successful bands of all time, Depeche Mode.

Para ver a primeira e segunda parte passem por aqui.

Entrevista | Alan Wilder

Alan Wilder fala-nos sobre sintetizadores, a criação de música e sobre o leilão que se realiza no próximo dia 3 de Setembro - Entrevista publicada no Stereoklang Produktion em 12 de Agosto de 2011.

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Steelberry Clones got a talk with none other than the synth legend Alan Wilder (ex-member of Depeche Mode and now front man of the electro/synth experimental act Recoil). Few can match the track record of Alan Wilder and few have had such an impact on the synth scene for the past 30 years, or so. Alan Wilder´s Recoil continues this tradition into the 21st century exploring the boundaries of electronic music, and since Alan now is in full preparation of delivering probably the world´s biggest Depeche Mode memorabilia auction at the Zion Arts Centre, we simply had to pose some questions to him regarding his music creation legacy, gear and plans moving forward.

“Collected” is the name of Alan’s big auction on Saturday 3rd September, for detailed information on how to join please follow this link: http://auction.recoil.co.uk/

So in just a few weeks time, over 400 lots will go under the hammer as Alan Wilder sells a large selection of musical / studio equipment and memorabilia at auction. Many items are very collectable and hold special value having been used extensively in the recording sessions for classic Depeche Mode and Recoil albums, as well as live performances on the ‘Black Celebration’, ‘Music For The Masses’, ‘World Violation’ and ‘Devotional’ tours.

But for most synth/electro fans this is truly not just any ordinary auction, but a clear reason why we needed to pose some questions to Alan about the auction in general and about his music making legacy in particular.

Why are you running this auction?

I’m not over sentimental about retaining every little detail of my musical history. In fact I still have a large collection of essential items, all the releases I have played on, many photographs and unique personal things. But really, I need more space (and peace) in my life and this goes part of the way to achieving that. Indeed I found it an evocative and cathartic experience to sift through all the collectables – the actual sorting and cataloging process brought back great memories and I was able to re-live some key moments which I had inevitably forgotten about, reminding me of how lucky I have been to have enjoyed such a career, doing something I’m passionate about. Many items are very collectable and hold special value having been used extensively in the recording sessions for classic Depeche Mode and Recoil albums, as well as live performances on the ‘Black Celebration’, ‘Music For The Masses’, ‘World Violation’ and ‘Devotional’ tours.

Will it not be hard to let go of many of these unique items – any particular items that are special to you, that we should keep an extra eye on at the auction?

Yes – many do hold wonderful memories of course but I don’t find myself actually using most of the equipment for example. One of my new year’s resolutions for 2011 was to start streamlining my set-up at The Thin Line Studios. My needs have altered since laptops, soft synths and plug-ins have come to the fore, and therefore passing on some vintage gear and historical items seemed like a good way to start. The Steinway grand piano and the ‘Devotional’ drum kit are two things I’m letting go with a heavy heart. Thankfully I have a second piano, and can’t really justify having two at the moment. And if I feel like picking up drumming again, I guess I can easily find myself another (cheaper) kit. As for something to keep an eye on in the auction, I think the unreleased box set known as DMBS 1-4 is likely to spark major interest. Known as the ‘Holy Grail’, these are the 4 extremely rare white labels from the Depeche Mode boxset that was never released. It was recalled at the last minute for unknown reasons. The Emulators with my own sound samples, the guitar used by Martin Gore for the ‘Devotional’ tour, and my touring wardrobe & stage clothing should all prove very popular. We have art proofs and one-off posters, and already we can see that album acetates are extremely desirable, being so rare. Only one or two are ever produced for a record release and I have quite a few of these iconic records. A few selected teaser items are currently on sale via eBay, and more will be added as we approach the auction. (http://shop.ebay.com/depechemodeatomegaauctions/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562)

Will you be joined at the event by any of your old band mates (DM)?

Not a chance:)

How can you part with your first synthesizer, the Minimoog?

I guess you could say that the mini-moog does hold particular value as it’s been with me for such a long time, throughout my career. It was the first synthesiser I bought around 1977, pre-Mode, when I was a member of Dafne & The Tenderspots. It was a big deal for us at the time as it was quite expensive and we couldn’t really afford it until we secured our record deal. It is still probably my all-time favourite synthesiser due to the famous fat 3-oscillator sound, and of course it’s an absolute classic. I continued to use it for many years on early Mode recordings such as ‘Construction Time Again’ and ‘Some Great Reward’ and even had a midi update added during the eighties. However, I also own a ‘midi’-moog, which is the rack-mount version of the original mini-moog. It pretty much sounds the same and serves my purpose in the studio. I found that I wasn’t using the original moog any more, and like many of these items, it has been sitting around gathering dust. Much better then that all these old synths should be cleaned, restored, repaired and passed on, to people who will dote on them, use them again – individuals who will fully appreciate their history and the symbolic (as well as practical) value they hold. And, the moog will no doubt increase in value, like most vintage gear. These synths are like old cars that need to be driven. This is also how I feel about the gold discs for instance – I never wanted to display them on my walls in some ostentatious way, and I think often the musicians themselves are not too bothered about those things. Gold discs mean a lot more to those who are more peripheral or outside of the original experience, but who are very passionate about what they represent.

Regarding the patch discs for the Emulator’s and Akai’s – have you made some backup of those sounds somehow?

Yes, of course, I have a copy of the sounds for myself.

The sequencer EDP Spider, was that your first sequencer? And does it work? It’s not clear on the web page – they are prone not to work.

I believe it does work but I didn’t have the unusual connecting cable to actually try it out. I guess it was my first and only non-computerised sequencer! Not that I used it much – although it was used to create the bass sequencer part for the Aggro mix of DM’s ‘Never Let Me Down Again’.

Conclusively, if you are Depeche Mode fan or collector of vintage synth gear this is the one event not to miss out on. Now moving on to the music creation side of things we wanted to ask Alan all those questions about his gear, music creation and plans for the future, that comes when having the opportunity to talk a guy that has been a part of shaping the modern synth scene.

Recoil has been on quite an extensive tour recently, can you let us know how it was received and what your forthcoming plans are?

The European shows went really well at the start of the tour, particularly in eastern parts and Germany, Hungary, Poland, France etc. The US shows were a bit up and down, but generally quite successful I would say. I do think USA is the most difficult territory to tour, and it was a bit of a relief to follow that down to South America where the fans are so passionate and the crowds always wild, excitable. It was quite an experience there.

Regarding on-going plans, this year has been so busy with other personal things which have sadly got in the way of making much new music. I have never undertaken a Recoil project with a particular idea in mind, usually just a very vague notion. My approach is always both experimental and methodical so I just start throwing different sounds and loops together until I get a spark. I may say to myself that I’d like to work more with live musicians or perhaps not include too much spoken-word but these loose rules are never set in stone. I prefer to allow the music to flow completely naturally. I hope to get going soon. Time will tell…

I know that Vince Clarke and Martin Gore worked on remixes for the Depeche Mode remix album, plus that they have been active producing techno tracks together, any chances to see some involvement in these types of projects from your side as well going forward?

I often collaborate, as I am doing right now for a couple of tracks on an upcoming Talk Talk tribute album (due early 2012), but no plans to work with Martin or Vince. The TT project is very interesting with a lot of good artists involved. More will be revealed in the near future.

We interviewed Swedish EBM act Covenant, where Daniel Myer is now a permanent member. How did Daniel influence the work of Recoil, what will be his role going forward and how was it like working with him?

Actually he and I have become good friends. I admire his approach where he just gets on with things without getting too precious. He has boundless musical energy and a high output as a result, which is impressive. I guess he has inspired me to be a bit more spontaneous, make music on the move, and I love his Architect project and also the new Haujobb work (some mixed by Paul Kendall). Daniel is very imaginative when it comes to remixes. He produced some excellent re-workings of a Recoil track called ‘Want’ (available for free download by the way) (http://emr.emi.com/go.asp?/.mute.recoil.forms.download/bEMU001)

We (Recoil/Architect) hooked up for many live shows during 2010/11 and Daniel even joined Recoil on stage recently (along with Nitzer Ebb) for the Short Circuit Mute event at The Roundhouse, London.

Could you elaborate a bit how you interact with your project partners in the studio. Are you the ‘producer’ or are you equal peers in the creative process?

I am both producer and collaborator. I nearly always begin with some musical ideas (although occasionally I may include a voice sample, like The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet used on ‘Jezebel’) and I try to choose people who are technically proficient, who I also think will be empathetic with the Recoil approach. Good examples would be Joe Richardson and Diamanda Galás – both incredible singers with open-minded attitudes. The basic music (I wouldn’t call them songs at that stage) should at least lay a framework and some atmosphere to hopefully inspire the vocalist. Once a singer has come up with some ideas and we have recorded them, I then re-work everything, trying to wrestle it into a final piece. What we end up with can vary from a fairly straight song through to anything else that feels natural, or that just ‘works’.

In the open letter ‘Music for the masses – I think not’ – you talk about the change of business model for the industry. But the change is also about the other end, the listeners. Considering that the studio is now inside the laptop, distribution is done via Soundcloud/Bandcamp and marketing via Facebook/Twitter the slogan would be – “music made by the masses”? Or will the big money win in the end?

Hopefully not. I am increasingly disillusioned with record companies and what they don’t do for artists anymore, but not disillusioned about music and opportunities for good music to become available – even if it yields little income for the artists:( We all have to adapt I guess, and leave the record moguls to invest only in their pet projects, manufactured acts, A&R whims and fantasies. The rest of us will just get on with what we can, trying to generate revenue in other ways using the on-line tools at our disposal (or perhaps more live performance), with the more entrepreneurial types will coming to the fore I suppose.

From a more electronic music production perspective we have some more specific questions for you; there seem to be a fatigue of software instruments and using the mouse as the major way of interacting, on one hand there’s a growing number of knobs and button controllers as well as the new button matrix controllers (Monome, Launchpad) but also the multi touch screens (iPhone, iPad, Lemur) and the object controllers (Reactable), and on the other hand there seem to be a revival for the analog and in particular analog modular.

What’s you take on this development with a background as trained musician on piano etc. and using hardware synthesizers for decades? How much do you just play instruments or are you happy in the producer seat arranging in Protools/Logic etc?

For someone who plays piano, drums, a little guitar and enjoys the tactile nuances of performance, I actually do most of my work ‘in the box’! And I’m ok with that – I never really got on with mackie control and, even though we use launchpads live, for what I do in the studio I prefer the more meticulous editing approach. My main sound sources however are sampled performance loops and sections. I like to utilise the digital technology to manipulate these, retaining the human performance feels contained therein to try and create new, never-before-heard combinations. Soft synths don’t interest me much. Plug-in effects can be useful but often I apply very little to my original samples because they have all their inherent effects already built in. I’m interested more in dynamics, the jigsaw-like relationship between each musical part, the space and the overall atmosphere generated from a given soundscape.

I haven’t heard much music which sounds like it was inspired by a piece of kit. On the contrary, most of what we hear is cliched and predictable (but that has always been the case). As far as new-fangled toys, controllers & plug-ins go, I’ll look over the shoulders of those getting all gooey about them and occasionally dip into something of interest but I don’t see the toys themselves coming up with the ideas.

As always, the human brain and one’s imagination are by far the best tools.

The equipment used for ‘subHuman’ is quite well documented on your web and in interviews. Any new stuff you added recently?

No – I use less ‘stuff’ in fact, more idea discipline.

You seem to have used lots of analog and vintage synthesizers over the years but what about analog modulars apart from the VCS3?

I’m neither a modular expert nor a synth purist. I like twiddling the knobs and chancing upon happy accidents, and I enjoy feeding samples into analogue processes for filtering, envelope shaping and so on.

I enjoy old-school units like the Roland Space Echo for example.

The Roland RE-201 Space Echo is truly a Vintage (1973) piece of music technology with lots of appeal even today. It’s not a synth, but a Tape-Echo machine for creating true analog echo effects. The RE-201 is a simple system in which a small loop of tape records an incoming signal and immediately plays the recorded sound back over a couple playback heads before being erased over by new incoming audio. A real analog system with warm, gritty and almost noiseless operation, the Space Echo can provide warm, unpredictable and highly tweakable echo effects.

In the early Mode days, the inaccuracies and idiosyncrasies of Daniel Miller’s ARP 2600 or Roland system 100, with their respective sequencers, would make for almost random events. The tuning was wonky, and the triggering of sounds via cv/gate, creating odd envelope shapes and squirting filters, could pleasantly surprise you in a way you didn’t expect. You don’t get that with digital units. I do miss some of that these days but I also remember how long it could take setting all that stuff up, and the frustrations when the boxes just wouldn’t do what you had in mind.

You have made a few longer pieces (‘1+2’, ‘Hydrology’, ‘Black Box’) which are more evolving, introducing several themes. They remind us a bit of symphonic pieces, with themes coming and going. Do you have a vision making longer tunes?

Well I always have an often clouded vision when making music, and allowing that to migrate and evolve as you go is one of the great joys in creating. At times, I end up combining several ideas into one long piece where others might divide them into separate songs. I do enjoy music which takes time to unfold, and which doesn’t conform to the standard pop/rock structures.

What about the super quality sound mentioned in the open letter ‘Music for the masses – I think not’. Have you made any attempts making music that really make artistic use of the hi-fi of 24/96k?

There is a bit of extra ‘air’ and presence/warmth when working at higher digital rates but most people don’t ever hear music in that format and the processing memory needed to run everything is far greater, inevitably slowing down the computer. Since I work mainly on a laptop these days, I tend to stick to what the majority will end up hearing (24bit, 44.1khz). If I do experiment, I’d rather go super high bandwidth to see what can be achieved. We did work at much higher rates for the ‘subHuman’ 5.1 mixes for example.

One final question. We know you are using lots of samples from all different sources. On ‘Allelujah’, there’s this bass line and resonant organ hit – is a sample of Redshift?

No – I’m not familiar with Redshift

Fonte: stereoklang

Entrevista | Alan Wilder

Alan Wilder fala-nos sobre a tournée de Recoil, do leilão que se aproxima, do equipamento de estúdio favorito, das recentes remisturas para os Depeche Mode e sobre a gravação de alguns clássicos dos dm - Entrevista publicada no The Electricity Club em 27 de Julho de 2011.

Luscious Apparatus

In 1982, when young ALAN WILDER answered an advertisement in Melody Maker; “Keyboard player needed for established band ­ no timewasters”; it would prove to be a life-changing moment. The band in question was DEPECHE MODE and Wilder would be stepping into the shoes of founding member Vince Clarke. As a classically-trained musician, Wilder’s contribution to DEPECHE MODE’s sound would prove to be remarkable. Whilst he wrote only a few songs for the band, including If You Want from Some Great Reward and frenetic b-side In Your Memory, his flair for interpreting and arranging Martin Gore’s songs would quickly lead to a winning formula. Most famously, it was Wilder who transformed Gore’s early demo version of Enjoy The Silence from a morose ballad into the upbeat dance track that went on to become a worldwide hit.

During the Wilder years, DEPECHE MODE released a string of their classic and best loved albums, culminating in their dark masterpiece Songs of Faith and Devotion. Over the same period they conquered the States with sell-out stadium tours. However, in spite of helping to steer them to world domination, Wilder felt increasingly frustrated by tensions within the band and his perceived lack of recognition from his bandmates. It was following the well-documented excesses of the Devotional tour, which Q magazine dubbed “the most debauched rock tour ever”, that he announced his decision to leave DEPECHE MODE on 1st June 1995.

Wilder could now devote himself full time to RECOIL, the solo project that he had been pursuing as a sideline to DEPECHE MODE. There were two EPs 1 + 2 and Hydrology before RECOIL released a full length album in 1991 called Bloodline which featured vocal contributions from NITZER EBB’s Douglas McCarthy and Toni Halliday of CURVE. Subsequent albums Unsound Methods (1996), Liquid (2000) and SubHuman (2007) were each highly acclaimed. Whilst each album has its own distinct identity, they share Wilder’s brooding electronic soundscapes and meticulous production.

Wilder is a perfectionist in the studio and draws on a wide pallet of sounds and styles to craft his recordings. He remains a passionate supporter of the physical format, still choosing the release his albums on vinyl as well as CD. He has been highly critical of MP3 download culture, both for the loss of sound quality and the devaluation of music that it entails.

In 2010 Mute Records released a RECOIL compilation entitled Selected, and this was followed by a successful world tour. In February of the same year Wilder made a surprise appearance onstage with his former bandmates DEPECHE MODE for their Teenage Cancer Trust show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, to the unsurpassed delight of the fanbase. His appearance prompted speculation in some quarters that a full reconciliation was on the cards. These rumours were further fuelled when Wilder reworked Sounds Of The Universe track In Chains for 2011’s Remixes 2 album.

Whatever the future may hold, ALAN WILDER’s place in electro royalty is already well established. In September, fans will be able to bid for their own piece DEPECHE MODE or RECOIL history, when Wilder auctions a large collection of his studio equipment, vinyl and memorabilia. The ALAN WILDER/DEPECHE MODE Collection auction will take place in September at the Zion Arts Centre in Manchester.

ALAN WILDER kindly took time out of his busy schedule to talk to The Electricity Club about RECOIL, DEPECHE MODE and his forthcoming auction.

You released a RECOIL retrospective Selected last year. With your albums each having a distinct artistic concept, was it difficult to choose a tracklisting that represented the work of RECOIL, yet acted as a cohesive listening experience?

Well – you could say that was the aim (or challenge) from the moment that Mute suggested putting together a collection. They told me they were planning a series of compiled albums for a number of their artists just to bring people up to speed, and when I realised there weren’t any restrictions, the collection idea started to appeal. I kind of knew it would be possible to create an album with continuity, atmosphere and pacing. My inclination was that it would mainly consist of material from the last three RECOIL albums -so while there is a decent cross section of RECOIL’s overall output, the Selected album is more about my own favourites rather than a ‘cater to all’ concept. It works well I think, and wasn’t particularly difficult to put together.

You’ve toured Selected Events all around the world now to an enthusiastic reception. But what initial apprehensions did you have when conceiving the RECOIL live show and how have you managed to overcome them?

My main worry would have been the perception of ‘live versus playback’. The show was always designed as an audio/visual presentation rather than an out-and-out live performance. The music was certainly tailored to work in the live arena, and was constructed specifically with that in mind. It intrinsically links with a synchronised film and I think it is clear from our set-up that we’re obviously not playing all the parts, but rather adding live elements and effects (which vary with each venue) to a prepared bedrock. Perhaps this is a more modern way to present music than the traditional 5-piece, guitar-drums-bass-synth-vocalist, which is something I wanted to avoid. As the tour continued, it became clear which aspects of the presentation worked better than others, and we have therefore adapted it to be a little more crowd-friendly along the way.

There’s a Telemark modular synth which you have on stage with you. How are you finding that to use and what does it add to the overall RECOIL performance?

I use any number of synthesisers during the events depending on what I can get a hold of at a given time – as long as it is a modular-type with an external signal input. This allows me to feed plenty of our sounds directly into the synth in order to affect them using resonance, filtering, attack and so on. I’ve only used the Telemark a couple of times and haven’t fully explored it.

You’ve played Back To The Phuture, Short Circuit Presents Mute and are now playing Vintage Festival. Bearing in my mind the battles you’ve fought in the past with the ‘real music’ brigade, do you think electronic based music has finally got the recognition it deserves?

I think electronic music has been recognised for a long time, but we do see more and more acts using film and computers within their ‘performances’, and in these modern times (with portable applications on smaller and smaller devices, even your phone), this is becoming more acceptable, even to the diehards. The boundaries between what is performed or programmed is much more blurred. Does it matter? Not really. The bottom line is the effect on the listener/viewer and the enjoyment and entertainment imparted.

You recently reworked DEPECHE MODE’s In Chains for Remixes 2. Why did you choose that track and what do you think you gave the track that wasn’t part of its original vision.

To help me decide which song to work on, I asked Mute to provide stems from several short-listed songs, so that I could listen to component parts and make a more informed decision. In the end I decided that In Chains could maybe benefit the most from my ‘treatment’, hopefully expanding the dynamics and overall power. I thought the song and the existing vocal performance was strong, and even though we ended up with two quite different versions I’m happy with the results.

There is to be a sale of memorabilia and equipment from your career in September through Omega Auctions which focuses mainly on the years between 1982 to 1995. How has this come about?

It began as a small sale of studio equipment and grew into something much bigger when I realised that the process of selling multiple items can be quite complicated. It therefore made sense to maximise everything (in one hit so to speak), so we expanded the consignment to include all kinds of memorabilia. As I got deeper into the process, even though complicated, it actually became strangely enjoyable – to go back through all the years worth of collectibles and review what they all meant etc. The end result will be, I hope, a very exciting event in Manchester, to include workshops, a talk, a documentary film, perhaps even a performance and some other interesting things for the fans.

What do you think is the most unusual item on sale and the story behind it?

I think that would have to be the unreleased box set known as DMBS 1-4. Thought of as the ‘Holy Grail’, these are 4 extremely rare white labels from a DEPECHE MODE boxset that was never released. The proposed set was recalled for unknown reasons. Who knows why? The 4 test pressings were made and sent to me for approval in 1988.

Among the items for auction are several of your vintage synths. Are there any memories associated with particular ones that you can tell us a few anecdotes about, like for example the Minimoog, the ARP Odyssey or Oberheim OB8?

The Minimoog was my first synthesiser bought around 1977, pre-Mode, when I was a member of DAFNE & THE TENDERSPOTS. It was a big deal for us at the time as it was quite expensive and we couldn’t really afford it until we secured our record deal. It is still probably my all-time favourite synthesiser due to the famous fat 3-oscillator sound, and of course it’s an absolute classic. I continued to use it for many years on early Mode recordings such as Contruction Time Again and Some Great Reward and even had a MIDI update added during the 80s.

I bought the ARP in the late 70s privately in London and this also featured on quite a few of my pre-Mode recordings with various bands. I guess I always had a soft spot for the Minimoog but once you accepted that the ARP was never going to sound as ‘fat’ and realised that it could be used as a completely different kind of tool, then it came into its own. MIDI upgrades were added later when I used the ARP on some of the earlier RECOIL recordings such as Hydrology and Bloodline. I can’t pretend I was ever a skilled operator (unlike Daniel Miller for example) but it is certainly a lot of fun to fiddle about with.

To my disappointment, when I powered the OB8 up recently, I couldn’t get an actual sound although I’m told that it is just the voices which need attention. I was surprised as it has been looked after well and, cosmetically, it’s in superb physical shape. I used this synth during my time with REAL TO REAL and THE HITMEN in the early 80s. It has a fat, warm sound and was my first polyphonic synth. I loved the fact that I could actually store patches for the first time and it introduced me to the Oberheim sound which has a unique quality. I have been a fan of Oberheim ever since.

There’s a EDP Wasp in there too. There was an article featuring producer Dave Bascombe which said that you used it on Music For The Masses?

Yes, that’s true, it was used to create the famous bass sequencer parts in the Aggro mix of Never Let Me Down Again. I think we used the Wasp and Spider sequencer and then probably sampled the result, as it isn’t MIDI controllable. We may have been able to sequence it using cv/gate – I can’t quite remember.

What has been your favourite piece of equipment over the years?

In the studio, I’ve always loved my 1970‘s Neve console, Roland space echo, Manley amps and compressor, VCS 3, Minimoog and Oberheim synths… I have plenty of other gear but it’s largely redundant. My needs are quite simple these days: Logic Audio, Ableton Live, plenty of plug-ins. I now work on a MacBook Pro so I’m much more portable these days, finally making music on the move (at least sometimes).

If there’s a favourite all time DEPECHE MODE track here at The Electricity Club, it’s Halo. Could you tell us how you and co-producer Flood put together the palette of sounds that comprised the final arrangement?

From memory, the drums were sampled from LED ZEPPELIN’s When the Levee Breaks (but secondhand from a rap record). It is one of the most commonly used drum samples – for obvious reasons as it has that very special Bonham sound. The same snare drum sound appears on DM’s Get Right With Me. I’ve also heard that snare on a MASSIVE ATTACK record and many others. I think Violator was the first album that we used whole performance drum loops to create rhythm tracks, as opposed to programmed single drum sounds, and Halo was one of the first tracks we recorded for Violator in fact. Flood and I were listening to quite a lot of hip hop and rap records at the time – those artists were the forerunners when sampling larger sections of rhythms and grooves. And the unusual feels that were created on those albums really influenced Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.

Other sounds on Halo I’m more vague about, but we certainly would have used Flood’s ARP 2600 in conjunction with other modular synths to create the bass parts and other sequencer parts. For the end choruses, there are some string samples which I think were derived from Elgar. One of my techniques is to find sections of classical strings and transpose / stretch these, then add my own samples, in order to formulate new and unusual arrangements. This was a case in point. The DM track Clean utilised classical strings in a similar way.

How did that fabulous sequence on Waiting For The Night come together?

Waiting for the Night: the main sequencer part here was produced using the ARP 2600 synth and sequencer, because it has many flaws when setting up your 16 note sequence (for example tuning and gate length) – this makes for happy accidents and almost random events. We would have fiddled around with that sequence for a while, tweaking the filters and envelopes within the ARP until we arrived at that particularly hypnotic end result. The resulting sequence shape would follow any held note on a keyboard to transpose between the song’s basic chord changes as it ran, which we would then record, and that is essentially the spine of the whole thing. All the other sounds in that song act as mere embellishment. Each song is different though and we would employ a different approach to creating sequencer parts depending on what was appropriate.

Your surprise appearance with your former bandmates at the Teenage Cancer Trust gig in 2010 was a genuinely show-stopping moment, and became TEC’s Event of 2010. Were you surprised at the sheer scale of the welcome you received from the crowd? Do you have fond memories of the night?

Well, being there on stage felt strangely familiar – which is maybe not surprising considering how much touring we used to do – but it was like I’d never been away. I had forgotten just how it feels though when a large audience is behind you like that. A proud moment for me knowing that most people were so happy about it. It was great to see everyone (band and crew) and to catch up with their news, see how they were all fairing. The fact that is was for a worthy cause was also important of course, and I felt there would be a warm reaction from the people – which there definitely was :)

Over the years you have amassed a remarkable back catalogue with DEPECHE MODE and RECOIL. Which songs / albums from both eras are you most proud of?

Songs of Faith and Devotion is my favourite, and the tracks In Your Room, Walking In My Shoes and Never Let Me Down Again amongst others. No particular RECOIL favourites. Anything from Unsound Methods onward, really.

You commented on the prevalence of MP3 culture and the decline of the music industry to Side-Line Magazine in early 2008. Three years on, what do you think of the situation now and how it affects you as an artist?

Since then, there have been some marketing re-thinks for the better – a more tactile approach perhaps. We are seeing a return to higher quality formats, collectable editions, vinyl and so on. Mute have embraced the idea of limited editions where everyone can benefit – the consumer who gets total choice ranging from a simple download right through to the most luxury items, the artist who can indulge all his creative whims, and the record company who can charge the appropriate price for each product in order to make some profit (as long as they do not over produce and get lumbered with expensive stock). The music business is of course one of the fastest mutating industries and one has to try to understand why things adapt in the way they do. If the consumer isn’t particularly passionate and wants free music (which now seems inevitable amongst most listeners) then I’m not against the Spotify-type concept for example where, in effect, the artist receives his payment via advertisers.

Here at The Electricity Club, we celebrate the best of electronic pop music past and present. Are there any acts from the ‘new generation’ who you particularly admire?

Unfortunately, due to a complicated life (which seems to get more so by the day), I never find I have enough time to research and discover much new music but I enjoy trawling through my catalogue, built up since I was a teenager – and occasionally something new comes along to excite.

RECOIL’s sound is on the organic side of electronic with use of samples and influenced by trip hop, blues, and jazz. How do you see RECOIL developing in the future?

I have never undertaken a RECOIL project with a particular idea in mind, usually just a very vague notion. My approach is always both experimental and methodical so I just start throwing different sounds and loops together until I get a spark. I may say to myself that I’d like to work more with live musicians or perhaps not include too much spoken-word but these loose rules are never set in stone. I prefer to allow the music to flow completely naturally. Time will tell…

Fonte: The electricity club.