Depeche Mode Bong 47 (2001-03)
- Thread starter demoderus
- Start date
Bong 47 (March 2001)
Articles:
Behind the Scenes with Anton Corbijn by Michaela Olexova
The Return of Depeche Mode (quotes from the band)
I Met That Bloke From Depeche Mode Once by Shawn Decker
Pictures:
page 1 promotional shot
page 2 page 3 from "Behind the Scenes with Anton Corbijn"
page 4 from "The Return of Depeche Mode"
page 5 the band in the studio
Articles:
Behind the Scenes with Anton Corbijn by Michaela Olexova
The Return of Depeche Mode (quotes from the band)
I Met That Bloke From Depeche Mode Once by Shawn Decker
Pictures:
page 1 promotional shot
page 2 page 3 from "Behind the Scenes with Anton Corbijn"
page 4 from "The Return of Depeche Mode"
page 5 the band in the studio
Attachments
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH ANTON CORBIJN
[From Bong 47, March 2001.]
Does it get more difficult each time you photograph Depeche Mode – as you have done it so many times before?
It was definitely harder around the time of “Songs Of Faith And Devotion” because I had been photographing the band for quite a few years then. But since Alan left, it makes quite a big difference to shoot three people instead of four, and it’s nothing to do with Alan. It’s just about the configuration of the band, and now they’re three it’s very nice to make compositions. We’ve also had a fairly new approach with this album. It doesn’t work on all of the pictures, but generally, we’ve tried to make the pictures a bit looser and show the Band much easier with themselves. The pictures are slightly more candid and I did a lot more colour as well. You can, for instance, see a picture of them in the swimming pool on the back of the CD booklet, which is a very different kind of Depeche Mode picture. You would think of this kind of picture in their early days, back in 1980, but it is actually a very cool picture in the surroundings you’d never see them in. So yes, it is difficult to shoot people over a long period of time, but it forces you to think of new things, and because we know each other so well and we trust each other, we can try out new things. We also did some stuff with masks and other things which I will probably show in the tour programme. In the end, I think we felt fairly free doing these pictures this time and it felt very good again.
It has been four years since you last worked with Depeche Mode on the visuals for a new album. How different was it working with the guys on “Exciter” compared to “Ultra” or any previous album? Do you think they take more control in how it should look etc.?
They were actually much more involved this time in the artwork and had more of an idea… I remember it was Martin who said he wanted it to be a bit more colourful and lighter. I think, in the past, my albums were quite dark for them, but the singles were actually quite light and so we decided to make the new album a bit lighter. They were definitely a bit more involved and we’ve had meetings, which is fairly rare for Depeche to have meetings where they all are. They cared more about things this time, rather than sit back and see what I’ve made. They wanted to be part of the process, which is a very positive thing. Initially, we made the lettering by somebody else because I was more like the art director and I got somebody else to do things, but the band didn’t like it so I had to go back and do it myself again. It was quite difficult because there are so many ways you can write “Depeche Mode” in your own handwriting, but I think we’ve managed to find another way again and I am very excited about it.
You visited the Band in the US during recording in Santa Barbara to take new photographs. Did you go anywhere else to shoot other than Santa Barbara?
We did two shoots for this album. One was in Santa Barbara where they were recording and one in New York where they were mixing. The album sleeve and all the pictures on the album were done in Santa Barbara. The pictures we did in New York are quite a bit different again… some of them I think are more for the front covers of magazines, more straightforward press shots… and some are more for the tour book. They have quite different looks as well, because in New York it was cold and Dave looked different, he had a beard… and in Santa Barbara, because it was warmer, the pictures look a bit looser.
How many rolls of film do you usually take during one photo session with the Band? What happens to the pictures that are not selected for publicity use?
I don’t take too many pictures to be honest but I don’t know… maybe twenty rolls per shoot so it can be like sixty rolls altogether because we shot for three days… but I am really not sure. You always edit your work and you might take those pictures and like only one… that’s how it goes… nothing much happens with the pictures I don’t use. I store everything of course. I would imagine a calendar could be made of some of the pictures next year. [1]
There are new publicity photographs and artwork for the forthcoming album. Can we look forward to other DM projects under your direction?
I have just made the stage design and worked on it with Lee Charteris who was the Production Manager last time. We just talked about the possibilities of the ideas I had and how practical it would be. I’ll probably present it to the band in a couple of days in Los Angeles and then take it from there… if we like it we go from there and if they don’t I will have to come up with something else. I am not sure if I am going to be as involved as in “The Devotional Tour” because it took me so much time and so I might film some new things but I might go to find and buy some existing footage of things (not of the band by the way). First, I want to design the stage and then the filming part will come…
When you are asked to come up with an idea for the album artwork, does it help to listen to the new material or does it take something else?
Yes, it is the new material, the title and what the band say about it. The word “Exciter” sounds like a typical Martin word and has sexual meaning in a way… and that sort of pictures on the album too, but at the same time it’s quite a broad nature and it goes down the core of things. I think the music is a bit like that as well… it’s quite relaxed… it has beautiful sounds and it’s a very different Depeche again.
In what direction did you think the band should go in their visual presentation for the new album?
I felt it is quite important to give something to their fans and my effort was to offer them very many different kinds of pictures which you can find in the booklet. I think the overall feelings are very positive and colourful…
The Band all seem quite relaxed and cheerful in the new pictures, did you have fun taking them?
Yes, one of the reasons is that we’ve worked together for a long time and the other is that we both felt a new energy and wanted to do something new and different. The reason why we worked together again was to make something we haven’t done in the past and find a new way to work with each other. It felt positive on both sides and I think I could speak for them in this as well.
What is the coolest thing about working with Depeche Mode?
It feels good to see them grow up. They don’t rush at things. They always try to find new approaches and are open to new thing… and I would say that’s their survival skill. I think the coolest thing is to work together and come up with something you haven’t done before. That is a great achievement and it feels really good.
What other bands or artists have you recently worked with or are going to work with in the near future?
I am just off to America to do a commercial for some shoes… I think I am going to work with REM again… and maybe Travis, Run DMC and Tricky. Last year, I worked with an American artist, Joseph Arthur, whom I would like to recommend to everyone. He is on Peter Gabriel’s label, Real World, and I did a video for him. It’s very beautiful dark music. I also have a lot of exhibitions at the moment so it takes a lot of my time and energy. I have a very big show in Dusseldorf right now and I am also going to have shows in New York, Madrid, Taiwan and Munich.
[From Bong 47, March 2001.]
Does it get more difficult each time you photograph Depeche Mode – as you have done it so many times before?
It was definitely harder around the time of “Songs Of Faith And Devotion” because I had been photographing the band for quite a few years then. But since Alan left, it makes quite a big difference to shoot three people instead of four, and it’s nothing to do with Alan. It’s just about the configuration of the band, and now they’re three it’s very nice to make compositions. We’ve also had a fairly new approach with this album. It doesn’t work on all of the pictures, but generally, we’ve tried to make the pictures a bit looser and show the Band much easier with themselves. The pictures are slightly more candid and I did a lot more colour as well. You can, for instance, see a picture of them in the swimming pool on the back of the CD booklet, which is a very different kind of Depeche Mode picture. You would think of this kind of picture in their early days, back in 1980, but it is actually a very cool picture in the surroundings you’d never see them in. So yes, it is difficult to shoot people over a long period of time, but it forces you to think of new things, and because we know each other so well and we trust each other, we can try out new things. We also did some stuff with masks and other things which I will probably show in the tour programme. In the end, I think we felt fairly free doing these pictures this time and it felt very good again.
It has been four years since you last worked with Depeche Mode on the visuals for a new album. How different was it working with the guys on “Exciter” compared to “Ultra” or any previous album? Do you think they take more control in how it should look etc.?
They were actually much more involved this time in the artwork and had more of an idea… I remember it was Martin who said he wanted it to be a bit more colourful and lighter. I think, in the past, my albums were quite dark for them, but the singles were actually quite light and so we decided to make the new album a bit lighter. They were definitely a bit more involved and we’ve had meetings, which is fairly rare for Depeche to have meetings where they all are. They cared more about things this time, rather than sit back and see what I’ve made. They wanted to be part of the process, which is a very positive thing. Initially, we made the lettering by somebody else because I was more like the art director and I got somebody else to do things, but the band didn’t like it so I had to go back and do it myself again. It was quite difficult because there are so many ways you can write “Depeche Mode” in your own handwriting, but I think we’ve managed to find another way again and I am very excited about it.
You visited the Band in the US during recording in Santa Barbara to take new photographs. Did you go anywhere else to shoot other than Santa Barbara?
We did two shoots for this album. One was in Santa Barbara where they were recording and one in New York where they were mixing. The album sleeve and all the pictures on the album were done in Santa Barbara. The pictures we did in New York are quite a bit different again… some of them I think are more for the front covers of magazines, more straightforward press shots… and some are more for the tour book. They have quite different looks as well, because in New York it was cold and Dave looked different, he had a beard… and in Santa Barbara, because it was warmer, the pictures look a bit looser.
How many rolls of film do you usually take during one photo session with the Band? What happens to the pictures that are not selected for publicity use?
I don’t take too many pictures to be honest but I don’t know… maybe twenty rolls per shoot so it can be like sixty rolls altogether because we shot for three days… but I am really not sure. You always edit your work and you might take those pictures and like only one… that’s how it goes… nothing much happens with the pictures I don’t use. I store everything of course. I would imagine a calendar could be made of some of the pictures next year. [1]
There are new publicity photographs and artwork for the forthcoming album. Can we look forward to other DM projects under your direction?
I have just made the stage design and worked on it with Lee Charteris who was the Production Manager last time. We just talked about the possibilities of the ideas I had and how practical it would be. I’ll probably present it to the band in a couple of days in Los Angeles and then take it from there… if we like it we go from there and if they don’t I will have to come up with something else. I am not sure if I am going to be as involved as in “The Devotional Tour” because it took me so much time and so I might film some new things but I might go to find and buy some existing footage of things (not of the band by the way). First, I want to design the stage and then the filming part will come…
When you are asked to come up with an idea for the album artwork, does it help to listen to the new material or does it take something else?
Yes, it is the new material, the title and what the band say about it. The word “Exciter” sounds like a typical Martin word and has sexual meaning in a way… and that sort of pictures on the album too, but at the same time it’s quite a broad nature and it goes down the core of things. I think the music is a bit like that as well… it’s quite relaxed… it has beautiful sounds and it’s a very different Depeche again.
In what direction did you think the band should go in their visual presentation for the new album?
I felt it is quite important to give something to their fans and my effort was to offer them very many different kinds of pictures which you can find in the booklet. I think the overall feelings are very positive and colourful…
The Band all seem quite relaxed and cheerful in the new pictures, did you have fun taking them?
Yes, one of the reasons is that we’ve worked together for a long time and the other is that we both felt a new energy and wanted to do something new and different. The reason why we worked together again was to make something we haven’t done in the past and find a new way to work with each other. It felt positive on both sides and I think I could speak for them in this as well.
What is the coolest thing about working with Depeche Mode?
It feels good to see them grow up. They don’t rush at things. They always try to find new approaches and are open to new thing… and I would say that’s their survival skill. I think the coolest thing is to work together and come up with something you haven’t done before. That is a great achievement and it feels really good.
What other bands or artists have you recently worked with or are going to work with in the near future?
I am just off to America to do a commercial for some shoes… I think I am going to work with REM again… and maybe Travis, Run DMC and Tricky. Last year, I worked with an American artist, Joseph Arthur, whom I would like to recommend to everyone. He is on Peter Gabriel’s label, Real World, and I did a video for him. It’s very beautiful dark music. I also have a lot of exhibitions at the moment so it takes a lot of my time and energy. I have a very big show in Dusseldorf right now and I am also going to have shows in New York, Madrid, Taiwan and Munich.
THE RETURN OF DEPECHE MODE
[From Bong 47, March 2001.]
Martin: “It still has darkness. But I find it more uplifting.”
Dave: “After our last tour I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I really enjoyed doing the older songs and I simply embraced them. I felt like, “if this is going to be the end”, then it was OK. So recording the new album has been quite a surprise really, to be honest.”
Dave: “Mark is very musical, and extremely intuitive about working with vocals and what can be done with them. He encouraged me to push further.”
Andy: “With Bjork, Mark used her voice almost as an instrument. He works very hard and just seems to have a sense of what is right, both musically and vocally. He’s been very important to the making of this record.”
Martin: “Mark doesn’t do anything straightforwardly. He would never do anything that is clichéd. Which I think is great. He thinks so differently.”
Dave: “The tracks on the new album could have been songs from various different years of Depeche Mode. It’s almost like a greatest hits of songs that haven’t been released yet. I’m not saying they’re all going to be very big hits or anything like that. I just feel it is very strong in that way.”
Dave: “I’m a lot more confident vocally. I really wanted to bring something beautiful to these songs. When you’re singing a song, it’s like you can just disappear into it. It’s the only way I can describe it really. It’s a really luxurious place to be. I wanted to do that with every song. On “Ultra” I was not able to do that because I wasn’t physically able to bring all of myself to it. Now I feel like I’m firing on all cylinders.”
Andy: “Exciter” feels like a new beginning of sorts. Because of the problems in the band during the last two studio albums, the creativity was cut off to a certain extent. Now relations between us are better than they have been for a long time and that has carried over to the album. There is a real feeling of the group working and enjoying each other’s company. When you hear the new songs, I think they come across as sounding quite fresh. The new album reminds me of one of our albums, “Black Celebration”, in that it has lots and lots of good songs that sound completely different from each other but actually work together on one album.”
Martin: “My songs are about relationships because those are the things that are closest to me. That’s the thing that moves me most, the thing I can write about most passionately. All I ever intend to do is move people, to somehow tap into their emotions.”
Martin: “Dave has a great voice that is really distinctive. It has a great tone to it, and he has a real aggression, which I don’t have, and that is really important for a rock star. That is really what Dave brings to our songs. Every voice is a different instrument, and he has a great sort of depth.”
Dave: “For me, there are many dimensions to Martin’s songs lyrically. I like the graphicness of them and the emotional terrain they cover; love lost, compulsion, control, denial, addiction, lust… all those things that everyone experiences. Martin seems to be able to interpret those things in a way that is believable. And then I make it mine vocally, drawing from my own experiences and emotions.”
Andy: “We’ve always stuck to the punk and indie ideals we grew up with. We’ve been allowed to actually go forward and learn. We’re very lucky to have this huge fan base which enables us to actually release records that are a bit off the wall.”
Martin: “I can’t really explain why we’ve been so popular for so long. Maybe it’s because we’ve never fit into any one trend.”
Dave: “I enjoy the challenge… and I still want it to be a challenge. Otherwise, why bother?”
[From Bong 47, March 2001.]
Martin: “It still has darkness. But I find it more uplifting.”
Dave: “After our last tour I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I really enjoyed doing the older songs and I simply embraced them. I felt like, “if this is going to be the end”, then it was OK. So recording the new album has been quite a surprise really, to be honest.”
Dave: “Mark is very musical, and extremely intuitive about working with vocals and what can be done with them. He encouraged me to push further.”
Andy: “With Bjork, Mark used her voice almost as an instrument. He works very hard and just seems to have a sense of what is right, both musically and vocally. He’s been very important to the making of this record.”
Martin: “Mark doesn’t do anything straightforwardly. He would never do anything that is clichéd. Which I think is great. He thinks so differently.”
Dave: “The tracks on the new album could have been songs from various different years of Depeche Mode. It’s almost like a greatest hits of songs that haven’t been released yet. I’m not saying they’re all going to be very big hits or anything like that. I just feel it is very strong in that way.”
Dave: “I’m a lot more confident vocally. I really wanted to bring something beautiful to these songs. When you’re singing a song, it’s like you can just disappear into it. It’s the only way I can describe it really. It’s a really luxurious place to be. I wanted to do that with every song. On “Ultra” I was not able to do that because I wasn’t physically able to bring all of myself to it. Now I feel like I’m firing on all cylinders.”
Andy: “Exciter” feels like a new beginning of sorts. Because of the problems in the band during the last two studio albums, the creativity was cut off to a certain extent. Now relations between us are better than they have been for a long time and that has carried over to the album. There is a real feeling of the group working and enjoying each other’s company. When you hear the new songs, I think they come across as sounding quite fresh. The new album reminds me of one of our albums, “Black Celebration”, in that it has lots and lots of good songs that sound completely different from each other but actually work together on one album.”
Martin: “My songs are about relationships because those are the things that are closest to me. That’s the thing that moves me most, the thing I can write about most passionately. All I ever intend to do is move people, to somehow tap into their emotions.”
Martin: “Dave has a great voice that is really distinctive. It has a great tone to it, and he has a real aggression, which I don’t have, and that is really important for a rock star. That is really what Dave brings to our songs. Every voice is a different instrument, and he has a great sort of depth.”
Dave: “For me, there are many dimensions to Martin’s songs lyrically. I like the graphicness of them and the emotional terrain they cover; love lost, compulsion, control, denial, addiction, lust… all those things that everyone experiences. Martin seems to be able to interpret those things in a way that is believable. And then I make it mine vocally, drawing from my own experiences and emotions.”
Andy: “We’ve always stuck to the punk and indie ideals we grew up with. We’ve been allowed to actually go forward and learn. We’re very lucky to have this huge fan base which enables us to actually release records that are a bit off the wall.”
Martin: “I can’t really explain why we’ve been so popular for so long. Maybe it’s because we’ve never fit into any one trend.”
Dave: “I enjoy the challenge… and I still want it to be a challenge. Otherwise, why bother?”
I MET THAT BLOKE FROM DEPECHE MODE ONCE
[From Bong 47, March 2001. Words: Shawn Decker.]
My name is Shawn, I’m 25 years old and I’m also living with AIDS… I met the band back in 1990 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and I want to share the experience and what it meant to me. When I met Depeche Mode I had been diagnosed with HIV for about three years. My lab results, combined with common medical knowledge at the time, didn’t give me much of a long-term future (maybe I should have tried to meet The Cure!). My mom asked me if there was anyone I wanted to meet, anything I wanted to do, etc… I was 14, and for about a year I had been listening to Depeche Mode’s music. I even had my own synthesiser (though I didn’t learn how to use it for many years), so of course my first thought was to see my idols. It just so happened that Depeche Mode was embarking on the “World Violation Tour”, and that they would soon be in the DC area, near where I live. I can’t express how happy it made me that I was going to be able to see them perform live, and that I would get to meet the band backstage before the concert. It was all a last minute kind of deal, and apparently Depeche Mode’s team and the Make-A-Wish Foundation worked well together to make it happen. I remember being backstage with my best friend, my aunt, and the band (who were very polite to me)… I was so nervous that I couldn’t even finish a potato chip that I had started to eat. I sheepishly wrapped it in a napkin and hoped that the band didn’t notice… The one moment I spoke was just before my aunt was going to snap a picture of us together. She said, “Say cheese…”, and remembering a scene from Depeche Mode “101” I mimicked the band’s joy for sarcasm and repeated, in a distorted and unenthusiastic drawl, “SAY CHEEEEEESE”. It resulted in what I believe is the only picture in the world that features the entire band smiling. Needless to say, music has been a very important part of my life. I’m forever thankful for Depeche Mode for showing me that there was indeed a world outside of small-town USA, and that music is one of the ways to explore that world…
Shawn Decker, USA
(previously published on WB message board)
[From Bong 47, March 2001. Words: Shawn Decker.]
My name is Shawn, I’m 25 years old and I’m also living with AIDS… I met the band back in 1990 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and I want to share the experience and what it meant to me. When I met Depeche Mode I had been diagnosed with HIV for about three years. My lab results, combined with common medical knowledge at the time, didn’t give me much of a long-term future (maybe I should have tried to meet The Cure!). My mom asked me if there was anyone I wanted to meet, anything I wanted to do, etc… I was 14, and for about a year I had been listening to Depeche Mode’s music. I even had my own synthesiser (though I didn’t learn how to use it for many years), so of course my first thought was to see my idols. It just so happened that Depeche Mode was embarking on the “World Violation Tour”, and that they would soon be in the DC area, near where I live. I can’t express how happy it made me that I was going to be able to see them perform live, and that I would get to meet the band backstage before the concert. It was all a last minute kind of deal, and apparently Depeche Mode’s team and the Make-A-Wish Foundation worked well together to make it happen. I remember being backstage with my best friend, my aunt, and the band (who were very polite to me)… I was so nervous that I couldn’t even finish a potato chip that I had started to eat. I sheepishly wrapped it in a napkin and hoped that the band didn’t notice… The one moment I spoke was just before my aunt was going to snap a picture of us together. She said, “Say cheese…”, and remembering a scene from Depeche Mode “101” I mimicked the band’s joy for sarcasm and repeated, in a distorted and unenthusiastic drawl, “SAY CHEEEEEESE”. It resulted in what I believe is the only picture in the world that features the entire band smiling. Needless to say, music has been a very important part of my life. I’m forever thankful for Depeche Mode for showing me that there was indeed a world outside of small-town USA, and that music is one of the ways to explore that world…
Shawn Decker, USA
(previously published on WB message board)