Depeche Mode Depeche Mode (Virtually Alternative, 2001)

[demoderus]

Depeche Mode
[Virtually Alternative, April 2001, Words Sat Bisla. Pictures Anton Corbijn.]

Interview with the band promoting the release of Exciter. The article focuses in more detail than many articles on the making of Exciter from a studio perspective and Martin's impetus for the lyrics. Despite a slightly flat tone, there is plenty here for someone interested in the band's methods and working practices without being overly specialist.
" I've never felt we've gone through a phase of doom and gloom. I always said that if anything, our music was more realistic than a lot of music out there. But with each record we've recorded, I've felt that each one is more optimistic than the last one; however, sometimes you wonder if it really is more optimistic. "

It's been almost four years since Depeche Mode, pioneering purveyors of electronic rock, released their last studio album, 'Ultra', which spawned the singles 'Barrel Of A Gun' and 'It's No Good' and went on to sell over 4,000,000 albums worldwide. They've spent a good portion of the last year recording their forthcoming album, 'Exciter', which contains the new single 'Dream On' and a number of other radio-friendly anthems.

'Exciter' finds the group continuing to evolve (something we've come to expect from DM, one of the truly groundbreaking alternative acts from the original movement), managing to appeal to both its core audience and the mainstream music connoisseur. After two decades of creating multi-format hits, Depeche Mode has proven that it's not just another band; it's a lifestyle, if you will, for millions of fans worldwide.

The group came into existence in 1980; the original lineup included vocalist Dave Gahan, songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore and keyboardist Andrew Fletcher, and this trio remains together after 21 years. They faced many obstacles in the 1990s, including drug addiction, emotional distress, mental and physical exhaustion and other personal challenges. However, Andrew, Dave and Martin seemingly overcame these hurdles with the release of the 1997 album 'Ultra' which show-cased a newly refreshed attitude and energy, and the group has managed to maintain its course since then.

Very few artists can boast of selling over 50 million records worldwide, all the while maintaining their musical credibility and mystique; Depeche Mode has managed to do just that. Now, the band that practically invented popular electronic music is back with a brand-new album whose focus and sound fit in nicely with today's musical landscape. They were in Los Angeles recently to film the video for 'Dream On', at the same time conducting interviews with the media at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, where I had the distinct honor of sitting down with these inspiring musical icons and talking about their new album, upcoming tour and other matters pertaining to the world of Depeche Mode.

I sense a more relaxed Dave Gahan singing on the new album.

Dave: Yeah, I think it's well-observed. I definitely feel more comfortable with myself and I think it helps to get out what I need to when I'm singing these songs.

Your voice sounds like it's become more seasoned and mature...like a fine bottle of wine. Are you still taking vocal classes?

Dave: No, I haven't had classes for a very long time. I thought about finding someone in New York, but I really enjoyed working with Evelyn [vocal coach on Ultra]. What she did was give me vocal exercises; we'd get together and just record what we were doing. I try to carry that around [vocal training] with me all the time. I haven't been able to do it lately, because I haven't been able to fit it into my schedule; however, when I get back to New York I'm going to get back into it. But yes, I do vocal exercises on my own. I spend 40 minutes a day doing that. Even when we're not working, I'll sing, and I've found that it's really helped to keep my vocal chords stretched and stuff like that. It's just like any musical instrument - the more you practice with it, the more you can do with it.

 

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You've mentioned in the past that you'd taken yoga classes to help with your attitude on 'Ultra'. Did that have a lot to do with the same on 'Exciter'?

Dave: I did have a few classes. Someone I knew a long time ago that was a security guy introduced me to yoga and I took a few sessions. However, I'm pretty much self-taught, but I don't do yoga so much nowadays...I run a lot.

Martin, you've been with Depeche Mode for two decades. How does it feel being with the group after all this time? Have things changed a lot?

Martin: Things change all the time. There are always different dynamics going on. I think for the recording of this album, the inter-band relations were particularly good. We were actually able to sit down in a room and discuss things and make decisions, which sounds like a very simple and basic process, but it's something that we at one point would have avoided doing. Often our manager would have had to come to each one individually and talk to us about things; there was all kinds of weird stuff going on like that. Now we're able to sit down and talk, which is important - communication is always important between any group of people.

Do you feel that Alan Wilder's departure has had a lot to do with the sound of your last two albums?

Andrew: Not really. I do feel that Alan was a very important part of Depeche Mode and we do miss his input quite a lot.

Dave: That's very humble and kind of you, I'm sure Alan would appreciate that comment a lot. [laughing]

Andrew: To be honest, I think we got well-rounded by working with some interesting people that perhaps have got more involved because of [Alan's departure]. Alan would have tended to take more control in the studio; it meant we had to rely on other people coming in, and so far we've been lucky. Tim Simenon [producer of 'Ultra'] was very good, and Mark Bell [producer of 'Exciter'] has been fantastic for us. He's fitting in perfectly into the setup.

What are some of your favorite tracks on this album?

Dave: At the moment it's 'Goodnight Lovers' and 'When The Body Speaks'; I really think it's beautiful and I'm very proud of it. That's probably it at the moment.

Martin, a lot of people credit you as being the driving force behind Depeche Mode. You write most of the songs. Would you agree with that conclusion, or would you say it's more of a team effort?

Martin: I write the songs, but Depeche Mode is a collaboration of all three of us working together. If I were to write the songs and then record them on my own, it would sound like something completely different. Dave has a very distinctive voice and that is what gives Depeche Mode the recognizable quality. The moment our song is played on the radio, everyone recognizes it as Dave's voice because it's very distinctive. All of the various elements we bring on together; the way we work as three individual people is what makes Depeche Mode what it is.

How was it working with producer Mark Bell?

Andrew: Well, Tim [Simenon] was great and very different. Mark immediately fit in; he really got what we were trying to do and saw the sort of strengths that were there and realized the work that he had to do. He really embraced the process. Also Gareth Jones was at the helm of this album, so let's not forget to mention him.

Martin: It was a really good dynamic in the studio as well because Mark's a very likeable person and a very humble guy, and Gareth brings about a really good karma; he's got a really good aura about him. He brings a very calming influence and the two of them combined brought about a good atmosphere in the studio.

How long did it take to record 'Exciter'?

Andrew: From the time Martin started writing the song until we finished recording the album, it was probably around one year and two months. It seemed like a marathon, but it was good fun. However, we were only in the studio for about five or six months of actual studio work.

Where was the album recorded?

Dave: Part of it was recorded in London, and the rest of it was recorded in New York and some of it in Santa Barbara.

 

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Why did you record it in different places? Was it to generate a different vibe?

Martin: That's where we all live. We always go to different places and try to split up the recording process in the various places where we live.

Andrew: I still live in London...Essex born and bred. Martin lives in Santa Barbara and Dave is in New York.

Is there a particular reason you named the album 'Exciter'?

Dave: We wanted to give the album a really optimistic, uplifting and positive title. I think a lot of the time people view us as being doom merchants, in the same sort of vein as Leonard Cohen or Morrissey, and we don't see it like that at all. So, I think it's nice for us to have up-sounding titles to our records because we think our music emanates the same kind of vibe.

What was the synergy like between the three of you during the recording process?

Dave: It was good - it was quite relaxed most of the time, to be honest. We have our routines and other things, but it was pretty laid-back. It was a very positive experience, a united sort of feeling that we like to work in.

After working together all of these years describe your relationship within Depeche Mode.

Andrew: It's like a family thing, really. We don't spend every minute of our lives together because we've got our own families and friends. I figure we've grown to respect each other's idiosyncrasies as well. We know each other well in that way and that's a good thing. On this record there are four songs with the word "love" in it. It seems like 'Exciter' is a love album, in a way.

Dave: You mean like Barbra Streisand? [laughing]

Martin: That is the main theme for the record - all of my songs are about relationships. If you look at any previous album there is that whole closeness and relationships issue.

After listening to 'Exciter', I'd have to say it sounds a lot less electronic-heavy than previous Depeche Mode records. It sounds more acoustic-based.

Martin: Actually, it's pretty electronic. Mark manages to manipulate these electronic sounds and make them appear more acoustic. These sounds are processed electronically and the technology nowadays enables you to do that a lot easier now than before. I guess we used less analog-type sounds on this album than we have in the past. But there's a mix on the guitar, some real drums and percussion. Depeche Mode always twist things around, and it never is the same after the first listen. It's not like we never create something and then find a sound and don't manipulate it in some way. It's rare that we find a sound and just use it as is.

Are the songs based upon your own experiences or are they fictional?

Martin: The songwriting experience is always a very weird one. Sometimes I don't really know where the songs come from, I sit down and start strumming a guitar or start playing some chords on a piano and words just start flowing...they come from somewhere subconscious. However, they're always from a first-person perspective and they are based on experiences; I can't even write from a third-person point of view. I can't try to imagine what's going on inside Andrew or Dave's head, you know? I get asked that question all the time and I never get over that people ask that question. It's a weird question. With Dave being the singer and me being the songwriter...that's an unusual situation, I suppose. [1]

Dave: I suppose that's probably why. But the stuff that comes out when you're singing, it comes from somewhere. Sometimes you don't know where your inspiration is going to come from.

This album seems a lot less darker than 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion' and 'Ultra'.

Dave: I've never felt we've gone through a phase of doom and gloom. I always said that if anything, our music was more realistic than a lot of music out there. But with each record we've recorded, I've felt that each one is more optimistic than the last one; however, sometimes you wonder if it really is more optimistic. I'm much too close to it to even be able to judge at all. I just don't know.

[1] - Martin is right, this question is returned to in interviews very regularly. At one extreme is the theory that Martin does write from Dave's perspective but doesn't like to say; at the other (equally untenable) extreme is the view that the songs strike such a chord with Dave that he cannot accept Martin hasn't written them for him. The fact that the question is getting asked at all points to Martin's deftness with emotions in his songwriting, and the way Dave's emotive performances bring his own interpretation to the songs.

 

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Is Anton Corbijn working with you on the album design, stage theme and video concepts?

Dave: Yes, he's designed the artwork and photographs for the album and he's also been coming up with some ideas for the stage presentation, film footage and stuff like that. However, we did use a different producer for the 'Dream On' video. We just wanted to try someone different for a change. [2]

When are you looking at starting your new tour?

Andrew: It'll be kicking off in North America in June; we'll be rehearsing through the end of April and all through May. It's a two-and-a-half-month tour of North America. It's a five-and-a-half-month tour altogether. It's gonna be hard, but it's not a hard slog [torturous] sort of thing. It won't be a year and a half 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion'-type of tour. It'll be kicking off in Canada and will move down into the U.S., into the East Coast and then make its way across the country to California around the early part of August.

Have you come up with a stage concept?

Martin: Anton's designing the set and he was here with us a couple of days ago, and he's put forward an idea that looks very good...it's progressing.

Are there any opening acts that you have in mind?

Andrew: We're going through that at the moment and trying to put together an interesting bill.

Do you feel that your are mentally and physically prepared for the impending tour?

Dave: We have to be! There's no time to relax when you're performing every night. It's for our fans, so we have to give them our best performance every night. You can only do this if you're mentally and physically right on, you know?

Will Depeche Mode continue as a band after the conclusion of your tour?

Martin: I don't see why not. I mean, we'll probably do the same sort of process and we'll take some time-off. We take it a year at a time, to be quite honest.

Andrew: All we can do is plan to the end of the year and hopefully we'll still enjoy ourselves and carry on. We can't plan four or five years in advance. We can't say where we'll be in 10 years because we don't know. If someone would have asked us in 1981 where we'd be in 20 years, we'd have no idea that we'd still be doing this today.

Dave: To be honest, it's hard for me to even take a day at a time. I find that there's much less pressure to do that than to think about this much work ahead of me, or how long I've been doing this and will continue to do so. Or hoping my voice doesn't go out and stuff like that. It's silly to even go there, to be quite honest...who knows?

Andrew, have you ever considered singing on a Depeche Mode album?

Andrew: I think I've got a fantastic voice. I really do. Unfortunately, Dave and Martin think I haven't got a fantastic voice; I'm voted out [laughing]. Dave and Martin are great singers and I'm not.

Who would you say has been your biggest personal musical influence growing up as kids?

Dave: Probably someone like David Bowie. When I was 14 - actually, sort of 12, I used to really like Gary Glitter. However, I feel David Bowie has been the one constant, consistent thing that I've liked from that time until now.

Martin: I'd have to agree with that too, to be honest!

Is there any one question that you've never been asked about Depeche Mode that you wish someone would ask you?

Martin: I wish that they would not ask us any questions [laughing].

[2] - The video for Dream On was produced by Stephane Sednaoui.

 

[demoderus]

Virtually Alternative
Cover date: April 2001 (USA)
Article writer: Sat Bisla
Photography: Anton Corbijn
Details: A four page article on the band.