Depeche Mode It's Just Devotion (In Press, 1994)
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From the twee electronics of Just Can’t Get Enough over a decade ago to the emotional purge of the current single, In Your Room, Depeche Mode have kept one step ahead of musical fads. They’ve been labelled New Romantic, pop, dance and techno in the past, now they’ve re-invented grunge with Cohen-style poetry and a post-industrial sideshow.
Since founding Depeche Mode, Vince Clarke left the band to become the world’s first stadium-popper with Yazoo and then Erasure. After its debut album Speak And Spell, frizzy-haired blonde Martin Gore has been the band’s central figure. As key songwriter, Gore supplies the words for singer Dave Gahan’s power-packed voice and creates the soundscapes for Andrew Fletcher and Alan Wilder to flesh out in the studio and on stage.
Gore has steered the band from its naive, electropop roots toward its own stadium-filling brand of grandiose, techno-orchestrated rock. On the current tour, of which the final leg kicked off in South Africa last month, they appear on stage with band members actually performing on guitars past [sic]. Hi-tech visuals also play a major role in the show, with artist Anton Corbijn supplying surreal images that at one stage supply giant silhouettes of the band playing their instruments as if sampling the footage live and allowing Gahan to act as one with the screen. An obvious influence on the U2 Zoo show and perhaps a cynical statement about the band’s move into a seemingly more orthodox appearance?
“We don’t intend there to be any cynicism,” says Gore, just before rehearsals were to begin for the Australasian tour. “We are trying to be more abstract, previously we had used lots of images of the band and we wanted to get away from that.”
How important is Anton’s work to the band?
“Our relationship with Anton is very personal, we’ve worked with him since 1986. If we’re not sure about something he has created, we are able to discuss it with him. We can then either make changes or come around to agreeing with his ideas.”
You have used the band members’ photos on the cover of your most recent studio album, Songs Of Faith And Devotion. That was quite a turnaround on your past comments that you would never appear on your cover artwork, isn’t it?
”We haven’t gone totally against what we’ve said in the past. Anton suggested that as the music was becoming more human, that we should use our images on the cover. We weren’t too sure about it but we told him that if he could come up with a good idea that we’d think about it. He came up with a design that used our faces and obscured them enough for our liking.”
You’ve previously commented that Songs Of Faith And Devotion is an optimistic album, yet it is full of dark imagery – death, suffering, submission – and your continual flirtation with religion.
“Depeche Mode will never make a ‘happy’ album, but on the scale of our personal microcosm Faith And Devotion showed quite an increase in optimism (laughing). And I will never get away from the religious imagery as such, but a more positive attitude is emerging.”
Do you think you attract religious people to your music or guilt-ridden, lapsed Catholics?
“Our fans are not necessarily religious, though I use that imagery in the lyrics I am not religious. But we are all seeking something in life and I think that our fans see that in our music.”
I know that you prefer to leave your song lyrics open to personal interpretation but do you feel that the line, ‘So open yourself for me, risk your health for me’ in Judas could be construed as a very dangerous evocation of unsafe sex?
“Judas is an arrogant love song. We are not condoning unsafe sex. It is about wanting one hundred percent of someone in a relationship – the ultimate arrogance.”
Humility keeps surfacing on the album, is that a reflection of the band’s stature and the possibilities of some members being able to abuse that power?
“Humility is a very important emotion, but tackling the subject on Faith And Devotion is no reflection on the band’s status or anything that has happened within the band dynamics.”
The singles released from Faith And Devotion haven’t been anywhere near as successful, chartwise, as the album. Are Depeche Mode an ‘albums band’?
“That term became a slur in the 70’s because of concept albums, but now I think we can be proud of being considered an ‘albums band’.
You’ve never been as successful in Australia as the rest of the world – and you’re probably known best here for cancelling your last scheduled Melbourne concert when you got to town – why do you think grand-scale success has eluded you here?
“It was frustrating to have travelled all that way (to Australia) for two shows and only be able to do one. It won’t happen a second time. Everywhere else we have consolidated our following by touring with each album, that is something few of our 80’s contemporaries did, and it’s probably why we have survived. Australia is where we are least successful and it’s the only country we haven’t toured.”
Will you ever do another solo record seeing as the last one was quite a critical success?
“I never saw any reviews at all. That EP went completely unnoticed. I did no promotion for it, it was a very low-key release. I’ll do another one if the band takes a long break.”
Your voice has been sounding very strong on this tour – why don’t you sing more with Depeche Mode?
“I just do those two or three songs a night. I don’t like being the frontperson for a band, I don’t like doing the interviews, I don’t want to be a spokesperson. I’m happy just to do those songs.”
Do you feel that you’ve influenced a new generation of musicians when you hear artists like Todd Terry and Meat Beat Manifesto?
“We have helped shape the face of American music. We were considered alternative when we began and had to work our way up from the college circuit to being accepted in the mainstream. Now the influences of bands like us and The Cure can be heard in the US.”
You and New Order were the last of the great indie bands until they went with a major label for their last album, do you feel like the last of the survivors?
“We always did consider ourselves and New Order as the last of the indies. Factory (New Order’s old label) and Mute were the last remnants of the early 80’s indie scene. With Factory gone I guess we are the last remainder of that era.”
There have been some very obvious changes within the band, Dave especially seems to have taken on a new ‘rock star’ persona with his tattoos and long hair as well as the INXS-type antics of his stage performance. Dave’s also told Rolling Stone magazine that another member of the band needs to ‘get a clue’ about modern music.
“That’s Dave’s personality coming out on stage. He has become very enamoured by the LA music scene, he’s married a woman from LA, but I don’t think he sees it as the only way to go in music now. I’m sure he never quite said that (‘get a clue’), he’s probably been misquoted – I know that I’ve been misquoted in the past.”
IT'S JUST DEVOTION
By Andrew Mast
In*Press Magazine 2nd March 1994
>From the twee electronics of "Just Can't Get Enough" over a decade ago to the emotional purge of the current single, "In Your Room", Depeche Mode have kept one step ahead of musical fads. They've been labelled New Romantic, pop, dance and techno in the past, now they've re-invented grunge with Cohen-style poetry and a post-industrial sideshow.
Since founding Depeche Mode, Vince Clarke, left the band to become the world's first stadium-popper with Yazoo and then Erasure after it's debut album Speak and Spell, frizzy-haired blonde, Martin Gore has been the band's central figure. As key songwriter, Gore supplies the words for singer David Gahan's power-packed voice and creates the soundscapes for Andrew Fletcher and Alan Wilder to flesh out in the studio and on stage.
Gore has steered the band from it's naive, electro-pop roots towards it's own stadium-filling brand of grandiose, technorchestrated rock. On the current tour, of which the final leg kicked off in South Africa last month, they appear on stage with band members actually performing on guitar parts. Hi-tech visuals also play a major role in the show, with artist Anton Corbjin supplying surreal images that at one stage supplies giant silhouettes of the band playing their instruments as if sampling the footage live and allowing Gahan to act as one with the screen. An obvious influence on the U2 Zoo show and perhaps a cynical statement about the band's move into a seemingly more orthodox appearance?
"We don't intend there to be any cynicism," says Gore, just before rehearsals were to begin for the Australasian tour. "We are trying to be more abstract, previously we had used lots of images of the band and we wanted to get away from that."
How important is Anton's work to the band?
"Our relationship with Anton is very personal, we've worked with him since 1986. If we're not sure about something he has created, we are able to discuss it with him. We can then either make changes or come around to agreeing with his ideas."
You have used the band member's photos on the cover of your most recent studio album, Songs Of Faith And Devotion. That was quite a turnaround on your past comments that you would never appear on your cover artwork, isn't it?
"We haven't gone totally against what we've said in the past. Anton suggested that as the music was becoming more human, that we should use our images on the cover. We weren't too sure about it but we told him if he could come up with a good idea then we'd think about it. He came up with a design that used our faces and obscured them enough for our liking."
You've previously commented that Songs Of Faith And Devotion is an optimistic album, yet it is full of dark imagery - death, suffering, submission - and your continual flirtation with religion.
"Depeche Mode will never make a `happy' album, but on the scale of our personal microcosm Faith And Devotion showed quite an increase in optimism (laughing). And I will never get away from the religious imagery as such, but a more positive attitude is emerging."
Do you think you attract religious people to your music or guilt-ridden, lapsed Catholics?
"Our fans are not necessarily religious, though I use that imagery in the lyrics I am not religious. But we are all seeking something in life and I think that our fans see that in our music."
I know that you prefer to leave your song lyrics open to personal interpretation but do you feel that the line, `So open yourself to me, risk your health for me' in Judas could be construed as a very dangerous evocation of unsafe sex?
"Judas is an arrogant love song. We are not condoning unsafe sex. It is about wanting one hundred percent of someone in a relationship - the ultimate arrogance."
Humility keeps surfacing on the album, is that a reflection of the band's stature and the possibilities of some members being able to abuse that power?
"Humility is a very important emotion, but tackling the subject on Faith And Devotion is no reflection on the band's status or anything that has happened with the band dynamics."
The singles released from Faith And Devotion haven't been anywhere near as successful, chartwise, as the album. Are Depeche Mode an `albums band'?
"That term become a slur in the 70's because of concept albums, but now I think we can be proud of being considered an `albums band'."
You've never been as successful in Australia as the rest of the world - and you're probably know best here for cancelling your last scheduled Melbourne concert when you got to town - why do you think grand-scale success has eluded you here?
[ Because we have no taste in decent music -- Bugbyte
]"It was frustrating to have travelled all that way (to Australia) for two shows and only be able to do one. It won't happened a second time. Everywhere else we have consolidated our following by touring with each album, that is something that few of our 80's contempories did, and it's probably why we have survived. Australia is where we are least successful and it's the only country where we haven't toured."
Will you ever do another solo record seeing as the last one was quite a critical success?
"I never saw any reviews at all. That EP went completely unnoticed. I did no promotion for it, it was a very low-key release. I'll do another one if the band takes a long break."
Your voice has been sounding very strong on this tour. Why don't you sing more with Depeche Mode?
"I just do those two or three songs a night. I don't like being the frontperson for the band, I don't like doing the interviews, and I don't want to be a spokesperson. I'm happy just to do those songs."
Do you feel that you've influenced a new generation of musicians when you hear artists like Todd Terry and Meat Beat Manifesto?
"We have helped shape the face of American music. We were considered alternative when we began and had to work our way up from the college circuit to being accepted in the mainstream. Now the influences of bands like us The Cure can be heard in the US."
You and New Order were the last of the great indie bands until they went with a major label for their last album, do you feel like the last of the survivors?
"We always did consider ourselves and New Order as the last of the indies, Factory (New Order's old label) and Mute were the last remnants of the early 80's indie scene. With Factory gone I guess we are the last remainder of that era."
There have been some very obvious changes within the band, Dave especially seems to have taken on a new `rock star' persona with his tattoos and long hair as well as his INXS-type antics of his stage performance. Dave's also told Rolling Stone magazine that another member of the band needs to `get a clue' about modern music.
"That's Dave's personality coming out on stage. He has become very enamoured by the LA music scene, he's married a woman from LA, but I don't think he sees it as the only way to go in music now. I'm sure he never quite said that (`get a clue'), he's probably been misquoted - I know that I have been misquoted in the past."