Depeche Mode Mode Three / Depeche Mode - The History / Singing - The Dave Gahan Way / Songwriting - The Martin Gore Way / The Current Kit List (Future Music, 1997)
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One member left, one suffered a nervous breakdown, another even died for a couple of minutes. But Depeche Mode are back with a harder sound, a top five single and an album that no-one thought they’d ever make…
Drugs, sex, religion, Mart, leather, America, synths, Basildon, Vince, pop, dress, nudity, tours, speedball, God, servant, knees, tattoo, death, industry, metal, stadia, Fletch, master, grainy videos, Alan, haircuts, love, black, strange, Gahan, Just Can’t Get, enough…
Think Depeche Mode and it’s almost guaranteed that a selection of these words will pass through your mind. The recent progress of the band, or lack of it, has been well documented by the national press – not for their music, but for the near death of the lead singer Dave Gahan, the nervous breakdown of keyboardist Andy Fletcher and departure of sound-shaper Alan Wilder. But the story of Depeche Mode is much more than a battle with drugs and rock’n’roll excess…
There’s the fact that they’ve been making successful music for nearly 20 years and have had over 20 hit singles and around 10 hit albums. And in the process of doing this, there’s also the fact that they have had to move with the musical times with the technology available. From the happy realms of monosynth pop, through the dramatic backdrop of polyphony and sampling, to the grungeland of guitar tech rock, Depeche Mode has exceeded everyone’s expectations.
So, setting the drugs aside for a while, sit back and enjoy a relatively normal interview with a band that rarely talks technology, as we retrace their unique story from the perspective of music technology…
Have you found it difficult to settle down in the studio again after such a long time away?
D: Yes, but we have done our best work in the last few months. It gets more and more difficult because when you know each other so well, little things become really big things. There is a lot of outside things… everyone’s got families and they’ve got other interests outside of the band so less and less time really gets spent on making music together. I think when things go well it’s really good, but there’s a lot of sitting around and waiting. The roles are very defined: Martin writes the songs and I sing them. We have Tim Simenon working with us on this record and a number of other people playing music, programming and stuff like that. Tim is playing a really big role in it. I wouldn’t say that he replaced Alan because it’s completely different thing, but he fulfils that role. I think Martin is working a little bit harder in pushing himself further and working in the studio because there’s nobody else to do it…
M: This record has been really easy for us to make. There is such a easy-going atmosphere in the studio, and the team we are working with are all such nice people. So compared to the pressure of making the last few albums, this is totally enjoyable. I knew Tim before and we actually met quite a lot over the years, but I’ve never spent a lot of time with him, and he’s such a lovely person. It feels like I have discovered a new soul brother. When you have to be in a studio with four or five different people all the time, it always helps if you have that bond with them…
F: It’s been quite easy because Martin has been writing very good songs and, at the end of the day, if you’re working on good songs, it’s much easier. We’ve settled in with a very good team of people, so that’s helped things as well… the atmosphere has been very good.
What was your initial reaction after first listening to Martin’s demo?
D: I really wanted to record them, I really wanted to do the songs. A lot of the lyrical content, the feeling and the melodies really fitted with the way that I was feeling and the stuff I was personally going through. It seemed like it would be a really good thing for me to do at that time, because it was a way of me kind of working through my own personal problems. In retrospect, I wasn’t ready and it was more important for me to take heroin than being in the band, but I think that in the last few months I feel like I’ve done some of my best work. I’ve thrown myself into it, I’ve been working with a vocal coach, Evelyn, and we were also working with her in Los Angeles. We recorded vocals for some of the songs in L.A. . It’s a long process and I’m trying to put all my energy into doing that…
F: There are different demos, it’s not just one. We’ve given him three or four writing periods, so it’s not as if we listened to all the songs in one go. And he’s been playing me songs all the time. We are very happy, because the standard is very good.
Why did you choose Tim Simenon to work with?
M: We all really liked the last Bomb The Bass album and I particularly liked the Gavin Friday album that came out just a couple of months before we started working with Tim. Tim does have a trivia of dance music and he can make 69bpm quite easy and this is quite important to us because we are in such a slow territory. In the past, we had gone much faster than 100bpm, but when I try writing anything faster than that, it always sounds silly to me… it just loses the atmosphere. For me, this record is all about atmosphere.
F: Tim’s name has come up in the past; he’s done remixes for us that we liked. The thing that made us eager to work with him was the team of people that surround him: Dave Clayton, who’s a really good musician. Perhaps with losing Alan we needed someone expert in the field. Q is a really good engineer, very quiet, and with our programmer, Kerry, it’s a good team. It was not as if we were just taking Tim on… it was a whole team of people.
What is, in your opinion, the main difference in work approach between Tim Simenon and Flood?
D: The difference is that Tim has got kind of a little team. We have a programmer, a keyboard player and he uses the same engineer all the time. Flood pretty much works on his own in a very different way. I think Martin really enjoys working with Tim because Tim likes to work in the same sort of process as Martin, so they get on really well. I think Flood’s way was to try a lot more stuff musically and, digging deeper, that sort of going with the same format of just programming everything, every song.
M: One of the main differences is that there is a lot less performance, but that’s also probably dictated by the songs more. There’s a lot less guitar on this record than on the last one, and probably less than on Violator as well. Tim also has a strange set-up and he works with the same team. With Flood, it was just Flood there throwing ideas at us and saying, “We have to try this, get on with this and see if this works,” and suggesting things and trying them out. Now there are sometimes two or three different things going on at once… Me and Tim might talk to Dave Clayton, the keyboard player, and say, maybe we should try this on this song and he’d put the headphones on and go out and work for a few hours, while I might be back in the studio trying out something else on a different song. And sometimes, like in New York, we had a set-up that would even enable me to return to writing. They call it parallel working (laughs).
F: I don’t think there is much difference really. Producing is getting on with people, and getting the best out of them. Flood comes from an engineering background, while Tim comes from more of a musician’s background, because he has a group, but generally their approach is still the same. Because all the people in the band are different personalities, you need to have someone to make sure that all the personalities are working together and trying to get the best out of each other.
Did Alan Wilder’s departure affect roles and responsibilities within the band in any way?
M: Alan was almost a control freak and I think that he still is. He tended to really focus on the production and it’s something that didn’t particularly interest me. Obviously, I cared about what was going on and what the end result was like… if I liked what he was doing, then I would let him get on with it, until it came to a point when I really didn’t like something, then I would say I don’t think that would work, maybe try something else. It is sort of something like background producer. Now, I definitely have to be slightly more involved than that. Quite a lot of the time, it’s just me, Tim and the team.
F: I think that Alan was trying to gain control of everything towards the end of the project, and because I wasn’t very well, he was doing that. He was able to take control, and I think I deal with things a bit differently. I don’t think the roles have changed at all… we just replaced Alan with a team of people.
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What is the main difference between recording the album in a rented villa in Madrid, as on the last album, and the various studios this time around?
D: In theory, it was a really good idea, but we found that our personalities clashed incredibly when living together 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I didn’t mind it so much, but Alan detested it and Fletch had a hard time. I think Fletch has a hard time being anywhere but home, in his home environment, with his things, his friends, his family, his restaurant [Gascogne, London NW8, don’t you know – Ed]. That’s where Fletch is comfortable. I haven’t really had a home base for a long while, so I don’t mind so much, but it’s something that I’m really striving to achieve over the next couple of years.
M: We’ve done a lot of the recording in a very small studio called Eastcote. I think it helped in some ways to create this easy-going atmosphere, because we haven’t gone to the top studios all the time. It’s been very low-key and it’s been something that’s helped us to set a tone for the record. But obviously when it comes to mixing and vocals, we have had to go to bigger studios, so we have done some of it at Sarm West, some of it here at Rak Studios and some at Electric Lady, in New York.
In theory, we loved the idea of renting a villa in Madrid and setting up our own studio. But in practice, it was an absolute disaster. We all hated it there, because it wasn’t really in the centre of Madrid. It was about 30-40 minutes outside. So every time we wanted to go out, we had to get cabs into town. The clubs there are open till really late and you come out really drunk and you’ve got to take a 30-40 minute cab ride home, and the cab drivers never wanted to take us that far. Also living on top of each other became difficult. We never had space from each other, but I think we learned a lesson: it’s far better for us to be living in totally different places and meeting up whenever we have to.
Have you used any new equipment or new ways of recording?
M: We have never worked with a programmer before, we’ve always done it ourselves. I really enjoy having a programmer there, because even though Alan did a lot of it on the last record, you still felt really involved, whereas now it’s much easier to just step back and listen to what’s happening, it’s also a lot quicker working with somebody who knows how to work everything perfectly. He also uses a lot of things off a hard-disk recording which we’ve never used before and which gives you a lot of freedom, so you don’t have to tape everything all the time. We’ve never had outside musicians constantly in the studio with us before. I suppose we had Alan in the past, and Dave Clayton, the musician we are working with now, in a way fulfils Alan’s role, but it’s far easier to manipulate him. If Alan didn’t like something, I am sure he wouldn’t actually play it badly, but if we say to Dave, “Can you try this out for us?” he’ll try it, and he’ll try his hardest to make it work for us. So as I said before, I really enjoy this whole set-up.
Are you planning to have your new songs remixed again by the likes of Brian Eno, William Orbit, Johnny Dollar, Steve Lyon and so on?
M: We’re planning to have a remix, not necessarily by the same people. So far we’ve only sorted one remix and that’s by DJ Shadow. He’s remixing the B-side of the single.
Have you ever considered releasing your own CD-ROM?
D: Yes, we have, and I believe that’s something we’re looking into, but we haven’t actually made any plans yet. [1]
F: It’s enough trouble to make an album, or to make a video, and we don’t do anything without putting 100% into it. We have to concentrate on certain things one at a time. A CD-ROM: we would probably take more time than we have.
Do you find the use of the internet important in respect of what business you are in?
D: I think it’s a great medium: it’s really opened up a lot. I think it’s cool that fans can communicate together on the hot-line. It’s like sending a letter and getting an instant reply.
F: My personal view is that the Internet is a bit exaggerated. The problem with the Internet is that 99% of the stuff that you can get… like the Depeche Mode section… is wrong information. So there is no control and it’s not very accurate and I suppose sooner or later when more controls come in it might be better. But right now I think its usefulness is over-exaggerated.
Do you follow any current music?
M: I have always liked to listen to all kinds of music. I just came back from the record shop and when I analysed what I’ve just bought, none of it is actually current. I got one CD that might have been released during the last three months but the rest of it is really old stuff. It’s not any particular genre of music.
I only listen to slow dance music and anything over about 100bpm is a bit too fast for me, and that’s really slow. The tempo on this album ranges from 69 up to about 100 and that’s my perfect range. But going back to the music I like, I generally like a lot of the trip hop stuff, but it doesn’t generally sum up the certain sort of music.
F: I buy a lot of CDs, but I wouldn’t say I follow trends in current popular music.
What kind of future do you envisage for Depeche Mode?
D: I’m not sure really. I think it’s important to just focus as much as you can on what you’re doing at the moment. It’s impossible for me to predict what is going to happen in the future, it’s not in my hands… thank God (laughs).
F: I feel very optimistic, because the album is going to come, and it’s going to be very good: I am very confident. Long-term-wise, anything can happen, but at the moment we’re getting on well. It’s good fun and we’ve got no pressures. It’s all up to us what we do, for a change. We haven’t got this big schedule, so it’s an optimistic short-term.
Reproduced by kind permission of Bong magazine, PO Box 1281, London N1 9UX.
D: In theory, it was a really good idea, but we found that our personalities clashed incredibly when living together 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I didn’t mind it so much, but Alan detested it and Fletch had a hard time. I think Fletch has a hard time being anywhere but home, in his home environment, with his things, his friends, his family, his restaurant [Gascogne, London NW8, don’t you know – Ed]. That’s where Fletch is comfortable. I haven’t really had a home base for a long while, so I don’t mind so much, but it’s something that I’m really striving to achieve over the next couple of years.
M: We’ve done a lot of the recording in a very small studio called Eastcote. I think it helped in some ways to create this easy-going atmosphere, because we haven’t gone to the top studios all the time. It’s been very low-key and it’s been something that’s helped us to set a tone for the record. But obviously when it comes to mixing and vocals, we have had to go to bigger studios, so we have done some of it at Sarm West, some of it here at Rak Studios and some at Electric Lady, in New York.
In theory, we loved the idea of renting a villa in Madrid and setting up our own studio. But in practice, it was an absolute disaster. We all hated it there, because it wasn’t really in the centre of Madrid. It was about 30-40 minutes outside. So every time we wanted to go out, we had to get cabs into town. The clubs there are open till really late and you come out really drunk and you’ve got to take a 30-40 minute cab ride home, and the cab drivers never wanted to take us that far. Also living on top of each other became difficult. We never had space from each other, but I think we learned a lesson: it’s far better for us to be living in totally different places and meeting up whenever we have to.
Have you used any new equipment or new ways of recording?
M: We have never worked with a programmer before, we’ve always done it ourselves. I really enjoy having a programmer there, because even though Alan did a lot of it on the last record, you still felt really involved, whereas now it’s much easier to just step back and listen to what’s happening, it’s also a lot quicker working with somebody who knows how to work everything perfectly. He also uses a lot of things off a hard-disk recording which we’ve never used before and which gives you a lot of freedom, so you don’t have to tape everything all the time. We’ve never had outside musicians constantly in the studio with us before. I suppose we had Alan in the past, and Dave Clayton, the musician we are working with now, in a way fulfils Alan’s role, but it’s far easier to manipulate him. If Alan didn’t like something, I am sure he wouldn’t actually play it badly, but if we say to Dave, “Can you try this out for us?” he’ll try it, and he’ll try his hardest to make it work for us. So as I said before, I really enjoy this whole set-up.
Are you planning to have your new songs remixed again by the likes of Brian Eno, William Orbit, Johnny Dollar, Steve Lyon and so on?
M: We’re planning to have a remix, not necessarily by the same people. So far we’ve only sorted one remix and that’s by DJ Shadow. He’s remixing the B-side of the single.
Have you ever considered releasing your own CD-ROM?
D: Yes, we have, and I believe that’s something we’re looking into, but we haven’t actually made any plans yet. [1]
F: It’s enough trouble to make an album, or to make a video, and we don’t do anything without putting 100% into it. We have to concentrate on certain things one at a time. A CD-ROM: we would probably take more time than we have.
Do you find the use of the internet important in respect of what business you are in?
D: I think it’s a great medium: it’s really opened up a lot. I think it’s cool that fans can communicate together on the hot-line. It’s like sending a letter and getting an instant reply.
F: My personal view is that the Internet is a bit exaggerated. The problem with the Internet is that 99% of the stuff that you can get… like the Depeche Mode section… is wrong information. So there is no control and it’s not very accurate and I suppose sooner or later when more controls come in it might be better. But right now I think its usefulness is over-exaggerated.
Do you follow any current music?
M: I have always liked to listen to all kinds of music. I just came back from the record shop and when I analysed what I’ve just bought, none of it is actually current. I got one CD that might have been released during the last three months but the rest of it is really old stuff. It’s not any particular genre of music.
I only listen to slow dance music and anything over about 100bpm is a bit too fast for me, and that’s really slow. The tempo on this album ranges from 69 up to about 100 and that’s my perfect range. But going back to the music I like, I generally like a lot of the trip hop stuff, but it doesn’t generally sum up the certain sort of music.
F: I buy a lot of CDs, but I wouldn’t say I follow trends in current popular music.
What kind of future do you envisage for Depeche Mode?
D: I’m not sure really. I think it’s important to just focus as much as you can on what you’re doing at the moment. It’s impossible for me to predict what is going to happen in the future, it’s not in my hands… thank God (laughs).
F: I feel very optimistic, because the album is going to come, and it’s going to be very good: I am very confident. Long-term-wise, anything can happen, but at the moment we’re getting on well. It’s good fun and we’ve got no pressures. It’s all up to us what we do, for a change. We haven’t got this big schedule, so it’s an optimistic short-term.
Reproduced by kind permission of Bong magazine, PO Box 1281, London N1 9UX.
DEPECHE MODE - THE HISTORY
1981
Frilly shirt and synth pop were the big things and Depeche Mode arrived just at the right time with the track Photographic on Some Bizzare Album (sic), a compilation. The first “proper” single Dreaming Of Me hit number 57 in the UK chart. New Life (11) followed while Just Can’t Get Enough (8) became an anthem that tarnished Depeche Mode with a synth pop label for years after. The debut album Speak & Spell was full of Vince Clarke’s happy tunes, it reached number 10. It looked to be all over when Clarke then left, but Martin Gore (he of the leather and big blonde hair) took up the reins to move the band forwards and upwards.
Technology note: State of the art (for the time) synths were used for what they were originally intended (none of your acid here, mate) along with simple drum machine rhythms. The monophonic sounds resulted in a sparse production, but Vince’s tunes (and a couple of Gore’s) kept things a-chugging along quite nicely, thank you. Keyboards used include Moog Rogue, Sequential Circuits Pro-One and Yamaha CS01, plus TR0808 drums. There was also that famous live and Top Of The Pops tape machine (either cassette or multitrack) that whirred merrily away as the lads pranced in front of it.
Track of note: New Life is an obvious one. It may have had Vince’s name all over it, but the rolling synth bass, building and falling arrangement and vocal harmonies stayed with Depeche Mode long after his departure.
1982
It was still synthy and still poppy as Gore proved his worth with three top 20 singles: See You (8), The Meaning Of Love (12) and Leave In Silence (16). The album A Broken Frame reached number 8. Alan Wilder joined the band temporarily and stayed for about 15 years. Gore had big curly blonde hair.
Technology note: Instrumentation was still analogue and monophonic, of course, and the change in sound was subtle, but heading to a darker side with the addition of some moody backdrops including tape looks (or early samples?) and other effects.
Track of note: Check out the excellent Shouldn’t Have Done That for “real” sounds and the worthy vocals and moody atmosphere that soon became Gore’s trademark. Nice vocals, too.
1983
Environmental and other serious messages started to creep into the band’s work as the songs got stronger. Get The Balance Right (13), Everything Counts (6) and Love In Itself (21) all scored big time, as did the album Construction Time Again (6). Gore started wearing more leather.
Technology note: It must have been about here that those old Emulator IIs started getting cranked up. Sampled real sounds were more evident on Pipeline than any other tracks and the metallic sounds started creeping in – a sure sign of those hard industrial times ahead.
Track of note: Everything Counts is still a high today. The words may now sound naïve, but the impact of the chorus makes up for it and Dave and Martin’s voices sit well next to each other. The kazoos seen on the TOTP performance weren’t really used – it’s more likely that some cheesy synth preset was responsible. [2]
1984
Things started getting more industrial. Pans got bashed and metal got hit with the arrival of Some Great Reward (5). It spawned People Are People (4), Master And Servant (9) and Blasphemous Rumours (5), making famous Gore’ growing obsessions of death and kinky sex. Rumours abound that he even sang in the nuddy in the studio.
Technology note: Keyboards included a Yamaha DX7, Roland Jupiters and the odd Moog. Emulator IIs were also there, while electronic pads trigger various percussive samples on live outings. Martin used a bicycle wheel on the TOTP performance of Blasphemous Rumours. But kids, we all know it was a sample and not live at all.
Track of note: People Are People could be cited for an early spell of metallic sampling, but the forgotten If You Want has more effected beats and stronger hooks.
1981
Frilly shirt and synth pop were the big things and Depeche Mode arrived just at the right time with the track Photographic on Some Bizzare Album (sic), a compilation. The first “proper” single Dreaming Of Me hit number 57 in the UK chart. New Life (11) followed while Just Can’t Get Enough (8) became an anthem that tarnished Depeche Mode with a synth pop label for years after. The debut album Speak & Spell was full of Vince Clarke’s happy tunes, it reached number 10. It looked to be all over when Clarke then left, but Martin Gore (he of the leather and big blonde hair) took up the reins to move the band forwards and upwards.
Technology note: State of the art (for the time) synths were used for what they were originally intended (none of your acid here, mate) along with simple drum machine rhythms. The monophonic sounds resulted in a sparse production, but Vince’s tunes (and a couple of Gore’s) kept things a-chugging along quite nicely, thank you. Keyboards used include Moog Rogue, Sequential Circuits Pro-One and Yamaha CS01, plus TR0808 drums. There was also that famous live and Top Of The Pops tape machine (either cassette or multitrack) that whirred merrily away as the lads pranced in front of it.
Track of note: New Life is an obvious one. It may have had Vince’s name all over it, but the rolling synth bass, building and falling arrangement and vocal harmonies stayed with Depeche Mode long after his departure.
1982
It was still synthy and still poppy as Gore proved his worth with three top 20 singles: See You (8), The Meaning Of Love (12) and Leave In Silence (16). The album A Broken Frame reached number 8. Alan Wilder joined the band temporarily and stayed for about 15 years. Gore had big curly blonde hair.
Technology note: Instrumentation was still analogue and monophonic, of course, and the change in sound was subtle, but heading to a darker side with the addition of some moody backdrops including tape looks (or early samples?) and other effects.
Track of note: Check out the excellent Shouldn’t Have Done That for “real” sounds and the worthy vocals and moody atmosphere that soon became Gore’s trademark. Nice vocals, too.
1983
Environmental and other serious messages started to creep into the band’s work as the songs got stronger. Get The Balance Right (13), Everything Counts (6) and Love In Itself (21) all scored big time, as did the album Construction Time Again (6). Gore started wearing more leather.
Technology note: It must have been about here that those old Emulator IIs started getting cranked up. Sampled real sounds were more evident on Pipeline than any other tracks and the metallic sounds started creeping in – a sure sign of those hard industrial times ahead.
Track of note: Everything Counts is still a high today. The words may now sound naïve, but the impact of the chorus makes up for it and Dave and Martin’s voices sit well next to each other. The kazoos seen on the TOTP performance weren’t really used – it’s more likely that some cheesy synth preset was responsible. [2]
1984
Things started getting more industrial. Pans got bashed and metal got hit with the arrival of Some Great Reward (5). It spawned People Are People (4), Master And Servant (9) and Blasphemous Rumours (5), making famous Gore’ growing obsessions of death and kinky sex. Rumours abound that he even sang in the nuddy in the studio.
Technology note: Keyboards included a Yamaha DX7, Roland Jupiters and the odd Moog. Emulator IIs were also there, while electronic pads trigger various percussive samples on live outings. Martin used a bicycle wheel on the TOTP performance of Blasphemous Rumours. But kids, we all know it was a sample and not live at all.
Track of note: People Are People could be cited for an early spell of metallic sampling, but the forgotten If You Want has more effected beats and stronger hooks.
1985
Two singles never to appear on any album hit the Top 20 just to keep things ticking over: Shake The Disease (18) and It’s Called A Heart (18). A singles collection followed provocatively titled The Singles 1981-85. (In the US it was rather deftly called Catching Up With Depeche Mode, and eventually the Yanks really did catch up big time).
1986
Gore unleashed some of his darkest ever thoughts on the album Black Celebration (3) which made the band’s previous output look like lovers’ romantic strolls in the park. The themes of lust, sex and death stood out with three Top 30 singles, Stripped (15), A Question Of Lust (28) and A Question Of Time (17). Gore was living in Berlin with his girlfriend, but wearing clothes.
Technology note: Voices on the internet note that a sample of Mute man / part producer Daniel Miller is in evidence here. Mmm, not sure… [1] Other notable effects were the chugging engine on Stripped and the breathing and American commentary on Fly On The Windscreen – Final.
Track of note: Well, two actually. Stripped gets a mention ’cos it shows that, if you use synth leads in the right way, you can induce the endorphins in the brain without the need of a Roland TB-303 (or drugs for that matter). Get the CD for the extra track But Not Tonight which proves the band still liked perfect synth pop at the time. [2] (New Dress is good too, but that makes three, so I won’t mention it.)
1987
Music For The Masses (10) was released. Not the best DM album, but it helped America finally catch up with DM. Two singles Strangelove (16) and Never Let Me Down [sic] (22) continued the chart success.
Technology note: The introduction of more guitar sounds and more polyphony helped keep the sound relevant and harsh, and remove any synth-pop labels the band might still have had. Samples were kept mainly to odd choral, breathy and other vocal effects, including samples of a Russian bloke. Rhythms were mainly still being programmed on drum machines.
Track of note: Never Let Me Down proved that the (relatively) old technology could still strike a chord (or even a single note). A vast arrangement and some soaring synth leads ensured that it is still a live favourite to this day (just check out any of the more recent live videos for proof) although its lyrical content is presumably all about drugs.
1988
More singles for the masses in the form of Behind The Wheel / Route 66 (21) and Little 15 (60). Stateside, Depeche Mode were now bigger than Ronny Reagan and spent most of the year touring. Gore? Unsurprisingly, he still looked the same.
1989
Everything Counts Live (22) was released complete with sheep-like crowd chants. Personal Jesus (13) was the first single from the next studio album, while the 101 live album (number 7, plus the film and video) kept the cash flowing in. Gore released the mini-album Counterfeit (51), which was made up of cover versions including Sparks’ Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth. It didn’t do that well, all things considered.
Two singles never to appear on any album hit the Top 20 just to keep things ticking over: Shake The Disease (18) and It’s Called A Heart (18). A singles collection followed provocatively titled The Singles 1981-85. (In the US it was rather deftly called Catching Up With Depeche Mode, and eventually the Yanks really did catch up big time).
1986
Gore unleashed some of his darkest ever thoughts on the album Black Celebration (3) which made the band’s previous output look like lovers’ romantic strolls in the park. The themes of lust, sex and death stood out with three Top 30 singles, Stripped (15), A Question Of Lust (28) and A Question Of Time (17). Gore was living in Berlin with his girlfriend, but wearing clothes.
Technology note: Voices on the internet note that a sample of Mute man / part producer Daniel Miller is in evidence here. Mmm, not sure… [1] Other notable effects were the chugging engine on Stripped and the breathing and American commentary on Fly On The Windscreen – Final.
Track of note: Well, two actually. Stripped gets a mention ’cos it shows that, if you use synth leads in the right way, you can induce the endorphins in the brain without the need of a Roland TB-303 (or drugs for that matter). Get the CD for the extra track But Not Tonight which proves the band still liked perfect synth pop at the time. [2] (New Dress is good too, but that makes three, so I won’t mention it.)
1987
Music For The Masses (10) was released. Not the best DM album, but it helped America finally catch up with DM. Two singles Strangelove (16) and Never Let Me Down [sic] (22) continued the chart success.
Technology note: The introduction of more guitar sounds and more polyphony helped keep the sound relevant and harsh, and remove any synth-pop labels the band might still have had. Samples were kept mainly to odd choral, breathy and other vocal effects, including samples of a Russian bloke. Rhythms were mainly still being programmed on drum machines.
Track of note: Never Let Me Down proved that the (relatively) old technology could still strike a chord (or even a single note). A vast arrangement and some soaring synth leads ensured that it is still a live favourite to this day (just check out any of the more recent live videos for proof) although its lyrical content is presumably all about drugs.
1988
More singles for the masses in the form of Behind The Wheel / Route 66 (21) and Little 15 (60). Stateside, Depeche Mode were now bigger than Ronny Reagan and spent most of the year touring. Gore? Unsurprisingly, he still looked the same.
1989
Everything Counts Live (22) was released complete with sheep-like crowd chants. Personal Jesus (13) was the first single from the next studio album, while the 101 live album (number 7, plus the film and video) kept the cash flowing in. Gore released the mini-album Counterfeit (51), which was made up of cover versions including Sparks’ Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth. It didn’t do that well, all things considered.
1990
Now we’re getting there. Violator (2) proved to be one of the band’s best (and best-selling) albums. With a more constant, cohesive feel than any previous work it became the peak in the band’s synth sound. The singles Enjoy The Silence (8), Policy Of Truth (16), and World In My Eyes (17) released all did rather well over here and rather well over there, too.
Technology note: Although Violator has many strong synth elements, the arrival of Flood in his co-producer role added a rawness helped by piercing samples and screeching guitars. Drum machines were toned down and their duties shared by some sampled breaks. The synths may not have been updated, but the maturity and evolution of Gore’s songwriting kept the sound fresh.
Track of note: Halo, simply because it hasn’t had as much credit as other tracks. Luverly strings and structure complete with a traditional Mode bass line.
1991
Violator sold six million copies world-wide, keeping Martin in hair-care products for some years to come. All the singles so far (18 in all) were repackaged in three fetching box sets. [3]
1993
The new album Songs Of Faith And Devotion (1) showed the new grungier sound of DM. I Feel You (8), Walking In My Shoes (14) and Condemnation (9) were the singles. Songs Of Faith & Devotion Live followed later.
Technology note: This album saw the introduction of more breaks, guitars and a bit of gospel. The synths were there, albeit in a lesser role. Gear used included a Mini-Moog, an ARP2600, Roland System-700, several Oberheims and Akai samplers (plus the ever-faithful Emulator and Emax samplers). Alan Wilder played drums live while Gore flopped his blonde hair all over a big guitar. Six master keyboards go on tour all blackened up but, to the wise, they look like big Ensonics and Korgs.
Track of note: In 1994, In Your Room (8) charted, one of the Mode’s most emotive tracks yet. Big non-drum-machine drums and a massive climactic build add all the clout you’ll need for shivers.
1997
Barrel Of A Gun hit number four in the UK.
Technology note: With Simenon at the production controls, Ultra is a natural extension from SOFAD with far more guitars in evidence. The band now paints its synths silver which doesn’t make much difference with the Trinity they use on TOTP. A full kit list is available elsewhere in this feature.
Track note: It’s No Good is probable the most accessible track on the album sampler we had and should be a future single. It’s probably the most hi-tech and catchy on Ultra with a vocal that instantly confused us into thinking it was Martin singing. But it’s not, it’s Dave singing slightly higher. We think… [4]
Now we’re getting there. Violator (2) proved to be one of the band’s best (and best-selling) albums. With a more constant, cohesive feel than any previous work it became the peak in the band’s synth sound. The singles Enjoy The Silence (8), Policy Of Truth (16), and World In My Eyes (17) released all did rather well over here and rather well over there, too.
Technology note: Although Violator has many strong synth elements, the arrival of Flood in his co-producer role added a rawness helped by piercing samples and screeching guitars. Drum machines were toned down and their duties shared by some sampled breaks. The synths may not have been updated, but the maturity and evolution of Gore’s songwriting kept the sound fresh.
Track of note: Halo, simply because it hasn’t had as much credit as other tracks. Luverly strings and structure complete with a traditional Mode bass line.
1991
Violator sold six million copies world-wide, keeping Martin in hair-care products for some years to come. All the singles so far (18 in all) were repackaged in three fetching box sets. [3]
1993
The new album Songs Of Faith And Devotion (1) showed the new grungier sound of DM. I Feel You (8), Walking In My Shoes (14) and Condemnation (9) were the singles. Songs Of Faith & Devotion Live followed later.
Technology note: This album saw the introduction of more breaks, guitars and a bit of gospel. The synths were there, albeit in a lesser role. Gear used included a Mini-Moog, an ARP2600, Roland System-700, several Oberheims and Akai samplers (plus the ever-faithful Emulator and Emax samplers). Alan Wilder played drums live while Gore flopped his blonde hair all over a big guitar. Six master keyboards go on tour all blackened up but, to the wise, they look like big Ensonics and Korgs.
Track of note: In 1994, In Your Room (8) charted, one of the Mode’s most emotive tracks yet. Big non-drum-machine drums and a massive climactic build add all the clout you’ll need for shivers.
1997
Barrel Of A Gun hit number four in the UK.
Technology note: With Simenon at the production controls, Ultra is a natural extension from SOFAD with far more guitars in evidence. The band now paints its synths silver which doesn’t make much difference with the Trinity they use on TOTP. A full kit list is available elsewhere in this feature.
Track note: It’s No Good is probable the most accessible track on the album sampler we had and should be a future single. It’s probably the most hi-tech and catchy on Ultra with a vocal that instantly confused us into thinking it was Martin singing. But it’s not, it’s Dave singing slightly higher. We think… [4]
Singing - The Dave Gahan Way
Are there any songs on this album that you feel close to?
Sister Of Night is my favourite, but the most innovative, in terms of what we’ve ever done, is Barrel Of A Gun. It’s least like anything we’ve done, it stretched us and me vocally.
Do you find it easy to sing the new songs?
I never find it easy. It’s a very emotional thing. Everything else is pretty much programmed and it’s all what I call “head-work”. When I sing, I sing from my heart and it’s the human element in Depeche Mode.
Do you find the recording process of the new album enjoyable?
It’s rewarding and enjoyable when I get to sing and hear something back. I’ve worked really hard on this album with my vocals in the last few months and the only person I have to please is myself. On this record there will be probably the best vocal tracks I’ve ever done… We’re spending a lot of time getting them right.
You’ve always wanted to play the guitar. Did you get a chance to play on Ultra?
I’ve been playing quite a bit, but not with DM. Years ago, we used to be very snobby about other bands that used guitars. To be honest, we’ve come full circle now. I think the easiest option is to do what we’ve done on a great number of albums, which is programming, instead of trying to physically do something.
What new elements did you want to have on the album this time?
I don’t think I have that much influence… I’m just a singer (laughs). [5]
Are there any songs on this album that you feel close to?
Sister Of Night is my favourite, but the most innovative, in terms of what we’ve ever done, is Barrel Of A Gun. It’s least like anything we’ve done, it stretched us and me vocally.
Do you find it easy to sing the new songs?
I never find it easy. It’s a very emotional thing. Everything else is pretty much programmed and it’s all what I call “head-work”. When I sing, I sing from my heart and it’s the human element in Depeche Mode.
Do you find the recording process of the new album enjoyable?
It’s rewarding and enjoyable when I get to sing and hear something back. I’ve worked really hard on this album with my vocals in the last few months and the only person I have to please is myself. On this record there will be probably the best vocal tracks I’ve ever done… We’re spending a lot of time getting them right.
You’ve always wanted to play the guitar. Did you get a chance to play on Ultra?
I’ve been playing quite a bit, but not with DM. Years ago, we used to be very snobby about other bands that used guitars. To be honest, we’ve come full circle now. I think the easiest option is to do what we’ve done on a great number of albums, which is programming, instead of trying to physically do something.
What new elements did you want to have on the album this time?
I don’t think I have that much influence… I’m just a singer (laughs). [5]
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Songwriting - The Martin Gore Way
Does the new album move in any major new musical or lyrical direction?
In some way, it’s very different to the last album and it would probably make more sense as a follow-up to Violator. This one's far more heavily electronic-based which is, I think, where our true roots are.
How long does it usually take you to write a song?
Writing demos could sometimes take me a day if I do it very quickly. But there’s a song on the album which I kept trying to do a demo of, but it just never worked. I liked the basic song and I went back to it five or six times and spent a week each time on it. But in the end, I got it to work.
Do you write ideas down or are they visual?
They are usually visual. I wish I did write ideas down more often. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I have a brilliant idea for a song and I remember a couple of cases where I virtually had a full song written. I wake up the next day and can’t remember one line.
Have you ever worried about running out of ideas?
All the time. I’m never convinced that I’m doing something good until the record is out, it’s been reviewed and people are buying it. I remember with the last record I was really unsure playing it to people before its release because when you’ve been working on something for so long you have absolutely no perspective on what’s good or bad. You just hope be trusting your judgement that you haven’t gone astray.
Does the new album move in any major new musical or lyrical direction?
In some way, it’s very different to the last album and it would probably make more sense as a follow-up to Violator. This one's far more heavily electronic-based which is, I think, where our true roots are.
How long does it usually take you to write a song?
Writing demos could sometimes take me a day if I do it very quickly. But there’s a song on the album which I kept trying to do a demo of, but it just never worked. I liked the basic song and I went back to it five or six times and spent a week each time on it. But in the end, I got it to work.
Do you write ideas down or are they visual?
They are usually visual. I wish I did write ideas down more often. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I have a brilliant idea for a song and I remember a couple of cases where I virtually had a full song written. I wake up the next day and can’t remember one line.
Have you ever worried about running out of ideas?
All the time. I’m never convinced that I’m doing something good until the record is out, it’s been reviewed and people are buying it. I remember with the last record I was really unsure playing it to people before its release because when you’ve been working on something for so long you have absolutely no perspective on what’s good or bad. You just hope be trusting your judgement that you haven’t gone astray.
The Current Kit List
Depeche Mode hardly ever talk kit and we had to travel to the ends of the world (via Tim Simenon) to get this list together. It includes just about everything used on the new album Ultra…
Synthesizers
ARP2600 (x4)
Clavia Nord Lead
Korg Prophecy
Korg Trinity
Mini Moog (x2)
Oberheim 4-Voice
Oberheim Matrix 12
Oberheim OB-8
PPG Wave 2.3
Roland JD-800 (x2)
Roland Juno-106
Roland Jupiter-8
Roland System-100m (x2)
Roland System-700
SCI Pro-One
Waldorf Wave
Modules
E-mu Morpheus
E-mu Proteus 2XR
E-mu Vintage Keys
Korg M1R
Korg Wavestation AD
Oberheim Matrix 1000
Roland JV-1080
Yamaha TX802
Sampling
Akai CD3000
Akai S1000 (x2)
Akai S1100
Akai S3200XL
Fujitsu 230 MO Drives
Kurweil K2000R
Olympus 230 MO Drives
Effects (selection)
Boss pedals (various)
Eventide H3000SE
Lexicon PCM-70
Mutator Filter
Mutron Phaser
Mutron wah pedal
MXR phaser
Roger Meyer distortion
Roland Dimension D
Sony HRMP-5
Zoom 9010
Sequencing
ARP 1615
Atari 1040 (hurrah!) running C-Lab Notator (x2)
Atari 1040 running Cubase Score
Hard-disk system
Apple Quadra 650 running Emagic Logic Audio
Digidesign 882 interface
Digidesign SSD
Micropolis hard drive
Opcode Studio 4
Ricoh CD writer
Other
Emerson UPS
Gretsch Anniversary Dobro Resonator Guitar
Groove Electronics MIDI 4 CV
Les Paul copy
Leslie Cabinet
Mackie 1604 (x4)
Mackie 3204
Roland MPU 401 MIDI / CV (x3)
Vox AC30
Chocolate
Dime Bars
Depeche Mode hardly ever talk kit and we had to travel to the ends of the world (via Tim Simenon) to get this list together. It includes just about everything used on the new album Ultra…
Synthesizers
ARP2600 (x4)
Clavia Nord Lead
Korg Prophecy
Korg Trinity
Mini Moog (x2)
Oberheim 4-Voice
Oberheim Matrix 12
Oberheim OB-8
PPG Wave 2.3
Roland JD-800 (x2)
Roland Juno-106
Roland Jupiter-8
Roland System-100m (x2)
Roland System-700
SCI Pro-One
Waldorf Wave
Modules
E-mu Morpheus
E-mu Proteus 2XR
E-mu Vintage Keys
Korg M1R
Korg Wavestation AD
Oberheim Matrix 1000
Roland JV-1080
Yamaha TX802
Sampling
Akai CD3000
Akai S1000 (x2)
Akai S1100
Akai S3200XL
Fujitsu 230 MO Drives
Kurweil K2000R
Olympus 230 MO Drives
Effects (selection)
Boss pedals (various)
Eventide H3000SE
Lexicon PCM-70
Mutator Filter
Mutron Phaser
Mutron wah pedal
MXR phaser
Roger Meyer distortion
Roland Dimension D
Sony HRMP-5
Zoom 9010
Sequencing
ARP 1615
Atari 1040 (hurrah!) running C-Lab Notator (x2)
Atari 1040 running Cubase Score
Hard-disk system
Apple Quadra 650 running Emagic Logic Audio
Digidesign 882 interface
Digidesign SSD
Micropolis hard drive
Opcode Studio 4
Ricoh CD writer
Other
Emerson UPS
Gretsch Anniversary Dobro Resonator Guitar
Groove Electronics MIDI 4 CV
Les Paul copy
Leslie Cabinet
Mackie 1604 (x4)
Mackie 3204
Roland MPU 401 MIDI / CV (x3)
Vox AC30
Chocolate
Dime Bars
In April 1997, Future Music magazine featured a list provided by producer Tim Simenon detailing a variety of studio equipment used by Depeche Mode during the recording of Ultra. Pending a magazine scan of the original article, the contents of this list are compiled from text originally posted on
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by fan Jaakko Suominen, who kindly transcribed the article.