Music Is The Answer
[Mixmag, November 2005. Words: Ralph Moore. Pictures: Courtesy of MBC.]
The mighty synth-rock legends, Depeche Mode, unveil the records that made them the men they are today…
Name: Depeche Mode, aka Andy Fletcher, Martin Gore, Dave Gahan
Born: All in Essex, England [1]
Job: Musicians
Did you know? #1 Depeche don’t do tour buses any more. Fletch says: “We don’t have a tour bus, we have a plane. But we have done buses in the past!”
Did you know? #2 Martin Gore was a paperboy and worked in a Tesco supermarket as a teenager. “I also worked in a bank for a year before the band took off.”
Favourite new album…
Goldfrapp
“Supernature” (Mute)
Martin: “I find I’m listening to ‘Supernature’, the new Goldfrapp album, a lot at the moment – now there’s a little plug for our record label! I just think that the electronic production that’s gone into making it is really good, This album is modern-day retro, if you like.”
First record bought…
Slade
“Cum On Feel The Noize” (Warner)
Dave: “Oh man, I know this is nothing cool – but I was really into Slade as a kid. I definitely bought ‘Goodbye To Jane’, ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ in particular. But there were probably some gimmicky songs out before that, which I bought as well!”
If all else fails…
Depeche Mode
“Just Can’t Get Enough” (Mute)
Andy: “This track may have come out in 1983 but for me personally, if all else fails you’ve got to bring out the Schizo Mix of ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’. [2] I DJ now and it’s true, you can’t go wrong with this tune. It’s not my fault that people love us on the dancefloor!”
Favourite remix…
Depeche Mode
“Precious” (Motor Mix) (Mute)
Martin: “Motor are Novamute’s new act. We got them to do this mix of our new single. Their album is very good, although it’s not out yet. I just like their energy, it’s raw.”
Dave: “I really liked Goldfrapp’s mix of ‘Halo’. It was like, wow! They really made a beautiful piece of music. Better than we did!”
A song that makes me cry…
John Lennon
“Imagine” (EMI)
Dave: “There is not one song in particular that moves me more than any other track does. Though I do have to say that ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon is an incredibly beautiful, inspiring record. It doesn’t make me cry, but it does make me want to write better songs.”
Fave movie soundtrack…
Ennio Morricone
“The Mission” OST (Virgin Records)
Martin: “My favourite film soundtrack is ‘The Mission’. I think it’s very emotional and very evocative. The only thing that I dislike is that the best track sounds like it should be an amazing nine-minute epic and it’s only two minutes long. It builds to a crescendo and then stops.”
Favourite new artist…
The White Stripes
“Get Behind Me Satan” (XL)
Dave: “The White Stripes are phenomenal. They’re totally different to anything else that’s out there. They don’t fit into the popular music scene in any way, shape or form but they still manage to do their own thing. I love the fact that they don’t follow any rules.”
Album that changed my life…
Elvis
“Golden Records Vol 1” (Sony BMG)
Martin: “For me, there were two records that changed my life. My cousin gave me ‘Ziggy Stardust’ so Bowie’s a big influence. Before that I was into rock’n’roll because I had my mum’s old record collection. [3] My mum owned Elvis Presley’s ‘Golden Records Volume One’, which I still listen to now.”
Biggest influence…
David Bowie
“Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” (EMI)
Dave: “Although the first record I bought was by The Damned, the biggest influence is still ‘Ziggy Stardust’ for me. In terms of thinking, listening to it and escaping to some place that David Bowie lived, this is the one. I love Bowie, he’s still my biggest musical icon.”
What’s playing at home…
Marvin Gaye
“What’s Going On” (Motown)
Dave: “Is there a new song I like right now? That’s really difficult! There’s no music I hear that catches my ear, apart from maybe The Arcade Fire or The White Stripes. All I hear coming out of my son Jimmy’s room is Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye – and he’s only thirteen. [4] He plays ‘What’s Going On’ more than anything.”
We Wish We’d Never Made…
Depeche Mode
“A Broken Frame” (Mute)
Andy: “You sometimes have to make bad records before you make good ones. There were a couple of bad tracks on ‘Speak And Spell’ I suppose.”
Martin: “I think three quarters of ‘A Broken Frame’ can go by the wayside!”
Andy: “But even ‘Broken Frame’ was an important step towards the next album.”
Mixmag recommends…
Depeche Mode
“Violator” (Mute)
This was the album that took the band from cult stardom to superstardom back in 1990. Although later albums “Songs Of Faith” and “Ultra” had their moments, the quadruple singles-whammy that included ‘Enjoy The Silence’ just couldn’t be beaten. Bands like The Bravery and The Killers owe their careers to Depeche Mode.
Depeche Mode’s new album ‘Playing The Angel’ is out now.
['Playing The Angel' review]
Depeche Mode “Playing The Angel” (Mute)
Let’s get the tricky bit out of the way. The last Depeche Mode album “Exciter” was a little, well, uneventful. And when you still hold the crown as the biggest synth-rock outfit in the world, that’s not good enough. Thankfully this “…Angel” soars. Produced by Blur cohort Ben Hillier, it’s the sound of a band rejuvenated, relevant and genuinely excited. The opening triple salvo of “Pain”, “John The Revelator” and “Suffer Well” is a musical call to arms not heard since “Violator”. Stripped of the underwhelming mixes, “Precious” is their best in years. It does tail off towards the end but for a band 25 years into their career to sound in such rude health is good news.
Burn this: “Precious”, “John The Revelator”, “Nothing’s Impossible”
Like this? Try other Depeche classics like “Ultra” or “Violator” (both on Mute)
[Mixmag, November 2005. Words: Ralph Moore. Pictures: Courtesy of MBC.]
The mighty synth-rock legends, Depeche Mode, unveil the records that made them the men they are today…
Name: Depeche Mode, aka Andy Fletcher, Martin Gore, Dave Gahan
Born: All in Essex, England [1]
Job: Musicians
Did you know? #1 Depeche don’t do tour buses any more. Fletch says: “We don’t have a tour bus, we have a plane. But we have done buses in the past!”
Did you know? #2 Martin Gore was a paperboy and worked in a Tesco supermarket as a teenager. “I also worked in a bank for a year before the band took off.”
Favourite new album…
Goldfrapp
“Supernature” (Mute)
Martin: “I find I’m listening to ‘Supernature’, the new Goldfrapp album, a lot at the moment – now there’s a little plug for our record label! I just think that the electronic production that’s gone into making it is really good, This album is modern-day retro, if you like.”
First record bought…
Slade
“Cum On Feel The Noize” (Warner)
Dave: “Oh man, I know this is nothing cool – but I was really into Slade as a kid. I definitely bought ‘Goodbye To Jane’, ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ in particular. But there were probably some gimmicky songs out before that, which I bought as well!”
If all else fails…
Depeche Mode
“Just Can’t Get Enough” (Mute)
Andy: “This track may have come out in 1983 but for me personally, if all else fails you’ve got to bring out the Schizo Mix of ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’. [2] I DJ now and it’s true, you can’t go wrong with this tune. It’s not my fault that people love us on the dancefloor!”
Favourite remix…
Depeche Mode
“Precious” (Motor Mix) (Mute)
Martin: “Motor are Novamute’s new act. We got them to do this mix of our new single. Their album is very good, although it’s not out yet. I just like their energy, it’s raw.”
Dave: “I really liked Goldfrapp’s mix of ‘Halo’. It was like, wow! They really made a beautiful piece of music. Better than we did!”
A song that makes me cry…
John Lennon
“Imagine” (EMI)
Dave: “There is not one song in particular that moves me more than any other track does. Though I do have to say that ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon is an incredibly beautiful, inspiring record. It doesn’t make me cry, but it does make me want to write better songs.”
Fave movie soundtrack…
Ennio Morricone
“The Mission” OST (Virgin Records)
Martin: “My favourite film soundtrack is ‘The Mission’. I think it’s very emotional and very evocative. The only thing that I dislike is that the best track sounds like it should be an amazing nine-minute epic and it’s only two minutes long. It builds to a crescendo and then stops.”
Favourite new artist…
The White Stripes
“Get Behind Me Satan” (XL)
Dave: “The White Stripes are phenomenal. They’re totally different to anything else that’s out there. They don’t fit into the popular music scene in any way, shape or form but they still manage to do their own thing. I love the fact that they don’t follow any rules.”
Album that changed my life…
Elvis
“Golden Records Vol 1” (Sony BMG)
Martin: “For me, there were two records that changed my life. My cousin gave me ‘Ziggy Stardust’ so Bowie’s a big influence. Before that I was into rock’n’roll because I had my mum’s old record collection. [3] My mum owned Elvis Presley’s ‘Golden Records Volume One’, which I still listen to now.”
Biggest influence…
David Bowie
“Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” (EMI)
Dave: “Although the first record I bought was by The Damned, the biggest influence is still ‘Ziggy Stardust’ for me. In terms of thinking, listening to it and escaping to some place that David Bowie lived, this is the one. I love Bowie, he’s still my biggest musical icon.”
What’s playing at home…
Marvin Gaye
“What’s Going On” (Motown)
Dave: “Is there a new song I like right now? That’s really difficult! There’s no music I hear that catches my ear, apart from maybe The Arcade Fire or The White Stripes. All I hear coming out of my son Jimmy’s room is Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye – and he’s only thirteen. [4] He plays ‘What’s Going On’ more than anything.”
We Wish We’d Never Made…
Depeche Mode
“A Broken Frame” (Mute)
Andy: “You sometimes have to make bad records before you make good ones. There were a couple of bad tracks on ‘Speak And Spell’ I suppose.”
Martin: “I think three quarters of ‘A Broken Frame’ can go by the wayside!”
Andy: “But even ‘Broken Frame’ was an important step towards the next album.”
Mixmag recommends…
Depeche Mode
“Violator” (Mute)
This was the album that took the band from cult stardom to superstardom back in 1990. Although later albums “Songs Of Faith” and “Ultra” had their moments, the quadruple singles-whammy that included ‘Enjoy The Silence’ just couldn’t be beaten. Bands like The Bravery and The Killers owe their careers to Depeche Mode.
Depeche Mode’s new album ‘Playing The Angel’ is out now.
['Playing The Angel' review]
Depeche Mode “Playing The Angel” (Mute)
Let’s get the tricky bit out of the way. The last Depeche Mode album “Exciter” was a little, well, uneventful. And when you still hold the crown as the biggest synth-rock outfit in the world, that’s not good enough. Thankfully this “…Angel” soars. Produced by Blur cohort Ben Hillier, it’s the sound of a band rejuvenated, relevant and genuinely excited. The opening triple salvo of “Pain”, “John The Revelator” and “Suffer Well” is a musical call to arms not heard since “Violator”. Stripped of the underwhelming mixes, “Precious” is their best in years. It does tail off towards the end but for a band 25 years into their career to sound in such rude health is good news.
Burn this: “Precious”, “John The Revelator”, “Nothing’s Impossible”
Like this? Try other Depeche classics like “Ultra” or “Violator” (both on Mute)