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IN
A RELAXED MODE FOR 'EXCITER'
[Billboard,
19th May 2001. Words: Larry Flick. Picture: Anton Corbijn.]
" You have to feed the monster, if you will, that demands very specific sounds and stylistic elements. But you also have to feed yourself. You have to feel like you're doing more than merely painting by numbers. "
Summary: The band appear detoxed, refreshed and rejuvenated in this interview from Exciter's week of release, discussing the challenges they faced in creating a new Depeche Mode album after twenty years in the business and all the well-known highs and lows. Despite being quite short this is a thoughtful article that manages to be intelligent without getting heavy. [1213 words]
View pages [via depechemode.com]: page 1 page 2
Try
also: "Modus
Operandi" [Detour, May 1997]
Flaunt,
May 2001
This article is part of the Newcomer's Trail [previous item] [next item]
Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, Dave Gahan, and Andrew Fletcher are laughing. The
tension of a long day of glad-handing on behalf of their new disc, 'Exciter'
(Mute/Reprise, May 15), has been broken by a spate of playful jibes and jokes.
Ensconced within the sunny, plush setting of L.A.'s Four Seasons Hotel, the band
exudes a warm, almost familial air that seems uncharacteristic for an act that
has amassed a 20-year catalog of songs about life's darker edges.
"We've seen each other through enough twists and turns over the past 20
years that we are a family," Gore says, referring to a headline-grabbing
history that includes various band members' bouts of drug addiction, alcoholism,
and near-suicidal depression. "We've invested as much in each other as
blood relations."
The laughter that fills their hotel suite indicates that they've come out on the
healing side of the personal drama. "There were days in the not-so-distant
past when I wondered if I was going to be able to proceed with this band,"
Gahan admits. "To be in a place where we're sitting here - feeling happy
and healthy - and talking about a new record is extraordinary. It's quite
humbling, actually."
The members of Depeche Mode may be happier in their personal lives, but 'Exciter
shows the band in classic musical form. Their first collection of new tunes
since 1997's 'Ultra' (between sets, they issued 1998's 'The Singles: '86-'98', a
best-of compilation) is typically moody, always introspective, and often
literate. Gahan continues to be the compelling vocal embodiment of Gore's
hypersensitive, often haunting words.
If there's any significant sign of growth within Depeche Mode's music, it's in
the instrumentation. Although the band is wisely continuing to mine the searing
synth-pop sound that sparked a string of hits ('Just Can't Get Enough', 'People
Are People', and 'Personal Jesus') and helped to shape the electronica movement,
it is now adding elements of traditional blues, retro-funk, progressive rock,
and orchestral pop to its arrangements.
For example, 'Dream On', the first single, is distinguished by nicely detailed
guitar work as well as skittling, staccato beats, while 'The Sweetest
Condition', a strong single option, layers languid slide guitar lines into a mix
of industrialized keyboards and swaying rhythms.
Produced by Mark Bell, 'Exciter' also benefits from such potent tracks as 'When
The Body Speaks', on which a quietly rumbling beat supports delicate guitar
lines and an intimate, almost whispered vocal by Gahan; 'I Am You', wherein
futuristic instrumentation is offset by a hypnotic chorus chant of the words,
"I am you / And you are me" and further enhanced by a sweet midsong
symphonic interlude; and "Goodnight Lovers", a gospel-spiked ballad
that closes the album on a pensive, meditative note.
"After 20 years, making a Depeche Mode record can be quite a
challenge," Fletcher says. "You have to feed the monster, if you will,
that demands very specific sounds and stylistic elements. But you also have to
feed yourself. You have to feel like you're doing more than merely painting by
numbers."
Gore, who remains the band's primary tunesmith, agrees. Yet growth didn't come
easily this time, as he admits to hitting a dry spell while writing material for
'Exciter'. "I started working on songs about a year and a half ago, and I
struggled. I spent the first six months doing nothing. I couldn't get motivated.
I couldn't come up with an idea that worked for me. It was actually quite
frightening."
Then Gore decided to break his typically solitary writing parameters and invited
Bell and the other band members into his process "just to bounce ideas
off", he says. "Having people there provided the pressure I needed to
get rolling. It also pushed me to consider different ideas as I was writing,
which was great - if not a little tension-inducing at times. I'm a naturally shy
person about my music, so it was a challenge to let my ideas flow freely in such
a raw state."
In the end, though, Gore notes that this batch of songs has greatly revitalised
his interest in Depeche Mode. "Some of my favorite songs of the past 10
years are on this album. I'm extremely proud of what we've accomplished this
time."
For Gahan, 'Exciter' is a chance to prove that he's still "got the
goods". He says, "Let's face it, when you've reached the unfortunate
point where you've nearly ended your life - and the world's been watching the
entire time - there comes a minor need to establish and affirm, if only to
yourself, that you can still get the job done."
If anything, Gahan says he is at a point where he's "never felt stronger or
more creatively alive". And, after years of performing Gore's material, he
feels that it's "just about time to write and record some of my own
songs." He adds that the forum for his creative expression is still being
formulated and that it's not likely to surface until after Depeche Mode has put
its latest project to bed.
And 'Exciter' is not likely to be put to bed anytime in the near future. 'Dream
On' is building a solid radio audience in the States - particularly at KROQ Los
Angeles, which recently held a ticket pre-sale for a forthcoming local gig.
The track is also a bona fide smash in Europe, where it's already topped the
charts in Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Germany. It's also reached the top 10
charts in the U.K., Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Austria.
Among the choice bits of international promotion for the project is a special
two-hour radio documentary on the band for BBC London Live. The show aired May
7, and it's now available in streaming form on the band's Web site (depechemode.com).
All of this activity is whetting appetites at retail, where the band remains
popular. "Word-of-mouth has been steadily building on this record for
several months," says Marlon Creaton, manager of Record Kitchen, an indie
outlet in San Francisco. "This band has one of the most loyal followings
I've ever seen."
Those die-hard fans should be pleased that Depeche Mode is hitting the road for
a five-month, 24-country tour this summer. The trek will begin June 15 in
Montreal and finish Oct. 30 in Istanbul, Turkey. Tickets for the tour went on
sale in late March, and sales have been brisk.
This is the band's first road jaunt since 1998's The Singles tour, where it
played to more than 1 million fans in 18 countries, according to the label.
"That was a scary tour for me," Gahan notes. "The pressure was
high. But this one is going to be great."
Fans can expect a typically elaborate show, with longtime artistic collaborator
Anton Corbijn on board to provide stage designs. "Anton is almost like a
member of the band," Fletcher says. "He interprets and dissects our
music in a way that is staggering. He's full of brilliant surprises and lots of
fun."
Right now, a round of brilliant surprises and a lot of fun is precisely what the
members of Depeche Mode are hankering for. "We're ready for anything,"
Gore says with a smile. "This time, we're all going to remember every
moment, every step of the way - and that's the most brilliant part of it
all."
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