June 2000 – February 2001. RAK Studios, Sarm West Studios (London). Sound Design (Santa Barbara). Electric Lady Studios, Sony Music Studios (New York City)
DEPECHE MODE SET TO RETURN IN MAY WITH "EXCITER," THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM SINCE 1997's "ULTRA"; ON BOARD AS PRODUCER IS MARK BELL; "DREAM ON" IS SET AS FIRST SINGLE
DEPECHE MODE have titled their much-anticipated forthcoming album EXCITER, set for release in late May on Reprise. In the words of songwriter MARTIN GORE, sitting in front of the mixing board at a New York City recording studio: "It still has darkness. But I find it more uplifting."
EXCITER signals a new era of creativity for DAVE GAHAN, ANDREW FLETCHER and GORE. The sounds (electronic and acoustic) are strikingly varied, the songs are emotionally rich, and GAHAN's vocals are even more resonant than before.
EXCITER marks the pioneering band's first album of new material since 1997's Ultra (four million sold worldwide), which continued their tradition of creating memorable hit singles ("Barrel of a Gun," "It's No Good") while maintaining the band's musical integrity and vision. EXCITER follows 1998's The Singles 86>98 greatest hits album and world concert trek (The Singles Tour) when the band played 64 shows in 18 countries for 650,000 fans. Every gig on the five-month trek was sold out, including three at New York's Madison Square Garden, two at The Forum in Los Angeles and another pair at the Anaheim Pond. Overseas highlights included two nights at Bercy in Paris, a pair of concerts in Berlin and two more at Wembley in London.
"After our last tour," says GAHAN, "I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I really enjoyed doing the older songs, and I simply embraced them. I felt like, ‘if this is going to be the end,' then it was OK. So recording the new album has been quite a surprise really, to be honest."
GAHAN expresses admiration for producer Mark Bell, with whom they decided to work (for the first time) based on albums he's produced for Bjork (1997's Homogenic and 2000's Selmasongs). "Mark is very musical, and extremely intuitive about working with vocals and what can be done with them. He encouraged me to push further." FLETCHER underlines GAHAN's sentiments: "With Bjork, Mark used her voice almost as an instrument. He works very hard and just seems to have a sense of what is right, both musically and vocally. He's been very important to the making of this record." Says GORE: "Mark doesn't do anything straight-forwardly. He would never do anything that is cliched. Which I think is great. He thinks so differently."
A sense of adventure is at the heart of EXCITER, which was recorded in Santa Barbara, New York City and London. "Dream On"--set as the first single, due out in April--contrasts skittering beats with acoustic guitars. "The Sweetest Condition" mixes a deep groove with a snaky rhythm and mysterious, psychedelic sounds. The tension-building "When The Body Speaks" matches sparely plucked guitars with startlingly intimate vocals by GAHAN who sings, "What the flesh requires keeps the heart imprisoned." Elsewhere, "Breathe," with MARTIN's lead vocal, has a torchy feel. And album closer "Goodnight Lovers" is a different kind of lullaby with bracing lines like "When you're born a lover you're born to suffer."
GAHAN says the tracks on the new album "could have been songs from various different years of DEPECHE MODE. It's almost like a greatest hits of songs that haven't been released yet. I'm not saying they're all going to be very big hits or anything like that. I just feel it is very strong in that way."
On EXCITER, the refreshed GAHAN admits, "I'm a lot more confident vocally. I really wanted to bring something beautiful to these songs. When you're singing a song, it's like you can just disappear into it. It's the only way I can describe it really. And I did that. It's really a luxurious place to be. I wanted to do that with every song. On Ultra I was not able to do that because I wasn't physically able to bring all of myself to it. Now I feel like I'm firing on all cylinders."
FLETCHER, citing the band members' rekindled bond, says EXCITER "feels like a new beginning of sorts. Because of problems in the band during the last two studio albums, the creativity was cut off to a certain extent. Now relations between us are better than they have been for a long time and that has carried over to the album. There is a real feeling of the group working and enjoying each other's company. When you hear the new songs, I think they come across as sounding quite fresh. The new album reminds me of one of our albums, Black Celebration, in that it has lots and lots of good songs that sound completely different from each other but actually work together on one album."
The new, emotionally powerful songs visit a familiar theme. Says GORE: "My songs are about relationships because those are the things that are closest to me. That's the thing that moves me most, the thing I can write about most passionately. All I ever intend to do is move people, to somehow tap into their emotions."
GAHAN has, once again, tapped into the feeling behind GORE's lyrics. "Dave has a voice that is really distinctive," says GORE. "It has a great tone to it, and he has a real aggression which I don't have, and that is really important for a rock star. That is really what Dave brings to our songs. Every voice is a different instrument, and he has a great sort of depth." Says GAHAN: "For me, there are many dimensions to Martin's songs lyrically. I like the graphicness of them and the emotional terrain they cover: love lost, compulsion, control, denial, addiction, lust-all those things that everyone experiences. Martin seems to be able to interpret those things in a way that is believable. And then I make it mine vocally, drawing from my own experiences and emotions."
DEPECHE MODE keep in touch with fans all over the world through the Internet via the band's official website www.depechemode.com. Users can visit the "News" section for progress reports and photos of the band in the studio. In "Archives," fans can read lyrics, listen to past radio interviews and watch videos and concert footage. Fans can also sign up for the "Announcment List," enabling them to receive breaking DEPECHE MODE news via e-mail and take part in monthly contests for special prizes. In addition, there's a "Communications" zone where fans can chat, use the message board or find links to DEPECHE MODE fan sites. In fact, FLETCHER says "I run into so many people who say they met and married through a Depeche Mode web site."
What accounts for the lasting appeal of DEPECHE MODE? They've sold over 50 million albums since 1981 and still have the kind of underground vibe that most superstar acts would kill for. Says FLETCHER: "We've always stuck to the punk and indie ideals we grew up with. We've been allowed to actually go forward and learn. We're very lucky to have this huge fan base which enables us to actually release records that are a bit off the wall." According to GORE: "I can't really explain why we've been so popular for so long. Maybe it's because we've never fit into any one trend." Says GAHAN: "I enjoy the challenge-and I still want it to be a challenge. Otherwise, why bother?"
Depeche Mode about the album's songs
"Dream On"
Andy Fletcher: "We worked on 'Dream On' first and it was probably the first or second song Martin wrote for the album. But I think it's the real defining track of the album: the mixture of electronic beats with acoustic blues guitar and some really good lyrics and a great catchy chorus. So it was great that we recorded that song first and I really think it was important and set the way for the rest of the album."
Martin Gore: "I don't know what the inspiration was behind 'Dream On'. I always hate explaining away songs, because for me they mean something and for other people they'll mean something absolutely different. But I'll tell you about the atmosphere of the song and the way it was created. We were going to take the original demo I just played to Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. I just played it on the guitar and the idea was to not use a guitar at all, just to take it off in a totally different direction. And after we'd been working on it for about four days, we had this real kind of edgy electronic percussion going on in the background and we just cut the original guitar that I'd played in and it just sounded really good, because it was just so different to everything else that was going on in the track." "I've said a million times that I don't really like talking about the songs that much, but what I can say is it's about a lot of people that I know and me. The songs are never about one thing in particular. It's a song about loathing other people and self loathing for me. How have I destroyed that?! "Here's our new single, it's all about self loathing.""
"When The Body Speaks"
Martin Gore: That's right that there are live strings on this track. We were recording in New York and Dave Gahan wanted to get one of his friends there, Knox Chandler, involved in some way. So we had Knox arrange that track, which we thought was suitable because it's one of the more organic-sounding tracks. It was based around the guitar and vocal, really. A lot of the songs on this record have a kind of '50s or '60s influence, in a strange sort of way. They sound sort of current, but there are definitely references to the '50s and '60s in there. I guess "When The Body Speaks" reminds me of the Righteous Brothers playing next door to a rave, because it's got that incessant beat - the bass and the drums going through it. But the actual solo on the top reminds of the Righteous Brothers. It was more because this was one of the more organic-sounding tracks that this song got live strings on it, one of the tracks that was based more on guitar and vocals. It just seemed more natural to continue that sort of thing with some so-called real instruments... I hate that term (laughs).
Dave Gahan: "When The Body Speaks" was a demo where Martin added guitar. We recorded it with me just singing to guitar and we actually kept it that way - built the atmosphere around that and some strings. It's a highlight on the album for me... Usually for a Depeche Mode recording we build the atmosphere first and then my vocals on top of it. And the atmosphere would dictate the way I would go. This was totally opposite.
"The Dead Of Night"
Andy Fletcher: "I played a track to a friend of mine who's not really a Depeche Mode fan. I played him a song called 'Dead of Night' and at the end he was going, "That's the darkest song I've ever heard in my whole life!" And I'm sort of thinking, "This is really uplifting!" (laughs)"
Martin Gore: "I think we've always made weird pop and I think this is another great example of that. I think it won't fit in anywhere, but we never have, so that's not particularly a worry." "A lot of the stuff that we used was contemporary, but of course we used a lot of old stuff as well. 'Dead of Night', for instance: A lot of the sounds for that were created with the EMS Synthi AKS - even that heavy sound at the beginning, which sounds like a guitar, was actually a synth. A lot of people don't realise that you can get those sorts of sounds out of those keyboards."
"Comatose"
Martin Gore: "'Comatose' was one of the weirdest tracks on the record. There's not really a bass going on in that one. There's a lot of really loud hi-hat. The majority of the rest of that backing track was actually a sampled organ that we filtered down until it ended up sounding like a steamboat or something. It works, in a strange kind of way." "The chords were a lot more apparent on the demo. Mark sampled some sound; it was one chord. It was a good idea, and it had a good atmosphere, a good vibe to it, but somehow it didn't work. So we really distorted it. It just went a little bit too far: The chords were lost. That's when we had the idea of sampling each individual chord and doing the same sort of treatment he had on the original sample. That worked."
Andy Fletcher: "It was a Wurlitzer or something - a big organ, with a Leslie. That track was actually fuller at one point, with a more conventional arrangement. We went more minimal."
"I Feel Loved"
Martin Gore: "'I Feel Loved' had a dance theme to it. It was already hinting at a dance-floor thing. But when I actually did the demo, I think it was about 109 beats per minute, and Mark sped it up to 128. We got in a percussion player, and it ended up sounding like Hamilton Bohannon (laughs). Even though the basic song is quite similar to the demo, it's definitely taken on a different meaning. Apart from that, Mark added this really great TC Works Mercury. There are all these great virtual synths at the moment, but the Mercury is fantastic. Mark used it to get that aggressive, growly sound over the top, that really took it somewhere else." "I'll try and explain the lyrics to you. Do you know... when you feel... absolutely like shit? And you feel the worst you've ever felt in your life? And then somehow you think: 'The universe must like me, for making me feel like this'?" (laughs)
"Breathe"
Martin Gore: For 'Breathe', I think it was Mark Bell who decided that I should sing it. He particularly liked the demo."
"Dirt"
Martin Gore: I didn't discover Iggy Pop until about 1977, with 'The Idiot' and 'Lust For Life'. I went back and re-discovered some of his older stuff from The Stooges. Over the years, we haven't really covered too many songs. We covered "Dirt" by The Stooges on one of our B-sides recently. I just think that he always had a sense of humour and this darkness to his music at the same time, which is a hard thing to marry, and I think he always has done that really well.
INFORMATION
EXCITER
-
UK release - May 14th, 2001 (CDSTUMM 190 - CD, STUMM 190 - LP, CSSTUMM 190 - cassette, MDSTUMM 190 - mini disc)
US release - May 15th, 2001 (2-47960 - CD & 4-47960 - cassette)
SINGLES
Dream On
I Feel Loved
Freelove
Goodnight Lovers
VINYL RELEASE
2 x 12" (STUMM190) UK
LP 1
SIDE A OTHER SIDE
01"Dream On" 04:18
02"Shine" 05:29
03"The Sweetest Condition" 03:40
SIDE B THIS SIDE
01"When The Body Speaks" 06:00
02"The Dead Of Night" 04:48
03"Lovetheme" 02:00
LP 2
SIDE C OTHER SIDE
01"Freelove" 06:07
02"Comatose" 03:22
03"I Feel Loved" 04:18
SIDE D THIS SIDE
01"Breathe" 05:16
02"Easy Tiger" 02:05
03"I Am You" 05:05
04"Goodnight Lovers" 03:48
● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE
Barcode:5 016025 311903 >
Label Code:LC 5834
Other A and C:Made in England
Runout etching side A:MPO STUMM 190 A¹ MIKE'S™ - THE EXCHANGE
Runout etching side B:MPO STUMM 190 B¹ MIKE'S™ - THE EXCHANGE
Runout etching side C:MPO STUMM 190 C¹ MIKE'S™ - THE EXCHANGE
Runout etching side D:MPO STUMM 190 D¹ MIKE'S™ - THE EXCHANGE
Vinyl record format:33RPM
Gatefold Sleeve. Matte cover. Comes in two pictures inner sleeves. Made in England. Back sleeve, photo hangs a sign: "Restroom for customers only" The slogan of the album?
MC RELEASE
Cassette (CSTUMM190) UK
A
01"Dream On" 04:18
02"Shine" 05:29
03"The Sweetest Condition" 03:40
04"When The Body Speaks" 06:00
05"The Dead Of Night" 04:48
06"Lovetheme" 02:00
B
01"Freelove" 06:07
02"Comatose" 03:22
03"I Feel Loved" 04:18
04"Breathe" 05:16
05"Easy Tiger" 02:05
06"I Am You" 05:05
07"Goodnight Lovers" 03:48
● BARCODE
Label Code:LC 5834
Barcode:5 016025 411900 >
Cover: Made in England
CD RELEASE
CD (CDSTUMM190) UK
01"Dream On" 04:18
02"Shine" 05:29
03"The Sweetest Condition" 03:40
04"When The Body Speaks" 06:00
05"The Dead Of Night" 04:48
06"Lovetheme" 02:00
07"Freelove" 06:07
08"Comatose" 03:22
09"I Feel Loved" 04:18
10"Breathe" 05:16
11"Easy Tiger" 02:05
12"I Am You" 05:05
13"Goodnight Lovers" 03:48
● MATRIX: RUNOUT / BARCODE
Barcode:5 016025 611904 >
Label Code:LC 5834
Mould SID Code:ifpi 2305
Mastering SID Code:IFPI L122
Runout:Technicolor E0403 CDSTUMM 190 02 1:1
Cover: Made in England
MD RELEASE
MD (MDSTUMM190) UK
01"Dream On" 04:18
02"Shine" 05:29
03"The Sweetest Condition" 03:40
04"When The Body Speaks" 06:00
05"The Dead Of Night" 04:48
06"Lovetheme" 02:00
07"Freelove" 06:07
08"Comatose" 03:22
09"I Feel Loved" 04:18
10"Breathe" 05:16
11"Easy Tiger" 02:05
12"I Am You" 05:05
13"Goodnight Lovers" 03:48
● BARCODE / OTHER
Label Code:LC5834
Barcode:5 016025 511907 >
Cover: Made in England
CD RELEASE
CD and CD-ROM Promotional (Mute – IPKCDSTUMM190) 2001 UK
CD1 - Multimedia CD-ROM. Contains downloadable videos, photos, lyrics, biography, discography and web links. Files for download are contained within the download file. To see what is available, play the multimedia enhanced CD via your PC or Macintosh. CD2 - Audio CD. Contains Depeche Mode interview (answers only). For promotional use only, not for sale.
CD RELEASE
2 x CD and CD-ROM Promotional (Mute – BCDSTUMM190) 2001 UK
10" x 6" x ½" box containing: 1. CD1 - Audio CD Regular Exciter album / 2. CD2 - Multimedia CD contains downloadable videos, photos, lyrics, biography, discography & web links. Files for download are contained within the download file. To see what is available, play the multimedia enhanced CD via your PC or Mac / 3. CD3 - Audio CD contains Depeche Mode interview (answers only) / 4. 2 promo cards 150x150 mm / 5. 2 stickers. Wrapped around the box is a paperboard outer band.
Depeche Mode Exciter with Anton Corbijn, Mark Bell, Gareth Jones, Stephane Sedoui short film.
DEPECHE MODE COMMERCIAL TV
AUDIO | RELEASES
PRODUCTION DETAILS ALBUM
"Dream On" 04:18 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"Shine" 05:29 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"The Sweetest Condition" 03:40 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"When The Body Speaks" 06:00 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh. Solo Cello by Knox Chandler. Strings by Todd C. Reynolds, Joyce Hammann, Natalie Cenovia Cummins, Ralph M. Farris and Leo Grinhauz. String arrangement by Knox Chandler.
"The Dead Of Night" 04:48 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"Lovetheme" 02:00 • Produced by Tim Simenon. Mixed by Tim Simenon and Q. Engineered by Q. Programming by Kerry Hopwood. Keyboards and Keyboard programming by Dave Clayton. Assisted by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Lee Fitzgerald, Tom Rixton, Gary Forde, Lee Phillips, Jamie Campbell, Jim, Greg, Audie Chamberlain and Robbie Kazandijan. Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
"Freelove" 06:07 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh. Percussion by Airto Moreira.
"Comatose" 03:22 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"I Feel Loved" 04:18 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh. Percussion by Airto Moreira.
"Breathe" 05:16 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"Easy Tiger" 02:05 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
"I Am You" 05:05 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh. Drums by Christian Eigner.
"Goodnight Lovers" 03:48 • Produced by Mark Bell. Engineered by Gareth Jones. Pre-production and additional production by Gareth Jones and Paul Freegard. Mixed by Steve Fitzmaurice. Mastered at The Exchange by Mike Marsh.
