1.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
2.
Depeche Mode
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Depeche Mode /dᵻˌpɛʃˈmoʊd/ are an English electronic band that formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group consists of founders Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Depeche Mode released their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981, bringing the band onto the British new wave scene. Original band member Vince Clarke, left the band after the release of the album, leaving the band as a trio to record A Broken Frame, released the following year. Gore took over the songwriting duties and, later in 1982, Alan Wilder officially joined the band to fill Clarkes spot. Depeche Mode have been a trio again since 1995, when Wilder left, the bands last albums of the 1980s, Black Celebration and Music for the Masses, established them as a dominant force on the mainstream electronic music scene. A highlight of this era was the concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. In the new decade, Depeche Mode released Violator, a mainstream success, now a trio once again, the band released Ultra in 1997, recorded at the height of Gahans near-fatal drug abuse, Gores alcoholism and seizures, and Fletchers depression. Depeche Mode have had 50 songs in the UK Singles Chart and thirteen top 10 albums in the UK chart, Q included the band in the list of the 50 Bands That Changed the World. Depeche Mode also rank number 98 on VH1s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Depeche Modes origins date to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a Cure-influenced band called No Romance In China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. Fletcher would later recall, Why am I in the band and it was accidental right from the beginning. I was actually forced to be in the band, I played the guitar and I had a bass, it was a question of them roping me in. In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an Ultravox rip-off band, in 1978–79, Martin Gore played guitar in an acoustic duo, Norman and the Worms, with school friend Phil Burdett on vocals. In 1979, Marlow, Gore and friend Paul Redmond formed a band called the French Look, with Marlow on vocals/keyboards, Gore on guitar and Redmond on keyboards. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke heard Wirral band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, along with OMD, other early influences included the Human League, Daniel Miller and Fad Gadget. Clarke and Fletcher switched to synthesisers, working odd jobs in order to buy or borrow the instruments from friends. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a scout hut jam session, singing a rendition of David Bowies Heroes. When explaining the choice for the new name taken from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode, Gore said, I like the sound of that
3.
A Broken Frame
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A Broken Frame is the second studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 27 September 1982 by Mute Records. The album was entirely by Martin Gore and recorded after the departure of Vince Clarke. Alan Wilder was part of a tour in the United Kingdom occurring prior to the release of this album, but he had not officially joined the band yet. Melody Maker noted that A Broken Frame – as its name suggests – marks the end of a beautiful dream, reviewer Steve Sutherland considered that the songs of A Broken Frame sound like puerile infatuations papering over anonymity with weary words. He found that Shouldnt Have Done That is the only departure from their previous work. The cover artwork is a photograph, but is intended to resemble a painting and it depicts a woman cutting grain in an East Anglian field, near Duxford in Cambridgeshire. It was taken by Brian Griffin using a mixture of natural and artificial lighting, Griffin cited as inspirations Ukrainian and Russian art, especially the work of Kazimir Malevich, and German romantic art. Griffin has displayed on his website a gallery of images from the same shoot. It was featured on the cover of Life Magazines 1990 edition of Worlds Best Photographs 1980–1990, All tracks written by Martin Gore. Some original US CD copies of the album tacked on the intro of The Sun & the Rainfall onto the end of Shouldnt Have Done That, dave Gahan sings lead vocals on all songs except Shouldnt Have Done That which is a duet with Gore. Nothing to Fear and Further Excerpts From, My Secret Garden are instrumental, Mute, DM CD2 / CDX STUMM9 Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer. The track listing is identical to the 1982 UK release, except Satellite which is 4,43 long and contains an edit, or error. Disc 2 is a DVD which includes A Broken Frame in DTS5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, additional Material, Depeche Mode 1982 All songs were written by Martin Gore. While the reviewer for Release Magazine wrote that version was not anything essential but well done. The Electricity Club found influences of And One in the cover of The Sun & the Rainfall and concluded that Marsheaux had used unconventional sounds, reviews from Germany noted that Marsheaux had elaborated on the assetts and downsides of the original release
4.
A-side and B-side
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The terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 78,45, and 33 1/3 rpm phonograph records, whether singles, extended plays, or long-playing records. Creedence Clearwater Revival had hits with both A-side and B-side releases, others took the opposite approach, producer Phil Spector was in the habit of filling B-sides with on-the-spot instrumentals that no one would confuse with the A-side. With this practice, Spector was assured that airplay was focused on the side he wanted to be the hit side, the earliest 10-inch,78 rpm, shellac records were single sided. Double-sided recordings, with one song on side, were introduced in Europe by Columbia Records. There were no record charts until the 1930s, and radio stations did not play recorded music until the 1950s, in this time, A-sides and B-sides existed, but neither side was considered more important, the side did not convey anything about the content of the record. The term single came into use with the advent of vinyl records in the early 1950s. At first, most record labels would randomly assign which song would be an A-side, under this random system, many artists had so-called double-sided hits, where both songs on a record made one of the national sales charts, or would be featured on jukeboxes in public places. As time wore on, however, the convention for assigning songs to sides of the record changed. By the early sixties, the song on the A-side was the song that the company wanted radio stations to play. It was not until 1968, for instance, that the production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom. In the late 1960s stereo versions of pop and rock songs began to appear on 45s. The majority of the 45s were played on AM radio stations, by the early 1970s, double-sided hits had become rare. Album sales had increased, and B-sides had become the side of the record where non-album, non-radio-friendly, with the advent of cassette and compact disc singles in the late 1980s, the A-side/B-side differentiation became much less meaningful. With the decline of cassette singles in the 1990s, the A-side/B-side dichotomy became virtually extinct, as the dominant medium. However, the term B-side is still used to refer to the tracks or coupling tracks on a CD single. With the advent of downloading music via the Internet, sales of CD singles and other media have declined. B-side songs may be released on the record as a single to provide extra value for money. There are several types of material released in this way, including a different version, or, in a concept record
5.
Phonograph record
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The groove usually starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc. The phonograph disc record was the medium used for music reproduction until late in the 20th century. It had co-existed with the cylinder from the late 1880s. Records retained the largest market share even when new formats such as compact cassette were mass-marketed, by the late 1980s, digital media, in the form of the compact disc, had gained a larger market share, and the vinyl record left the mainstream in 1991. The phonograph record has made a resurgence in the early 21st century –9.2 million records were sold in the U. S. in 2014. Likewise, in the UK sales have increased five-fold from 2009 to 2014, as of 2017,48 record pressing facilities remain worldwide,18 in the United States and 30 in other countries. The increased popularity of vinyl has led to the investment in new, only two producers of lacquers remains, Apollo Masters in California, USA, and MDC in Japan. Vinyl records may be scratched or warped if stored incorrectly but if they are not exposed to heat or broken. The large cover are valued by collectors and artists for the space given for visual expression, in the 2000s, these tracings were first scanned by audio engineers and digitally converted into audible sound. Phonautograms of singing and speech made by Scott in 1860 were played back as sound for the first time in 2008, along with a tuning fork tone and unintelligible snippets recorded as early as 1857, these are the earliest known recordings of sound. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, unlike the phonautograph, it was capable of both recording and reproducing sound. Despite the similarity of name, there is no evidence that Edisons phonograph was based on Scotts phonautograph. Edison first tried recording sound on a paper tape, with the idea of creating a telephone repeater analogous to the telegraph repeater he had been working on. The tinfoil was wrapped around a metal cylinder and a sound-vibrated stylus indented the tinfoil while the cylinder was rotated. The recording could be played back immediately, Edison also invented variations of the phonograph that used tape and disc formats. A decade later, Edison developed a greatly improved phonograph that used a wax cylinder instead of a foil sheet. This proved to be both a better-sounding and far more useful and durable device, the wax phonograph cylinder created the recorded sound market at the end of the 1880s and dominated it through the early years of the 20th century. Berliners earliest discs, first marketed in 1889, but only in Europe, were 12.5 cm in diameter, both the records and the machine were adequate only for use as a toy or curiosity, due to the limited sound quality
6.
Compact disc
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Compact disc is a digital optical disc data storage format released in 1982 and co-developed by Philips and Sony. The format was developed to store and play only sound recordings but was later adapted for storage of data. The first commercially available Audio CD player, the Sony CDP-101, was released October 1982 in Japan, standard CDs have a diameter of 120 millimetres and can hold up to about 80 minutes of uncompressed audio or about 700 MiB of data. The Mini CD has various diameters ranging from 60 to 80 millimetres, they are used for CD singles, storing up to 24 minutes of audio. At the time of the introduction in 1982, a CD could store much more data than a personal computer hard drive. By 2010, hard drives commonly offered as much space as a thousand CDs. In 2004, worldwide sales of audio CDs, CD-ROMs and CD-Rs reached about 30 billion discs, by 2007,200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide. In 2014, revenues from digital music services matched those from physical format sales for the first time. American inventor James T. Russell has been credited with inventing the first system to record information on an optical transparent foil that is lit from behind by a high-power halogen lamp. Russells patent application was first filed in 1966, and he was granted a patent in 1970, following litigation, Sony and Philips licensed Russells patents in the 1980s. The compact disc is an evolution of LaserDisc technology, where a laser beam is used that enables the high information density required for high-quality digital audio signals. Prototypes were developed by Philips and Sony independently in the late 1970s, although originally dismissed by Philips Research management as a trivial pursuit, the CD became the primary focus for Philips as the LaserDisc format struggled. In 1979, Sony and Philips set up a joint task force of engineers to design a new audio disc. After a year of experimentation and discussion, the Red Book CD-DA standard was published in 1980, after their commercial release in 1982, compact discs and their players were extremely popular. Despite costing up to $1,000, over 400,000 CD players were sold in the United States between 1983 and 1984, by 1988 CD sales in the United States surpassed those of vinyl LPs, and by 1992 CD sales surpassed those of prerecorded music cassette tapes. The success of the disc has been credited to the cooperation between Philips and Sony, who came together to agree upon and develop compatible hardware. The unified design of the disc allowed consumers to purchase any disc or player from any company. In 1974, L. However, due to the performance of the analog format
7.
Mute Records
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Mute Records is a British record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderman, Inspiral Carpets, Moby, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, Wire, Yeasayer, and Yazoo. During 1978, Daniel Miller began recording music using synthesisers under the name The Normal and he recorded the tracks T. V. O. D. and Warm Leatherette, and distributed them through Rough Trade Shops under the label name Mute Records. The label was formed initially just to release the one single, T. V. O. D. /Warm Leatherette became a cult hit ensuring the future of the label. Warm Leatherette was later covered by Grace Jones and Chicks on Speed, after meeting Robert Rental, Miller began recording and playing live as Robert Rental & The Normal. In 1979 the band went on tour supporting the punk band Stiff Little Fingers, in 1980, Miller released the single, Kebab-Träume, by the German band Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, who had recently moved to London. The bands 1980 album, Die Kleinen und die Bösen, was the first album released by the new label, the album had the catalogue prefix STUMM, a play on the record labels name, meaning mute in German. This prefix would continue to be used through most of the labels album catalogue, also in 1980, Miller recorded and released the cover single, Memphis Tennessee, under the name Silicon Teens. The band was Miller’s realisation of a dream Mute Records group, in mid-1980, Mute Records released the Silicon Teens album, titled Music For Parties. Around this time the artist Fad Gadget had begun recording new demos and this was released as a single in 1980, followed by the next single Rickys Hand and the album Fireside Favourites recorded at Blackwing Studios. September 1980 saw the release of the double-holed, multi-speed 7 single by Non & Smegma, Boyd Rice went on to release several more recordings with Mute Records. After touring with Daniel Miller as Robert Rental & The Normal, Robert Rental released his only Mute Records single, Double Heart, a rare, remaining trace of this late electronic music pioneer. Miller approached Depeche Mode in 1980, after seeing them perform in London, wanting them to record a single for his label and their loyalty to Mute was reciprocated by the label’s rapid expansion to cope with their success. In defiance of the recording labels predictions of failure, Depeche Mode became a successful charting band worldwide. The bands consistency was unbroken even by the departure of principal songwriter Vince Clarke, Martin Gore took over the main songwriting role, opening the band up to different influences and sustaining their creativity as a band. Mute continued to other experimental artists, such as NON, releasing an album of Boyd Rices pre-NON recordings. 1982 began with the release of the 12-inch single, Rise, by Boyd Rice, Fad Gadget released his third album for the label, titled Under the Flag, influenced by the current Falklands War and the feeling of being British in the most unseemly of times. The album spawned the singles For Whom the Bells Toll and Life on the Line, Mute Records big commercial success of 1982 was the band Yazoo, the duo of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet
8.
Songwriter
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A songwriter is an individual who writes the lyrics, melodies and chord progressions for songs, typically for a popular music genre such as rock or country music. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the term tends to be used mainly for individuals from the classical music genre. The pressure from the industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with a gift for creating original melodies, pop songs may be written by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own publishers, while others have outside publishers. The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by university degrees and college diplomas, a knowledge of modern music technology, songwriting elements and business skills are necessary requirements to make a songwriting career in the 2010s. Several music colleges offer songwriting diplomas and degrees with music business modules, the legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or transferred. This is governed by international copyright law, song pitching can be done on a songwriters behalf by their publisher or independently using tip sheets like RowFax, the MusicRow publication and SongQuarters. Skills associated with song-writing include entrepreneurism and creativity, songwriters who sign an exclusive songwriting agreement with a publisher are called staff writers. In the Nashville country music scene, there is a staff writer culture where contracted writers work normal 9-to-5 hours at the publishing office and are paid a regular salary. This salary is in effect the writers draw, an advance on future earnings, the publisher owns the copyright of songs written during the term of the agreement for a designated period, after which the songwriter can reclaim the copyright. In an interview with HitQuarters, songwriter Dave Berg extolled the benefits of the set-up, unlike contracted writers, some staff writers operate as employees for their respective publishers. Under the terms of work for hire agreements, the compositions created are fully owned by the publisher. In Nashville, young writers are often encouraged to avoid these types of contracts. Staff writers are common across the industry, but without the more office-like working arrangements favored in Nashville. All the major publishers employ writers under contract, songwriter Allan Eshuijs described his staff writer contract at Universal Music Publishing as a starter deal. His success under the arrangement eventually allowed him to found his own publishing company, so that he could. keep as much as possible, songwriters are also often skilled musicians. In addition to selling their songs and musical concepts for other artists to sing, songwriters need to create a number of elements for a song
9.
Martin Gore
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Martin Lee Gore is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, producer, remixer, and DJ. He is a member of Depeche Mode and has written the majority of their songs. His work now spans four decades. In addition to composing music and writing lyrics for the majority of Depeche Modes songs and he has been a backing singer on many others. In 1999, Gore received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for International Achievement, Martin Lee Gore was born in Dagenham, Essex in England. Gores biological father was an African-American G. I. stationed in Britain, Gore was raised by his stepfather and biological mother. He believed his stepfather was his father until age 13. When he was 13, he learned that his father was an African-American serviceman and, as an adult. Gore responds to the information and is quoted in Millers book saying, It brings up family traumas. He left Nicholas Comprehensive, Basildon in 1977 and took a job as a bank cashier. During evenings, weekends and any spare time, he was involved with the local band Norman. Gore has two younger half-sisters, Karen, born in 1967, and Jacqueline, born in 1968, in 1980, Gore met Andy Fletch Fletcher at the Van Gogh club. Fletcher recruited Gore into his band Composition of Sound along with Vince Clarke, soon the band drafted Dave Gahan to be the lead singer after hearing him sing Heroes by David Bowie. Clarke left Depeche Mode in late 1981, shortly after the release of their debut album Speak & Spell, Clarke wrote most of the album, with Gore contributing two tracks, Tora. Tora. and the instrumental Big Muff, any Second Now features Gores first lead vocals for the band. Gore sings lead vocals on several of the songs, notably ballads. When Clarke announced his departure from Depeche Mode in 1981, citing the pressures of fame and creative differences, Gore had been writing material since the age of 12. Songs Gore wrote for Depeche Modes second album, A Broken Frame differed musically and lyrically from Clarkes, Gores writing became gradually darker and more political on subsequent Depeche Mode albums
10.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
11.
Blackwing Studios
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Blackwing Studios was an English recording studio, most notable for early Depeche Mode and Yazoo recordings in the early 1980s. The Blackwing Studios complex was housed inside a church in South-East London. All Hallows church was destroyed during The Blitz in 1941. After the war Southwark Cathedral retained the north aisle and carried on using it as a temporary church, the destroyed south aisle was later turned into gardens and maintained by local residents from 1968. Blackwing was started by Eric Radcliffe, who worked on most of the early Mute Records recordings alongside Daniel Miller, Daniel Miller had discovered Blackwing when recording the Silicon Teens album. He required a studio with a big room where he could set up all his synthesisers. At the rear of the building was a bell tower that was used for storing master tapes. Daniel Miller carried on using Blackwing to record other new Mute Records artists, the first Depeche Mode album, Speak and Spell, was recorded at Blackwing using a TEAC eight track recorder. The album was engineered by John Fryer, Yazoo named one of their albums after the studio, Upstairs at Erics due to the main Blackwing studio being above Splendid Studios located downstairs. When Clarke initially came to Blackwing to record with Yazoo he found that the studio was fully booked and he had the choice of recording at 4am during studio downtime, or building another studio. This is how Splendid Studios came about and it was a private studio below the commercial Blackwing studios upstairs. After the split of the band Yazoo, Vince Clarke decided he wanted to remain in the music industry and his initial enterprise after Yazoo was the formation of his own record label called Reset Records. The enterprise was a joint effort with Eric Radcliffe, the idea being to sign and produce new acts from their independent Splendid Studios, the recordings were then licensed to RCA Records for release. Blackwing Studios closed down in September 2001 and the building has been empty ever since, however, this may soon not be the case as Southwark Council have been submitting plans since 2005 to redevelop the site with a four-storey development of private flats. When Eric Radcliffe opened Blackwing he initially used an eight track TEAC for recording artists, a second recorder was acquired and locked together with the initial machine giving Blackwing 32 tracks of recording. This system was used for early recordings by Yazoo and Depeche Mode. The system was eventually rationalised when two 24 track machines were purchased, one for Blackwing and one for Splendid Studios, downstairs, Blackwing used an Amek 2500 mixing desk which was modified to work with electronic instruments. All the equipment at Blackwing and Splendid Studios was designed to be patchable through patch bays, Vince Clarke installed a Fairlight CMI into Blackwing, which he had bought before the Yazoo tour, and used it on tracks like Never Never by The Assembly
12.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
13.
Alan Wilder
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Alan Charles Wilder is an English musician, composer, arranger and record producer, known as a former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the project called Recoil became his primary musical enterprise. Wilder has also provided production and remixing services to the bands Nitzer Ebb and he is a classically trained musician and renowned contemporary music producer. Alan Charles Wilder was born into middle class family and was raised in Acton and he began piano at the age of eight, through the encouragement of his parents. Later on, he learned the flute at St Clement Danes Grammar school, after school, Alan worked as a studio assistant at DJM Studios. This led to him ending up working for such as The Dragons, Dafne and the Tenderspots, Real to Real, The Hitmen. Following the departure of Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode placed an advertisement in the music magazine Melody Maker, even though the ad was looking for someone under 21 he lied about his age to get the job, and got away with it. He joined Depeche Mode in January 1982, initially as a tour keyboardist, Wilder wrote a handful of songs for Depeche Mode, including Two Minute Warning and The Landscape Is Changing from the album Construction Time Again, and If You Want from the album Some Great Reward. However, Wilders more notable contributions to Depeche Mode were as a musician, arranger, in addition to playing synthesizer throughout his time with Depeche Mode, Wilder also played piano on the bands signature ballad Somebody, and oboe on the bands hit anthem, Everything Counts. For the recording of the album Songs of Faith and Devotion, for Enjoy the Silence from the album Violator, Wilder is credited with taking Martin Gores melancholy ballad-esque demo and re-envisioning the song as a percolating, melodic dance track. The resulting single went on to one of the most commercially successful songs in Depeche Modes history. My decision to leave the group was not an easy one particularly as our last few albums were an indication of the potential that Depeche Mode was realizing. Unfortunately, within the group, this level of input never received the respect, whilst I believe that the calibre of our musical output has improved, the quality of our association has deteriorated to the point where I no longer feel that the end justifies the means. I have no wish to cast aspersions on any individual, suffice to say that relations have become strained, increasingly frustrating and, ultimately, in certain situations. Given these circumstances, I have no option but to leave the group and it seems preferable therefore, to leave on a relative high, and as I still retain a great enthusiasm and passion for music, I am excited by the prospect of pursuing new projects. The remaining band members have my support and best wishes for anything they may pursue in the future, after his split from Depeche Mode, Wilder was approached by Robert Smith with an offer to join The Cure. According to Wilder himself, the possibility was offered on behalf of The Cure by Daryl Bamonte and he briefly reunited with Depeche Mode during the Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 17 February 2010, and enjoyed a rapturous reception. During the encore, Wilder accompanied Martin Gore on piano for Somebody, Gore returned the favour and played a DJ set on one of Recoils Selected Events
14.
Julien Temple
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Julien Andrew Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. Temple was born in Kensington, London, the son of Landon Temple and his sister is politician Nina Temple. He was educated at St Marylebone Grammar School, William Ellis School and he grew up with little interest in film until, when a student at Cambridge, he discovered the works of French anarchist director Jean Vigo. This, along with his interest in the punk scene in London in 1976, led to his friendship with The Sex Pistols. Temples first film was a documentary called Sex Pistols Number 1. This led to Temple making The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, as band members Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious had left the band by this time, the story of the group is told from the viewpoint of their manager, Malcolm McLaren. The Great Rock And Roll Swindle tells of the rise of The Sex Pistols, apparently as manipulated by McLaren, many of the facts given by McLaren were disputed by John Lydon, who accused McLaren of using the film to attack him personally. This helped split opinion on the film as, although it was praised for attempting to capture some of the scene of the time. Controversy aside, Temple was praised for his mix of animated scenes, documentary footage and this helped launch Temple into a career making music videos, something for which he would be best known for much of his career. In 1983, Temple directed a film for the BBC Arena series called Its All True and this was followed by Temples next theatrical release, the short film Jazzin for Blue Jean featuring David Bowie which was released as a support feature to The Company of Wolves. In 1986, Temple directed the film version of Colin MacInnes book Absolute Beginners, one of the most expensive films in British history, the fate of the studios involved were dependent on the success of the film. The film was panned in the UK. As it was a musical, rather than an adaptation of the book, it was attacked for a lack of narrative. Absolute Beginners was financially unsuccessful and was responsible for the Goldcrest company going bankrupt. Temple found himself being blamed personally for the failure and he moved to the United States, where he was offered the film Earth Girls Are Easy, as well as a series of music videos for such artists as Duran Duran, Janet Jackson, Neil Young and Tom Petty. Temple returned to the UK in the late 1990s, where he continued to make films, Vigo, Passion for Life recounts the passionate relationship between French film maker Jean Vigo and his wife Lydou, who both suffered from Tuberculosis. The film was not well received, a reviewer in Sight & Sound commented that the film although absolutely faithful to the facts, is absolutely dreadful. This time the film was made with the cooperation of the surviving members of the band
15.
Some Great Videos
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Some Great Videos is the first music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring ten music videos directed by Clive Richardson or Peter Care, released in 1985. It coincides with The Singles 81>85, there are ten videos in the original version, the first video Just Cant Get Enough, and all videos from Everything Counts in 1983 to Its Called a Heart in 1985. Theres also a live video of Photographic, and the US release includes the video to A Question of Lust. To coincide with the rerelease of The Singles 81>85, Some Great Videos was re-released as Some Great Videos 81>85, the track list is the same as the original UK version, but the artwork is all from the rereleased Singles 81>85. Contains the same listing as the 1985 release. Notes All songs were written by Martin Gore except Just Cant Get Enough, though a video for the single version of People are People was made, the label decided to use the Different Mix of the video. The original video was never released on a video until the DVD The Best Of. Photographic is taken from the video The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg, All videos were directed by Clive Richardson except Shake the Disease and Its Called a Heart which were directed by Peter Care. All the videos by Julien Temple, were not included in the compilation and this includes See You, The Meaning Of Love, and Leave in Silence. Alan Wilder once commented on the videos, when asked about them on his website, though Get the Balance Right was not directed by Temple, it wasnt included either as it wasnt very well liked by the band as well. Some Great Videos at the Internet Movie Database
16.
Andy Fletcher (musician)
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Andrew John Leonard Fletcher, popularly known as Fletch, is an English keyboard player and founding member of the electronic band Depeche Mode. In the late 1970s, Fletcher and schoolmate Vince Clarke formed the short-lived band No Romance in China, in 1980, Fletcher met Martin Gore at the Van Gogh Pub on Paycocke Road in Basildon. With Clarke, the trio, now all on synthesizer, formed another group called Composition of Sound, Clarke left the group in late 1981, shortly after the release of their debut album Speak & Spell. Their 1982 follow-up, A Broken Frame, was recorded as a trio, musician & producer Alan Wilder joined the band in late 1982 and the group continued as a quartet until Wilders departure in 1995. Since then, the trio of Gahan, Gore and Fletcher have remained active, most recently with the release of their 2017 album Spirit. Fletchers role within Depeche Mode has often been a topic of speculation, in early incarnations of the band, he played bass. As the band evolved after Vince Clarkes departure in 1981, Fletchers role changed as each of the members took to the areas that suited them. In a key scene in D. A. Pennebakers 1989 documentary film about the band, Fletcher clarifies these roles, Martins the songwriter, Alans the good musician, Daves the vocalist and he is the only member of the band who has not received a songwriting credit. Fletcher, however, always has and continues to play a role within the band. With the band having not always employed a manager, Fletcher has handled many of the bands business, legal. In recent years, this has included acting as the bands spokesperson and he is also said to be the member who is the tiebreaker and the one that brings the band together. In the studio and during shows, Fletcher does contribute a variety of supporting synthesizer parts, including bass parts, pads, strings and drone sounds. However, he is notably the only member of Depeche Mode who does not sing, although he can be seen singing in videos of Depeches past live performances, usually Fletchers vocals were either mixed very low or heard only through his own stage monitors. On the bands 2013/14 Delta Machine Tour, vocal mics were no longer present on his keyboard station, on studio recordings, however, Fletchers supporting vocals can be heard in some form or another on the majority of all Depeche Mode albums released since 1981. According to anecdotes from various members of Depeche Mode, an Andy Fletcher solo album entitled Toast Hawaii was recorded in Berlin during the Some Great Reward sessions in 1984, according to these anecdotes, all the songs on the album are cover songs on which Fletcher sings lead vocals. The album allegedly features Alan Wilder and/or Martin Gore on piano, the story then goes that Gore & Wilder presented the album to Mute Records Daniel Miller and pleaded for him to release it. In reality, this album is almost certainly an in-joke, although it is not entirely unlikely that during studio downtime from serious work. In 2002, Fletcher launched his own label, a Mute Records imprint called Toast Hawaii
17.
Dave Gahan
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David Dave Gahan is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the baritone lead singer of the electronic band Depeche Mode since their debut in 1980. He is also a solo artist, releasing albums in 2003 and 2007. Three of these songs were released as singles, including Suffer Well in 2005, Hole to Feed in 2009, in 2012 and 2015, he also contributed lyrics and sang lead vocals on the Soulsavers albums The Light the Dead See and Angels & Ghosts. Q magazine ranked Gahan no.73 on the list of the 100 Greatest Singers, Gahan was born as David Callcott into a working-class family, to parents Len Callcott of Malaysian descent and his wife Sylvia, Dave was only six months old when his father left the family. Sylvia and Len divorced two years later and his mother moved Dave and sister Sue to Basildon, Essex, after Sylvia met, the Gahan family continued to grow with the birth of two more half-brothers Peter and Phil. Dave and Sue were raised under the impression that their mothers second husband, in 1972, when Gahan was 10 years old, his stepfather died. Gahan recalled how he came one day and found this bloke at home. Of the incident, he has said, Ill never forget that day, when I came home from school, there was this stranger in my mums house. My mother introduced him to me as my real dad, I remember I said, that was impossible because my father was dead. How was I supposed to know who that man was, from that day on, Len often visited the house, until one year later he disappeared again. Since then he had no contact with us, by growing older, I thought about him more and more. The only thing my mother would say, was that he moved out to Jersey to open a hotel. Mum had kept it back from me til there was a need to tell me about my father, its a different generation. He enjoyed the thrill of stealing cars, driving them around, Gahan tells of the time, I was pretty wild. I loved the excitement of nicking a motor, screeching off, hiding behind the wall with your heart beating gives you a real kick – will they get you. In his final year at school, he applied for a job as an apprentice fitter with North Thames Gas. He was told by his officer to be honest with the interviewer. As a result, he did not get the job which and his punishment was weekend custody at a sub-Borstal attendance centre in Romford for one year
18.
Vince Clarke
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Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the composer and musician of the band Erasure since 1985. Vincent John Martin was born in South Woodford, London and then he moved to Basildon and he initially studied the violin and then the piano, but he was inspired to make electronic music upon hearing Wirral synth band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Along with OMD, other influences included The Human League, Daniel Miller. In the late-1970s, Clarke and schoolmate Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China. In 1980, he teamed up with Robert Marlow and Martin Gore to form French Look, another band, named Composition of Sound, followed in 1980 with another addition of Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher. Clarke provided vocals until singer Dave Gahan joined the band, which was renamed Depeche Mode, at that time, he adopted the stage-name Vince Clarke, by which he is currently known. The band initially adopted a slick synthesized electropop sound, which produced the album Speak and Spell, Clarke left Depeche Mode shortly thereafter. There were many rumoured reasons pertaining to his departure and he commented on Depeche Modes later material as being a little dark for his taste, but good nonetheless. Clarke also stated that he did not enjoy the public aspects of success, such as touring and interviews, Clarke was replaced by musician Alan Wilder and Depeche Mode went on to achieve international stardom. Yazoo split in 1983, and Moyet went on to have a solo career. Yazoo reformed in 2008 for a series of dates to celebrate 25 years since the duos split. Meanwhile, he founded the label Reset Records with Eric Radcliffe and they also produced an album, which was shelved but was released much later in 1999 under the name The Peter Pan Effect. In 1985, another took place with Paul Quinn of Bourgie Bourgie. However, the project never took off, and Clarke moved on to other projects, in early 1985, Clarke put an ad in Melody Maker for a singer, and one applicant was Andy Bell, who was a fan of his earlier projects. Blue Savannah, Chorus, Love to Hate You, Take a Chance on Me, in 2006, Erasure produced a country-western style acoustic album consisting of mostly non-single cuts from their previous albums. This album, Union Street was preceded by the single Boy originally included on their 1997 Cowboy album. On 26 January 2007, in a message on the official Erasure website
19.
Speak & Spell (album)
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Speak & Spell is the debut studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 5 October 1981 by Mute Records. The album peaked at number 10 in the UK Albums Chart and this is the bands only album with Vince Clarke and as a result, was much lighter in tone than future Depeche Mode albums. This was the only Depeche Mode album with Vince Clarke as a member of the band, Clarke wrote most of the songs for the band, before departing to form Yazoo and later Erasure. The album is significantly lighter in tone and melody than their later work, after he left, Martin Gore took over songwriting duties, writing almost all of the bands material. Later albums written by him would explore darker subjects and melodies, the album title alludes to the then-popular Speak & Spell electronic toy. When interviewed by Simon Amstell for Channel 4s Popworld programme in 2005, Gore, melody Maker praised the album, saying the singles New Life and Just Cant Get Enough sound as fresh and unflagging as every new number of their time. In a five-star review, Record Mirror noted that the album is composed by eight sparkling songs and one instrumental, much to admire and little to disappoint. In a less enthusiastic review for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau called the album catchy, one-dimensional nonsense that crosses Meco, Gary Numan, and Kraftwerk. He did however favorably compare New Life to Brian Eno, the album was re-released on 3 April 2006 as part of Mutes extensive Depeche Mode reissue schedule. This special edition release was a double disc set that included a Hybrid SACD/CD and this format included the album in 5 formats - multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD, PCM stereo CD, DTS5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1. In the United States, the album was not re-released until 2 June 2006, the US version was only a CD rather than a SACD/CD Hybrid, though it still included the DVD which was identical to the European one. The re-release somewhat preserves the album as it was originally intended, as such, while it is mostly the same as the British version, North America got a completely new version with some songs that have never been released there. For example, New Life was the version, not a remix. However, Dreaming of Me, the very first single which was not on the original album, was put at the end. The four bonus tracks on the original CD release in the UK, were omitted from the re-issued CD, also included was a 28-minute documentary about the making of the album entitled Depeche Mode, 1980–1981 featuring interviews with the group and other relevant personnel such as Daniel Miller. There is various footage of the appearances on Top of the Pops including their very first appearance from 1981 performing New Life. There is also vintage BBC footage of the Speak & Spell Tour from the same year, the remastered album was released on deluxe vinyl in March 2007. For all versions, all songs were written by Vince Clarke, Tora. and Big Muff written by Martin Gore
20.
Construction Time Again
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Construction Time Again is the third studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 22 August 1983 by Mute Records. This was the first Depeche Mode album with Alan Wilder as a band member. The title comes from the line of the first verse of the track Pipeline. It was supported by the Construction Time Again Tour, the album was recorded at John Foxxs Garden Studios in London, engineered by Gareth Jones and mixed at the Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin. In January 1983, shortly before the release of the Get the Balance Right, single, songwriter Martin Gore attended an Einstürzende Neubauten concert, giving him the idea to experiment with the sounds of industrial music in the context of pop. This album introduced a transition in lyrical content for the group, Construction Time Again would include a bevy of political themes, sparked by the poverty Gore had seen on a then-recent trip he had taken to Thailand. NME hailed the album, saying that Everything Counts is Modes best ever single, and undeniably one of their biggest hits. It sold because it combines edgy and poignant melodies held in thrilling tension, a tough, urgent dancebeat, and the same goes for every other track on the album. All songs written and composed by Martin Gore, except where noted, credits adapted from the liner notes of Construction Time Again
21.
Some Great Reward
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Some Great Reward is the fourth studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 24 September 1984 by Mute Records. The album peaked at five in the United Kingdom and at number fifty-four in the United States. The title comes from the last lines of the bridge in Lie to Me when it repeats near the end, the album was supported by the Some Great Reward Tour. Its just that they should be so much better, in 2006, Some Great Reward was re-released with a bonus DVD. The CD was remastered and was released on a CD/SACD hybrid, the bonus DVD includes the B-sides In Your Memory and Remotivate Me in addition to a remix of Somebody and several live versions of some of the songs from the album. The DVD also includes a documentary on the making of the album, the remastered album was released on deluxe vinyl in March 2007. All tracks written by Martin Gore, except If You Want, video Audio Credits adapted from the liner notes of Some Great Reward. Album information from the official Depeche Mode web site Allmusic review Official remaster info
22.
Black Celebration
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Black Celebration is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records. To promote the album, the band embarked on the Black Celebration Tour, three years after its release, Spin ranked it at number 15 in its list of The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time. Contemporary reviews for Black Celebration in the British press were mixed, betty Page of Record Mirror felt that the band should be admired for their refusal to follow anything but their own fashion and unswerving ability to come up with great, fresh melodies. Black Celebration has since been reappraised in retrospective reviews, in 2007, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone referred to the album as an instant classic for the bands fans that at the time of its release had seemingly been utterly ignored by everybody else. In 2007, Black Celebration was re-released with a bonus DVD and it was released as a part of the third wave of re-issues. The first CD was remastered and released on a CD/SACD hybrid, there are also several live versions of some of the songs from Black Celebration. The album is released the way it was intended and ends with New Dress. Like the other re-issues, the DVD includes a documentary on the album, the title is Martin paraphrasing Daniel Miller about his demos for Black Celebration in the film. The double-documentary discusses both The Singles 81→85 and Black Celebration, its more challenging commercial success and all five related singles and it also includes a plethora of behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Black Celebration and the ensuing tour. Highlights include the band meeting The Cure, and behind the scenes footage of several of the music videos, the documentary is nearly an hour long. It was released 20 March 2007 in the US,26 March in the UK and 2 April in the rest of Europe, the remastered album was released on deluxe vinyl on 2 April 2007 in Europe and on 11 September 2007 in the United States. All tracks written by Martin Gore, except Black Day written by Gore, Alan Wilder and Daniel Miller, credits adapted from the liner notes of Black Celebration. Album information from the official Depeche Mode web site Allmusic review Official remaster info
23.
Music for the Masses
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Music for the Masses is the sixth studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 28 September 1987 by Mute Records, and was supported by the Music for the Masses Tour, with Millers approval, the band co-produced the album with David Bascombe, who had previously worked as a recording engineer with Tears For Fears and Peter Gabriel. Band members Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore both explained the title was conceived as a joke. Everyone is telling us we should make more music, so thats the reason we chose that title. According to Gore, the title was a joke on the uncommerciality of and it was anything but music for the masses. The megaphone on the cover was used during the breadth of the albums release, at press events, on the covers of the albums singles. Alan Wilder gave credit to Martyn Atkins, who had been a longtime Depeche Mode collaborator, for the use of the megaphone. Up with this idea of a speaker, but, to give the kind of ironic element which the title has and it was, in fact, the opposite. So you end up with this kind of thing where you get these speakers or megaphones in the middle of a setting that doesnt suit it at all. The deserted natural setting in question being Peak District, an early alternative cover was rejected for the album. The rejected cover was designed by Martyn Atkins and a test pressing copy was auctioned off by Alan Wilder in 2011. The re-release preserves the album as it was originally intended, thus, the four bonus tracks do not appear on the SACD, but appear on the DVD. The DVD also features all B-sides from the Music for the Masses era, but unlike the album and the bonus tracks, the documentary features new facts on the album, and also an extensive look at the film 101. The re-release was released on 3 April 2006 in Europe, the US version was delayed to 2 June 2006 and is only available on a CD + DVD format, with no SACD. The DVD on all the versions are region independent however, so one can import the SACD version without worrying about the DVD being incompatible. The remastered album was released on deluxe vinyl 2 March 2007 in Germany and 5 March 2007 internationally, according to Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani, Music for the Masses showed the gloomier side of the post-punk synthpop scene during the 1980s and was a success with both critics and consumers. This was the point at which Depeche Mode were first taken seriously, alternative Press called the record articulate, intricate electronic music that lacked the tinny feel of DMs early synth pop. Music for the Masses was listed by Slant Magazine at number 75 on their list of Best Albums of the 1980s, all songs written by Martin Gore
24.
Violator (album)
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Violator is the seventh studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 19 March 1990 by Mute Records. Preceded by the hit singles Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence, the album yielded two further hit singles, Policy of Truth and World in My Eyes. Violator is the bands first album to reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and it was supported by the World Violation Tour. Compared to previous efforts, the decided to try a new approach to recording. Alan Wilder said, Usually we begin the making of a record by having extensive pre-production meetings where we decide what the record will actually sound like and this time we decided to keep all pre-production work to a minimum. We were beginning to have a problem with boredom in that we felt wed reached a level of achievement in doing things a certain way. Martin Gore elaborated, Over the last five years I think wed perfected a formula, my demos and we decided that our first record of the 90s ought to be different. With co-producer Mark Flood Ellis, Wilder began a working relationship, with Flood able to provide the technical know-how and Wilder working on the arrangements. Thats how we made the work at that time, clarified Wilder, by accepting that we all had different roles. So we ended up with this agreement in the band. Then Fletch and Mart would go away, and theyd come back after wed worked on it for a while to give an opinion, there was also a notable change in Gores demos. After the rigid, limiting effects of almost-finished demos for Music for the Masses, Gore, heeding to Wilders request, several of the basic recordings consisted of vocals over simple guitar or organ part, with the odd percussion loop but less sequenced material. The sparse demos allowed the band to take liberties with the songs. For instance, Enjoy the Silence started out as a slow ballad, the band convened to work on the record with Flood at Mutes WorldWide programming room in London for three weeks after which they flew to Milan for the new sessions at Logic studios. According to Flood, they didnt do substantial amount of work in Milan, except for the song Personal Jesus, everybody was feeling each other out, because they wanted to try working in a different way. The idea was to hard and party hard and we all enjoyed ourselves to the full. After Milan the band relocated to Puk studios in northern Denmark, Martin called the track World in My Eyes a very positive song. Its saying that love and sex and pleasure are positive things, the song Blue Dress, which Gore called pervy, is simply about watching a girl dress and realising that this is what makes the world turn
25.
Songs of Faith and Devotion
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The album incorporated a more aggressive, darker rock-oriented tone than its predecessor, Violator, largely influenced by the emerging alternative rock and grunge scenes in the United States. Upon its release, Songs of Faith and Devotion reached number one in several countries, to support the album, Depeche Mode embarked on the fourteen-month-long Devotional Tour, the largest tour the band had ever undertaken to that date. Recording the album and the subsequent tour exacerbated growing tensions and difficulties within the band, prompting Alan Wilder to quit, the ordeal had exhausted their creative output following the enormous success they had enjoyed with Violator, leading to rumours and media speculation that the band would split. Depeche Mode subsequently recovered from the experience, and released Ultra in 1997, Songs of Faith and Devotion was recorded over eight months in a rented villa in Madrid during 1992, as well as later sessions in Hamburg and London. A studio was set up in the basement of the villa, the recordings from the kits could then be processed through synthesizers, such as the large Roland System 700 the band had installed in the studio. The band had become aware of getting caught in easy routines in the leading to boredom. For making Songs of Faith and Devotion, the band wanted the sound to be looser, embellishments like reversed cymbals were added later at the behest of Wilder, who often suggested such experimentation. Further techniques used in recording included the piano on the outro to the track Mercy in You. The introduction of the track Judas has uillean pipes recorded with reversed reverberation mixed into the sound, to achieve a haunting, walking in My Shoes included a piano part which was processed through a guitar processor to add distortion. A harpsichord sample was played and recorded over the top, giving a unique. The sound produced was very embryonic, however it gave the band a direction as to how the track should sound, guitars were processed through devices such as Leslie tone cabinets, originally designed for organs, to achieve different sounds. Following the success of Violator and the subsequent tour, the band had taken a break from each other. Upon returning, they found it difficult to collaborate, with several factors contributing to the difficult atmosphere that the band experienced recording the album. Fletcher described the living together as claustrophobic, and the lack of a break from each other as a factor in contributing to the stress. Gore felt pressured to write tracks that could live up to the success of the album, Violator. Since then, Gahan had also developed an addiction, which slowed the recording process. The band also began to jam together, something which they had not previously done in terms of album writing, the lack of success of coming up with musical ideas from such jams led to intense frustration. Unlike the previous albums, there was very little pre-production, where the band would listen to demos created by Gore, Flood recalls the lack of pre-production as a big mistake that adversely affected the early recording sessions
26.
Ultra (Depeche Mode album)
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Ultra is the ninth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 14 April 1997 by Mute Records. It is the bands first album since the departure of Alan Wilder, Wilders departure and lead singer Dave Gahans drug problems, which culminated in a near-fatal overdose, had caused many people to speculate that the band was finished. This is their first album as a trio since 1982s A Broken Frame, Ultra debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and at number five on the Billboard 200. By April 2006, the album had sold 584,000 copies in the United States, the project was initially conceived as an EP. In 1999, Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 50 on his list of The Top 136 or so Albums of the Nineties, to promote the release of the album the band played two short concerts in London and Los Angeles, titled Ultra Parties. The London concert took place on 10 April 1997 at Adrenalin Village, the Shrine show was produced by Philip Blaine whose 1500 Records was at that point compiling the soon to be released Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses. The shows featured Christian Eigner on drums and Dave Clayton on keyboards, the Los Angeles show was filmed by MTV but the performance was never broadcast in its entirety. The first disc is a version of the original album. The second disc is a DVD which features the album in DTS5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, the B-sides from the albums singles can be listened to as well, including the standalone single Only When I Lose Myself and its B-sides. Finally, like the albums, there is a documentary on the making of Ultra titled Depeche Mode 95–98. The documentary begins with discussion from all parties of Wilders departure before moving on to early album sessions despite Dave Gahans drug issues present, eventually, it moves on to Gahans death and rehab. The documentary then covers the recording of Ultra and ends with a discussion on The Singles 86>98, the remastered version of the album was released on deluxe vinyl 30 March 2007 in Germany and 1 October 2007 internationally. All songs written by Martin L. Gore, disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer. Disc 2 is a DVD which includes Ultra in DTS5.1, Dolby Digital 5
27.
Exciter (album)
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The album was produced by Mark Bell of Björk and LFO fame. The album also launched the Exciter Tour, one of the bands most successful tours, Exciter debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart and at number eight on the Billboard 200, selling 115,000 copies in its first week in the US. It is the only Depeche Mode album to debut higher in the US than in the UK, as of April 2006, Exciter had sold more than 426,000 copies in the US, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album was also certified Gold in Canada for shipments of 50,000 units, the remastered album was released on deluxe vinyl 30 March 2007 in Germany and 1 October 2007 internationally. The plant that appears on the cover is the agave attenuata and it is used to produce tequila. On 2 October 2007 Exciter was re-released in a set, along with Ultra, in the fourth. The first disc was a version of the original, on an SACD/CD hybrid. The second disc is a DVD which features the album in DTS5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, the B-sides from Exciter as well as the single version of Freelove are included. There are also versions of all the live Exciter tracks played during the One Night in Paris movie. Like the other reissues, there is a documentary on the making of Exciter titled Depeche Mode 1999–2001, the documentary begins with the talks of Martin Gores writers block and what they did about it. It also discusses the first three singles, the recording, the art and the Exciter tour. The documentary is around 30 minutes long, the three members of the band are interviewed along with Daniel Miller, Christian Eigner, Peter Gordeno, Anton Corbijn, and Mute label representatives. The documentary ends with a To Be Continued, producer Mark Bell does not appear, and although they discuss the fact that the band decided not to have Corbijn direct Exciters music videos, they do not interview the two who did direct them. However, John Hillcoat, who directed I Feel Loved, Freelove, all songs written by Martin Gore. Mute, DMCD10 Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer, Disc 2 is a DVD which includes Exciter in DTS5.1, Dolby Digital 5. Joy Machine List of number-one albums of 2001 List of number-one hits of 2001 Album information from the official Depeche Mode web site Allmusic review Official remaster info
28.
Playing the Angel
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It was supported by the Touring the Angel tour. Playing the Angel is the first Depeche Mode album to lead singer Dave Gahan as co-writer. He wrote the lyrics to Suffer Well, I Want It All and Nothings Impossible, while Christian Eigner, Gahan is the lead singer on all songs except for the instrumental Introspectre, and Martin Gore-sung tracks Macro and Damaged People. Gahan also sings backing vocals on Macro, which was the first time he had sung backing on one of Gores songs since Violators Sweetest Perfection, the title Playing the Angel is taken from a lyric in the closing song The Darkest Star. It is the fourth Depeche Mode album to get its name from a lyric in one of its songs, the album has been called a more organic record for using more analogue synths than digital ones. In addition, most of the soundscapes presented are harsher and groovier than the more mellow Exciter, in mid-July 2005, the unfinished video for Precious was leaked online. It is believed to have leaked through the website of the production team that helped make the video. Other songs include Free, which ended up on the Precious single, there is also a documentary on the making of the album. The album was released on vinyl as double LP housed in gatefold sleeve. The iTunes deluxe edition of the album has several bonuses, including another version of a Violator track, Waiting for the Night. People who placed the album on pre-order were eligible to participate in a ticket pre-sale for most Touring the Angel concerts, the character on the album cover is a little creature called Tubby Goth and Mister Feathers. The cover design by Anton Corbijn is believed to be a tip of the hat to a still photograph of The Cures Robert Smith circa Boys Dont Cry. Playing the Angel received positive reviews, E. Online and Entertainment Weekly gave the album high scores. Indie music website Pitchfork gave the album a review but criticized its lack of innovation. However, there are negative reviews, Rolling Stone magazine rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of five. The album was ranked number twenty on E. Onlines Top 20 Albums of 2005 list, Playing the Angel debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 32,505 copies in its first week. In the United States, the album debuted at seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 98,000 copies. Playing the Angel had sold 418,000 copies in the US as of November 2007, by January 2007, the album had sold 1.6 million copies worldwide, according to EMI
29.
Sounds of the Universe
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Sounds of the Universe is the twelfth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 April 2009 by Mute Records. It was supported by the 2009–10 concert tour Tour of the Universe, three singles were released from the album, Wrong, Peace, and a double A-side of Fragile Tension and Hole to Feed. Perfect was also released in the US as a promotional single, as with the previous album, Playing the Angel, Dave Gahan has once again written three songs with Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott, Hole to Feed, Come Back and Miles Away/The Truth Is. Spacewalker and the bonus track Esque are instrumentals, the B-side Oh Well is the first track ever to be co-written by Gore and Gahan. The final track Corrupt is followed by a hidden instrumental version of the song Wrong. While Dave Gahan was still busy with his solo album Hourglass, Martin Gore was in his studio in Santa Barbara, California. In May 2008 the band hit the studio to record their studio album. Ben Hillier took the reins again, because the band were so satisfied with their previous collaboration on Playing the Angel. The band described the time in the studio as very productive, Five of the songs not used on the album were released as part of the deluxe box set. Short video clips of the band and production team at work in the studio were posted on the bands homepage. Sounds of the Universe received generally positive reviews music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph noted that the shows up the imaginative constraints of most guitar-based rock. Bill Stewart of PopMatters wrote that Depeche Mode tempt us with a strong first half, Sounds of the Universe debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 30,537 copies—the bands highest-peaking album since chart-topping Ultra. In the United States, the album debuted at three on the Billboard 200, selling 80,000 units in its first week. The album was ranked number 200 on the Billboard 200 year-end chart for 2009. Sounds of the Universe was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards, the albums sleeve design was voted number ten on the 2009 Best Art Vinyl poll. All tracks written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted, contains the standard 13-track album on two LPs, as well as a CD of the album
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Delta Machine
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Delta Machine is the thirteenth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 22 March 2013 by Columbia Records and Mute Records. It is the bands first album released under Columbia, recorded in 2012 in Santa Barbara, California and New York City, the album was produced by Ben Hillier and mixed by Flood. A deluxe edition was released, containing a bonus disc with four bonus tracks. Heaven was released as the lead single on 31 January 2013. The second single from the album, Soothe My Soul, was released on 10 May 2013, followed by Should Be Higher on 11 October 2013. Following the albums release, Depeche Mode embarked on the Delta Machine Tour, which kicked off in Nice, France, on 4 May 2013, according to Dave Gahan, Delta Machine marks the end of the trilogy of records that Depeche Mode were recording with producer Ben Hillier. The album is Martin Gore and Gahans thematic continuation to a dark, gloomy, the Quietus writer Luke Turner viewed it as the bands most powerful, gothic, twisted, electronic album since Violator. Delta Machine received generally positive reviews music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications. Benjamin Boles of Now proclaimed it as the best album of career and found that the find the band leaping in thrillingly unexpected directions. Mat Smith of Clash noted, The freshness comes through in the delivery, rolling Stones Jon Dolan stated that the album celebrates brooding faith and slippery solace without scrimping on Depeches trademark blackstrobe punishment. Andy Gill of The Independent panned Delta Machine as the bands weakest album in some while, bleed into your dreams, the more the sculpted electronic backdrops seem like curtains hiding the puniness of the wizards wielding the machines. The Observers Kitty Empire viewed that a kind of blood-red synthetic blues bubbles to the fore, it blows hot, emily Mackay of the NME commented, Things improve with the defter Soft Touch/Raw Nerve and Soothe My Soul, but Delta Machine sounds like its just warming up. Delta Machine debuted at two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 28,450 copies in its first week. It slipped to number 14 the following week, selling 7,146 copies, in the United States, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number six with 52,000 copies sold in its opening week, earning the band their seventh top 10 album on the chart. The album debuted at one on the German Albums Chart with first-week sales of 142,000 units. In France, Delta Machine debuted on the French Albums Chart at number two, selling 52,000 copies, the album sold 8,200 copies to debut at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart. All tracks written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted, credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of Delta Machine
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People Are People (album)
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This release contained nine tracks, six of which were re-released from previous albums or singles and three of which were new tracks for the American audience. The track Work Hard was originally released as the B-side on the Everything Counts single, love, in Itself is also included in a slightly different form. The version included on this release is the same as the album version and it was also the first time the 7 version of Leave in Silence was released in the United States. The album was released on LP and CD with the band name. These names were added to the covers for later re-releases. Allmusic were mixed in their reception to the album, rating the two and a half stars out of five. All songs written by Martin Gore, except for Work Hard, written by Martin Gore, all songs sung by David Gahan, except Pipeline, sung by Martin Gore. Album information from the official Depeche Mode web site Allmusic review
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The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1
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The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 is a greatest hits album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 8 November 2006 by Mute Records. The album has sold one million copies in Europe alone and has been awarded the IFPI Platinum Europe Award. A few of the videos feature songs that were not on The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1, the cover art has a pink flower rather than the white flower depicted on the cover of the regular CD. The electronic press kit contains commentary on all the singles made it onto the CD release of The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1. On 16 March 2007, the DVD was released on its own as The Best of Videos Volume 1
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101 (album)
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Band member Alan Wilder is credited with coming up with the name, the performance was the 101st and final performance of the tour. The film was directed and produced by D. A. Pennebaker, the bands original concept for the film was going to be about how Depeche Mode fit into the 1980s. After discussions with a director, they came to the conclusion that the choice was going to do something too glossy. At this point, they reached out to renowned documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker. Much to the chagrin of fans, the film does not depict the full Rose Bowl concert, but instead shows interspersed snippets of the band, the bus kids and live performances recorded throughout the tour. The 2003 DVD reissue included more footage, but as Pennebaker was shooting a documentary, not a concert film. Pennebaker used his direct approach, which he described as letting the camera run as unobtrusively as possible. You edit more and the film changes every three days, but were very nice and patient about it. Pennebaker admitted there was a similarity between Depeche Mode and some of the other artists hed filmed before, I found the audience very rapt, they were there for that band. I got the feeling that there was no other band theyd ever go out for again in that assemblage. Due to the prominence of the bus kids in the film, it is considered to be the impetus for the reality craze that swept MTV in the following years, including The Real World. In 2003, Mute Records reissued 101 as a hybrid SACD, in essence, the two-disc set contained 101 in three formats - multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD and PCM stereo. The multi-channel audio was presented in 5.1 and gave a representation of the live experience. The SACD was not released in North America, due to pressing errors, however, the first run of the set was marred by a mis-encoded multi-channel SACD layer that skipped and was unlistenable on the first disc. The stereo SACD and CD audio layers were unaffected, as a bonus hidden track, the multi-channel layer also included the full version of Pimpf. In 2003, the film was released on a two-disc DVD with the film on the first disc, including a new commentary track with Pennebaker, Hegedus. The second disc contained all-new interviews with Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, all three interviews were conducted separately by Pennebaker & Hegedus. Interviews with Daniel Miller, band manager Jonathan Kessler, and three of the bus kids were also included, special bonus features included isolated video footage of the Rose Bowl concert, including previously unreleased footage
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Songs of Faith and Devotion Live
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Songs of Faith and Devotion Live is Depeche Modes live album recorded during their worldwide Devotional tour and was released on 6 December 1993. Even though live tracks were used for the Condemnation single and the Mute Tonal Evidence 6 tape and this album was not successful commercially and was poorly received by critics. Reaching only #46 in the UK, it managed a peak in the U. S. selling a mere 114,000 units there as of April 2006. A near-complete concert of this tour was released on the Devotional video in 1993, in comparison to Songs of Faith and Devotion, Songs and Faith and Devotion Live received less acclaim from music critics, Allmusic rated the album two stars out of five. All tracks recorded live in Liévin, Stade Couvert Régional on 29 July 1993, with the exception of Get Right With Me, album information from the official Depeche Mode web site Allmusic review
