Press Info (English):
VCMG release EP3 / Aftermaths on 20 August 2012, with remixes from Vince Clarke, LFO, Alva Noto and more.
Taken from Ssss, out on Mute now and voted # 2 in The Quietus’ recent Albums of the Year So Far, the project is the long awaited reunion of electronic pioneers Vince Clarke (Erasure/ Yazoo/ Depeche Mode) and Martin L. Gore (Depeche Mode), who joined forces for the first time in over thirty years to craft a 10-track album which demonstrates their mutual love of electronic music.
Following on from the remix packages available for EP1 / Spock and EP2 / Single Blip, remixes for EP3 / Aftermaths come from techno pioneer LFO, aka Mark Bell, who produced Depeche Mode’s Exciter and Alva Noto, aka Carsten Nicolai, multi disciplinary artist and co-founder of the Raster-Noton label whose forthcoming project, Diamond Version (with Olaf Bender aka Byetone), will be released on Mute. The digital release features additional remixes from Vince Clarke, Gesaffelstein who has recently remixed Zombie Zombie and Sweden’s Christoffer Berg, whose previous remixes inc Moby and Metronomy.
Press Info (German):
VCMG, Vince Clark und Martin L. Gore, veröffentlichen die dritte und letzte EP aus dem Album “Ssss”. “Aftermaths” erscheint am 17. August und beinhaltet unter anderem Remixe von Vince Clarke, LFO und Alva Noto.
Ssss, das Album der beiden Electro-Pioniere Vince Clarke (Erasure / Yazoo / Depeche Mode) und Martin L. Gore (Depeche Mode), markiert die erste Zusammenarbeit der beiden seit etwa 30 Jahren. Hier feiern und demonstrieren sie ihre gemeinsame Liebe zur elektronischen Musik. Gekrönt wurde sie unter anderem von Quietus, wo Ssss einen 2ten Platz in der Kategorie ‚Albums of the Year So Far’ belegen durfte.
Die Remixes auf “EP3 / Aftermaths” kommen von Techno Pionier LFO aka Mark Bell, der Depeche Modes “Exciter” produzierte und Alva Noto aka Carsten Nicolai, dem inter-disziplinärem Künstler und Mitbegründer des legendären Raster-Noton Labels, über dessen aktuelles Projekt, DIAMOND VERSION (mit Olaf Berger aka Byetone) noch zu reden sein wird. Die digitale Version des Releases von “EP3…” wird weitere Remixes von Vince Clarke, Gesaffelstein und Christoffer Berg enthalten.
Content USB stick: 01)
Full 84 minute stereo soundtrack – choice of 24bit wav, 16bit Apple Lossless, FLAC or 320 kbps mp3
02)
3 x ‘A Strange Hour 2′ reconstructions – stereo audio – choice of 24bit wav, 16bit Apple Lossless, FLAC or 320 kbps mp3
03)
Extended trailer for ‘A Strange Hour In Budapest’ – approx 5 minutes : 1080p HD mp4
04)
24 page Blu-ray Art booklet including additional spreads – PDF format
05)
Over 100 x high res Recoil live photographs and film stills
06)
Project wallpapers for smartphone, iPad and computer screen
Info:
On June 1st, in conjunction with Umatik Entertainment, Recoil will release the concert film ‘A Strange Hour In Budapest’ on Blu-ray. This is a full HD production with 5.1 surround sound & stereo audio mixed by Alan Wilder and Paul Kendall.
‘A Strange Hour’ was presented during 2010 & 2011 in 52 cities across the world as part of the ‘Selected Events’ tour to celebrate 25 years of the Recoil project.
Directed and edited by Attila Herkó, ‘A Strange Hour In Budapest’ will be delivered as a Blu-ray only format, presented in two editions: a ‘Red edition’ black case with twin-option reversible cover, and a limited DVD-sized deluxe digi-pack. Each contains a 16-page booklet packed with information & photo manipulations by Ákos Szénási. With the first 1000 copies individually numbered, both editions feature extra promotional films & live projections.
Pre-order NOW via the Recoil Official Store (http://www.store.recoil.co.uk). All on-line orders are dispatched with an exclusive code to receive downloadable extras such as a PDF art booklet with extra spreads, a soundtrack sampler, Recoil ‘live’ photographs and project wallpapers.
Following endless requests to release the stand-alone soundtrack for ‘A Strange Hour In Budapest’, also available is a special edition Recoil USB stick which has been custom-designed with 8 gigabytes of memory and has assets pre-loaded. The stick is finished in stainless steel with Recoil’s Blu-ray catalogue number printed along the edge and comes in a white magnetic seal box.
Alan Wilder’s years in the music industry have seen him go from studio assistant to session keyboard player, but it was his 14 years as a member of Depeche Mode where he really honed his skills. With his attention to detail in the studio, Wilder pushed the boundaries even within the restrictive climate of commercial pop. As an antidote to the demands of the Mode, his studio project Recoil was born in the mid-eighties. Two albums were released: ‘Hydrology’ (1988) and ‘Bloodline’ (1990) both giving an indication of his expanding horizons. After his departure from Depeche Mode in 1995, Wilder resurrected Recoil full-time and has since released ‘Unsound Methods’ (1997), ‘Liquid’ (2000) ‘subHuman’ (2007) and ‘Selected’ (2010).
During his Recoil tenure, Wilder has worked with a varied selection of vocalists including Diamanda Galás, Joe Richardson, Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb), Nicole Blackman, Samantha Coerbell, Toni Halliday (Curve), Maggie Estep, and more recently Shara Worden and Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Says Alan: “The idea to take Recoil out on the road evolved during the release of ‘Selected’ in 2010. The events were not so much ‘live’ band but more art installation featuring stripped down, edited sections from many Recoil remixes and alternative versions. For the presentations, I managed to gather together filmmakers from as far as Russia, via the Czech Republic and Hungary, all the way to Argentina.
One of the most memorable moments of the entire tour came about, strangely enough, through adversity. Who can forget ‘Eyjafjallajökull’ and the major headaches and logistical nightmares it caused? Back in April 2010, the Icelandic mountain awoke, spewing its contents into the stratosphere and reaping havoc on the very same day Recoil was due to fly from London to Budapest. After an eternal struggle via airports, train stations, traffic jams, manic phone calls and confusion all round, 12 hours after leaving home my team and I found ourselves back on my own doorstep having got precisely zero kilometers towards the Hungarian capital. The last resort and only option was to drive (in my own car) through the channel tunnel and no less than 7 countries from West Sussex to Diesel club, Budapest – a journey of some 21 hours non stop. Word got around (while others were canceling shows left, right and centre) that, against all the odds, we were on our way – and when we arrived with about 1 hour to spare, what greeted us was one of the most vociferous and appreciative crowds on the whole tour.
To cut a long story short, we wanted to come back, not least to finally see a little of this beautiful city, but most of all to play once again to the warm Hungarian public. The second Budapest presentation and last of 2010 was held in the beautiful newly-renovated Szikra venue. To celebrate this end of year special show we decided to install an extra large fully professional cinema screen and projector. The screen measured a giant 8 x 5 meters and covered the entire stage area.
The performance was filmed using the latest high-definition technology in order to capture the event in its full glory. For this (with the help of the local promoters), the team from Umatik was recruited, headed up by director Attila (‘Atus’) Herkó, and in a similar way to the stage projections, we worked remotely on the editing – I gave feedback to rough edits which Atus sent to me whilst Paul Kendall & I simultaneously worked on the surround sound mix, and everything was refined from there. I think you will agree Attila’s film is stunning and offers a captivating and exhilarating document of ‘A Strange Hour’.”
Videos:
Trailer
Teaser
A Director’s View
The Print House
Public Screening:
01st September 2012 Bio Roy, Gothenburg (Sweden)
21th September 2012 Moods im Schiffbau, Zurich (Switzerland)
28th September 2012 Toldi Mozi, Budapest (Hungary)
29th September 2012 Kino Lucerna, Prague (Czech Republic´) more dates e.g. in Berin (Germany) to be confirmed
Title:
Man Made Machine (Planetary Assault Systems DNA Interpretation)
Label:
CRL
Cat#:
CLR058
Release Date:
28th May 2012
Format:
12″ & digital
Tracklist: 01)
Man Made Machine (Planetary Assault Systems DNA Interpretation)
Press Info:
For our new release CLR058 we have prepared a true collector´s item. None other than Luke Slater, one of the most renowned and inspiring artists in today´s electronic music scene, did a very personal and sophisticated remix of MOTOR´s recent single “Man Made Machine”. For this memorable undertaking the
British producer is actually using his legendary Planetary Assault Systems moniker. Following the recent release of MOTOR´s new album “Man Made Machine” on CLRX, we have produced a one-sided picture disc in red vinyl featuring this exclusive P.A.S. remix. The artwork of the limited edition shows the silhouette of Depeche Mode´s Martin L. Gore, the vocalist of the hailed debut single. Having been able to bring all of those outstanding artists to the same table and create something like this wonderful vinyl
means a lot to us. Thanks to the critical acclaim and the success of the album, we are even more exited about this record.
Info:
“THERE was no real script,” says the laconic Rich Machin of SOULSAVERS’ extraordinary fourth album THE LIGHT THE DEAD SEE, a set of songs of majesty and momentum. “It just rolled and rolled; it was effortless.” Yet the writing was on the wall from the moment Dave Gahan stepped in to tackle vocal duties that this was going to be something very special. “We realised we were coming from the same place in so many ways,” adds Machin. “He’s really laid himself bare on this record, his performances are astonishing: he really is a terrific singer.” Says Gahan, “Everything about it was relatively unplanned, surprising: a magical thing. We were a perfect match and I’m very, very excited about this record.”
Soulsavers – the music and production team of Rich Machin and Ian Glover – have been a growing force since 2003’s debut Tough Guys Don’t Dance. 2007’s It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land brought their dark flair to a wider audience. The inimitable Mark Lanegan served as primary singer, though there were also vocal contributions from Will Oldham and Jimi Goodwin. Tracks such as “Revival” and “Kingdoms Of Rain” revealed a broodier outlook, with a slow-burning, gospel tinge. In 2009, third album Broken confirmed that Soulsavers were moving away from early electronica to earthier guitars, use of space and what Machin described as “a soulful twist”. Lanegan again led the vocals on stand-outs such as “You Will Miss Me When I Burn” and “All The Way Down”, with other guest vocalists including Oldham again, Jason Pierce, Richard Hawley, Mike Patton and Gibby Haynes. Clearly there was no shortage of acclaimed singers ready to lend their lungs to Soulsavers’ stirring, seductive, soothing or startling creations.
Soulsavers, venturing out from the studio to the road, were invited to support Depeche Mode on the European leg of their vast and eventful 2009-10 Tour Of The Universe, during which tour Dave Gahan bounced back from more than his fair share of illness and injury. Here, the seeds of The Light The Dead See were sewn. “We got to know each other,” says Machin. “I really warmed to him, thought he was a particularly nice guy. Dave said he was a fan of our previous albums, and watched us almost every night, and, as you do, we said: Hey, we should work on something, at some point in time…”
“The tour together was great,” recalls Gahan enthusiastically. “I love Soulsavers and I’ve also been a Lanegan junkie for years. Rich mentioned doing some writing, and I told him to send over any pieces he liked, however minimal. About eighteen months ago he sent the first. I was taking a break, with my band having finished the long tour. So I said: let me sit with this, see what happens. And it was right up my street. What Rich does – big grinding bluesy organs, gospel choirs – somehow that touches something in me. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s all those years of being forced to go to Sunday School! He sent me more and just left it open, stuff I could get into, no pressure; perfectly atmospheric pieces that inspired me. Three songs in, I was hooked – keep ‘em coming! It was an experiment, and both of us weren’t sure what would happen, but now I’m so pleased with this, over the moon with it.”
With Gahan penning lyrics for the music and recording his own vocals in New York, then Machin building up the results into fully-formed and arranged epics, the international project was a case of “chemistry working”. “Nothing he did, did I need to alter,” says Rich. “Everything he did just felt right. We both took an opportunity to step away from electronica – which we both love – and do something warmer, to go for full-takes, to not Pro-Tools the life out of it. There’s a human element. It doesn’t need to be “perfect”; it needs to just feel really good, to have room to breathe. We both enjoyed just going where the moods took us.”
Although creatively the pair gelled instantly and consistently – “Hearing the album, I’m almost going: how did that happen? I’ve surprised myself!” laughs Gahan – the “human element” did throw up a couple of testing obstacles. Gahan was recovering from well-documented illness when the project began. “I’m very good now,” he says. “I still have my hospital visits now and again, but fingers crossed I’m in good health.” Then, just as the pair got settled into a rhythm, Machin acquired a “horrendous” ear/hearing problem. “I woke up in the middle of the night in agony; it was like someone was drilling into my ear.” He lost his hearing in one ear for around nine months, and is still learning to manage tinnitus. It’s not music-related either. “Ironically,” he says, “they told me my hearing in my bad ear is better than in my good ear. It was stressful. I thought: am I done? Is that it? You do begin to wonder. I put everything on hold for a while, then decided I’d better stop feeling sorry for myself and just get on with it, at least when I had good days. When it began to clear up, I was half-expecting we’d have to re-do everything, but it sounded great, so we pushed on. The train hadn’t come off the tracks.”
“At one point,” says Dave, “we both realised: oh, we’re making a whole album here!” Both were keen that it played with a “clearly defined” Side One and Side Two, and didn’t “overwhelm” the listener with excessive length. “There’s no filler,” says Rich. “We wanted it intense, not drifting like so many albums do.” “It’s a real album-lover’s album,” concurs Dave. “I was listening to Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” a lot, always one of my favourites. It still gives me goose-bumps on my arm. And I wanted to achieve that kind of level: I’d think: is this moving me? If it’s moving me, I’m pretty sure it’s going to move other people.” As you can hear in the surges of “Presence Of God”, the epic scale of “Gone Too Far”, the yearning of “Take Me Back Home” or “I Can’t Stay” or the snag and snarl of “Bitter Man”, it will.
Gahan’s lyrics and melodies came to him with spontaneity and passion. “About five songs in, I realised I was writing outside myself. I was having a go at myself, to be honest: my questions around faith, and God, or the lack thereof at any given moment. Sometimes I’m full of faith, but there are always questions. And I struggle with letting go of control of what’s going on around me. This album became very therapeutic. No restrictions. Coming out of getting sick myself, I found I HAD to get this stuff out of me. This music gave me the perfect palate to play with the BIG questions that we all ask when life becomes less about what can we GET, than: what can we DO? I’ve been very fortunate, and I’m privileged in my life, so I want to do things I feel really connected to now, otherwise there’s no point. Rich and I had both come out of something difficult. This is something to do with that. It was a wonderful experience.”
“People don’t make these grander-sounding records any more because of budget,” remarks Rich. “We did this on a shoestring, relatively, but I didn’t want to cut corners, so there was some begging, stealing and borrowing. We did the strings in Sunset Sound in the room where the Beach Boys did “Pet Sounds” and Led Zeppelin did some of their best-known tracks, and I love that side of things, thinking to myself: Brian Wilson sat right there. I can never quite get my head round how I ended up here, but for someone with a love of music history, it’s pretty great. So many bands are happy to make the same album three times, but I need Soulsavers to keep changing to keep me excited. The first person I played this to was Mark Lanegan, a good friend, who I trust to give me honest feedback. He doesn’t do bullshit. And he loved it. He sings a subtle cameo on “In The Morning”, and that helps the passing on of the torch…”
Says Dave Gahan, “Rich is Soulsavers, and Mark’s been part of that up to this point, and may well be again in the future, but it’s now an open door. I think this is the beginning of a very interesting friendship! Depeche Mode will get busy again soon, but I’d love for Rich and I to work together again. Look, I’ve been in a successful band for years and people have their impressions, things they like or don’t like, which is fair enough, but I don’t want that to overshadow the importance of this record. It’s a Soulsavers record, and I’m lucky just to be a part of it.”
“Soulsavers comes in waves and curves and changes,” adds Rich Machin. “It’s all about freedom, but on a record I want it to lock into a unifying feel.” With regard to the other musicians, there was a “cleaning house”: in Rich’s words, it was “time for some new blood”. Crucial to the sound were bassist Martyne LeNoble (Porno For Pyros founder member who’d played on “Broken” and on Gahan’s “Live Monsters”), drummer Kev Bales (Spiritualized, and “hands down my favourite drummer”, says Machin), guitarist Tony Foster (Spiritualized & Julian Cope) and organist/keyboardist Sean Read. “It’s an ever-rotating world of friends, which makes the whole thing more enjoyable.” Strings were arranged by Italian composer Daniele Luppi (“Broken”, Danger Mouse, David Lynch), who’s worked on many films, sharing Rich’s love of giants like Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai. (although, Rich adds that the two soundtracks he’s been most into lately are the Chet Baker documentary “Let’s Get Lost” and Neil Young’s “Dead Man”).
The title “The Light The Dead See” comes from a deeply affecting work by the cult American poet Frank Stanford (1948-1978). “He was exceptional: I’m a big fan, and it fits the mood totally,” says Rich, (who’s previously acknowledged his admiration of Charles Bukowski, John Fante and William Faulkner’s Southern Gothic tales). “Yes,” says Dave, “You can walk around this planet with the blinders on, and sometimes it takes big things happening to you to shift you to a different consciousness. Let’s say I’ve had opportunities to turn this around; I’m blessed. I was out there on the edge awhile, and I saw the possibilities of what could be…things like addiction, which is just a sad old journey. But to be able to turn things around, there’s a redemption about that. So if you ask me what this album’s about, I’d say two things. One, exactly that: what IS it all about? And two: redemption.”
Release Date:
20th February 2012 (Beatport)
27th February 2012
Format:
vinyl, download & streaming
Tracklist 12″: 01) Single Blip
02) Single Blip (Byetone Remix)
03) Single Blip (Mathew Jonson Remix)
Tracklist Digital: 01) Single Blip
02) Single Blip (Mathew Jonson Remix)
03) Single Blip (Terence Fixmer Remix)
04) Single Blip (Byetone Remix)
05) Single Blip (Wolfgang Voigt Auramix)
Press Info:
EP2 / Single Blip – from Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore’s highly anticipated collaboration, VCMG – rears its head on 27 February 2012, with remixes from Byetone and Mathew Jonson.
A pounding motorik beat heralds the start of this minimal electronic tour de force. With primal drums and puckering bleeps, it’s an industrial battle cry of the darkest proportions, setting teeth on edge with nails-across-blackboard screeching, ominous synths and spiraling rhythms.
EP2 / Single Blip remixes come courtesy of sparce electronic artist Byetone, aka Berliner Olaf Bender, co-founder and the man responsible for the iconic design output at Raster-Noton. His 2011 album Symeta featured in Fact and The Quietus’ end of year polls, and previous remix credits inc Modeselektor and eLan.
Alongside is a remix from Mathew Jonson, co-founder of Wagon Repair label and key member of electronic improvisers Cobblestone Jazz. Canadian born Jonson has previously remixed the likes of Plastikman, Tiga and Chemical Brothers to great acclaim.
‘SSSS’ – the debut album by VCMG – is out on 12 March 2012 and boasts ten tracks of the same Teutonic turn-ons. Written and produced by Clarke and Gore, the album was mixed by Timothy “Q” Wiles and recorded and engineered by Sie Medway Smith and Clarke.
Mastered by Stefan Betke (aka Pole), the album demonstrates Clarke and Gore’s shared love of electronic music and marks the arrival proper of this enigmatic duo who have teamed up again after thirty years.
Speaking to MOJO this month, Clarke says the collaborative process was “really about exchanging colours… like two people doing a painting in a different room,” and Gore confessed his preference for “anything that’s a bit darker…with a driving rhythm.”
