Hi, Alan!
First of all, we'd like to congratulate you heartily on the forthcoming release of your new record called "subHuman". Everybody has been waiting for it for so long. And we would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to ask you some questions. All of them make a real interest for your fans in Russia. In fact all the questions are asked by them.
New Album
d-m.ru: What was that reason which pushed you to start working on Recoil project again after such a long silence? Some kind of inspiration, maybe, influence? New music, feelings, emotions or the state of your consciousness like "time has come"?
Alan Wilder: Well firstly, I didn't really intend to take a 7 year break but making music is quite an intense experience for me and, after the release of 'Liquid', I felt quite drained mentally. It was also at this time that my wife and I decided to have another child (a boy called Stanley) so this gave me a reason to stop working for a while and concentrate on family life - being around to help raise my kids and doing some of the things I enjoy, such as drinking and watching sport! However, after a while, my wife pointed out that I am a nicer person when I am being creative and she demanded that I return to the studio!
The purpose of album release
d-m.ru: What is your purpose of releasing this new record? Is there any result that you as a creator would love to get after releasing "subHuman"? What is it?
Alan Wilder: I make music essentially for myself - which might sound selfish but it's just the way it has to be. I think you can get into all sorts of trouble when you try to cater to the demands of other people or the latest musical trend, or even try to reproduce some success you had in the past. However, it is very rewarding when others appreciate your work so I am not totally oblivious to what opinion might be. I always try to be forward-thinking in my approach and hope to produce work that is challenging, dynamic and substantial so that the listener feels compelled to return to it again and again.
The Process of Making Music (or how any thought, idea or emotion can be heard in a melody)
d-m.ru: Tell us, please, how the creation of the album has affected your own "musical evolution". What have you given from yourself and your past experience to the last project and what have you received in exchange? In your opinion, what was dominating and actually made the album:
- Contents and the sense of it,
- Working with text or melody,
- Your experiments with sound,
- Or general working on all ideas?
Have you reached a new level in your musical experience?
Alan Wilder: I work instinctively so, as I said before, I try to allow the music to develop in any direction it wants. I suppose I was conscious about moving away from 'spoken word' which had been fully explored on 'Liquid'. With 'subHuman', once I had 4 or 5 embryonic instrumentals, I needed to find some vocalists who could provide something more melodic. I have always loved the Blues and its association with the more tragic and melancholic side of life so I thought I should try to find an authentic singer to contribute. This was when I came across Joe Richardson who is originally from Louisiana. His tracks provide a very dominant presence so I decided to balance this by also using English singer, Carla Trevaskis, who is quite different.
Recoil. Here and Now.
d-m.ru: Have you any plans to organize a small tour to support the album release? The problem of gathering of all collaborators of the project together is quite obvious, but if we take Massive Attack, for instance, they make it possible, somehow! … In fact, live performances are something special for the musician. The great army of your fans is waiting for it and will be happy to listen to you live (and Russian fans definitely are not the exception! :)
Alan Wilder: Recoil started as a studio-only project and, for now, I am really quite happy to continue with it this way. I enjoyed touring with DM and I understand that many fans like the 'face-to-face' aspect of a live performance. However, this music is so dense and complicated and the prospect of working with lots of different collaborators makes it quite difficult to translate to a live setting. We have been talking recently about perhaps finding a way to be more interactive with the music so we may do something like a 'live' listening session where I am available via video-link for people to ask me questions about the music as it is playing.
Unique things today
d-m.ru: Recoil has no analogues and differs from everything that we can hear on radio or music channels. What is your attitude to modern music in general?
Alan Wilder: Sometimes I despair concerning the current music scene and I often find myself screaming at the radio in disgust. I'm tired of the monotonous (so-called) R&B that all sounds the same and the Pop Idol / Reality TV nonsense which insults my intelligence. This is when I find myself retreating back to music I listened to when I was younger and even further back, like Blues and early Jazz etc. However, there are of course some people who try to create unique and progressive music. It's a question of exposure for many of them.
Fans
d-m.ru: It's a known fact that you are listened by the huge amount of DM fans although YOUR music differs completely. And plenty of DM fans don't understand your music. How do you picture your perfect listener? Whom are you aiming with your creativity? And by the way, what's in your opinion the reason which prevents some people (for example, DM fans) from falling in love with your music?
Alan Wilder: Recoil is aimed at anyone, like myself, who wants music to be a long-term experience, not just something instantly forgettable. It is important that the listener is prepared to appreciate the arrangements and the more subtle details - and that usually takes more than a couple of plays. As I said earlier, it is dangerous to try to do what other people want and almost impossible to achieve anyway. Some people are die-hard Electro fans and want music that sounds like Depeche Mode from 1986. Some are more into experimental and want weird noises and strange atmospherics. Some want classic song structures and sing-a-long melodies. And some just want Dave Gahan doing vocals ;-)
Music, creativity, Recoil as parts of your life
d-m.ru: What is Recoil for you: a canvas for a picture of your internal ideology? Quite gloomy, a little bit depressive mask which you sometimes do like to wear? Business, of course? :) What is more important for you in your audience: understanding of sense and idea which YOU put in the album or a birth of their own ideas and associations after listening?
Alan Wilder: Well, I sometimes get asked if I'm actually really depressed or miserable. The music is often referred to as 'dark' - a word used when people don't know how else to describe Recoil. Yes, some of the subjects that I am attracted to deal with the more sleazy side of life but I'm not obsessed with sex, death and murder. I'm just fascinated by human nature and the diversity and perversity within it. When I joined Depeche Mode, I worked quite hard at trying to steer us away from the early 'bubble-gum' pop and develop towards something that had a bit more depth. I'm not desperate to get some earnest message across to the world but I do want music to enlighten a little. As for myself, I'm generally a contented and friendly person and I only get really depressed when England lose important football and cricket matches!
Re-mastering DM and re-mastering in general
d-m.ru: Let's land a little. Has this work with re-mastered DM albums appeared to be a routine for you? If not, maybe it even affected "subHuman" in some way? … A small provocation from DM fans: was there any (secret) wish to change a sound of re-mastered albums completely? :) Well, you know, adding new sounds or samples, melodic tricks and arrangements, etc. After all these songs had passed through you and had become an integral part of you. Children, I'd say. The paraphrased question is: maybe you wanted to make a gift for your grown kids and to dress them up in clothes of new technologies? Or all ideas at the time of remastering were left for "subHuman"?
Alan Wilder: I don't think it had any bearing on my new album but I was very keen to do a surround sound version of 'subHuman' because I knew it would undoubtedly suit the heavily-orchestrated aspects of Recoil. Working again with old DM material brought back mixed emotions for me. Some of them good - and some, not so great. I thought 'Violator', 'Black Celebration' and 'SOFAD' stood up quite well. The only slight disappointment in my view was that these surround mixes offered a great opportunity to perhaps re-work some of the back catalogue thus producing a revitalised product for the 21st Century. But Daniel Miller held a very strong view about being true to the original stereo mixes and I suppose I could also see his point.
Flames of yours
d-m.ru: You used to have a great interest in video shooting. Are there any ideas to bring yourself in other scopes of activity, whether it is painting, direction of movies or a photo? What are your interests now? Maybe you've got any new fashionable hobbies or you remain strictly conservative (family, children, music)?
Alan Wilder: I did enjoy photography and filming when I was younger and I'm pleased that I documented much of my time in Depeche Mode. I have literally boxes of private photos and a lot of video footage from tours, concerts and recording sessions that I'm sure you would like to get your hands on! But, now everyone has a camera on their mobile, it seems less interesting to document every life moment somehow. For a start, I'm very busy with music, spending time with my family is important and I enjoy things like interior design which is both creative but also improves my environment.
And Finally...
d-m.ru: We tried to make this interview interesting for you, hope we succeeded. We won't ask you about your future plans etc. now, just Thank You so much for this interview. We wish you good luck, look forward to hear 'subHuman' soon.
Alan Wilder: You're very welcome and thank you for all the support I receive from Russia!
©2007 depeche-mode.ru
Interview taken via e-mail by www.depeche-mode.ru
Please state www.depeche-mode.ru as the auther of this material
if you have plans to use it partly or as a whole!
Big thanks to Gala Records for their help!
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