Alan Wilder & the Evolution of Synth-Pop
by David Emory and Prof. Fredrics
Of the many artists that cluttered the 80’s pop scene, most fell off the scene rather rapidly after their “big hit” (or, in some cases, hits), often never to be heard from again. Those who did try to duke it out through the rebellious, grungy phase of the early 1990’s were written of by many as “has-beens” whose time to shine had come and gone. However, one notable exception to this is Depeche Mode, and in particular the musician who probably had the most influence on their overall sound for most of their existence, producer/keyboardist/programmer Alan Wilder. Wilder, through the ever evolving sound of Depeche Mode as well as his fascinating 12-year side project Recoil, has shown something rare among the synth-pop greats of the early 80’s: the ability to continually redefine and hone his style to new levels of musical sophistication, ultimately resulting in a somewhat “matured” and entirely distinctive electronic sound.
Alan Wilder was born in 1959 in West London to a family with a history of strong musical talent. He demonstrated notable music skills at an early age, standing out in his grammar school music classes and student ensembles, and by the early 1980’s had already been involved in several minor pop/rock acts as well as some solo experimentation on the side. In 1981 he responded to an advertisement anonymously placed in Melody Maker magazine by an "established" British band in search of a keyboard player. He was somewhat surprised to find himself in Depeche Mode as a result of this ad, Depeche then being a one-year-old act that had already released one album (1981’s moderately successful Speak & Spell) under the leadership of songwriter/synthesizer guru Vince Clarke, who soon left the band after this lone album for a string of other Synth-pop projects (the most notable of them being Erasure, whose sound at times demonstrates striking resemblance to Speak & Spell-era Depeche Mode).
Wilder was initially hired on a purely part-time basis with Depeche Mode, and was virtually ignored entirely during the production of the group’s second effort, A Broken Frame (1982), recorded by three of DM’s founding members: Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andrew Fletcher. During this time, however, Wilder developed a strong professional relationship with Daniel Miller, the owner of Mute Records, Depeche’s Label in the U.K. When it came time to begin work on 1983’s Construction Time Again, Wilder’s and Miller’s greatly increased level of contribution helped define a new sound altogether for Depeche Mode. It was at this point that Wilder was finally listed as the full-fledged fourth member of the group. He would continue to work with the band extensively for the next 13 years, releasing a total of six studio albums (including Construction Time Again) and completing numerous world tours. During this time Wilder ultimately took on the role of chief electronic musician and producer for the band, with the duties of vocals, songwriting, and managing left to the other members (Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher, respectively). This gave Wilder enormous, nearly exclusive, control over Depeche Mode’s overall sound during this period.
While Depeche Mode gained momentum during the mid-1980’s, Wilder also began to occupy himself with solo experimentation on the side. In 1985, Wilder played demos of some minimalist experimentation he had done casually during the early years of the decade for Miller, who encouraged him to reproduce them as possible material for a side project also to be carried by the Mute label. In 1986 the collection 1+2 was released under the name Recoil, a project that would eventually become Wilder’s top priority. However he remained first committed to Depeche Mode for a while after the birth of Recoil, which kept him from promoting his 1988 Recoil work Hydrology (released in the midst of a major DM world tour). In 1990 Depeche Mode released the album Violator, whose production and instrumentation was dominated by Wilder (though liner notes simply credited "Depeche Mode" for production), which went on to become DM’s most successful release (3 million+ copies sold, spawning hits such as "Enjoy the Silence" and "Policy of Truth") and also one of its most critically acclaimed. After touring in support of this record Wilder was presented with the first real break of his Depeche Mode years as it was not until mid-1993 that DM released their next recording Songs of Faith & Devotion. He utilized this time to its fullest extend as far as Recoil was concerned, releasing the album Bloodline in 1992.
The Devotional Tour in 1993 marked an unfortunate turn for DM as lead singer Dave Gahan developed a heroin dependency that drove him to near-suicide in 1994. Group relations deteriorated greatly during this period, ultimately leading to Wilder’s highly-publicized departure from the band. Wilder also cites the need for more freedom in his musical endeavors as a primary factor in his decision to leave the group. (See Wilder’s official press release regarding his departure for a first-hand perspective). He then focused all of his professional attention towards the Recoil project, leading to the release of the Unsound Methods album in 1997, which continued and expanded the sampling-based collaborative style of Bloodline.
As a side note, also released in 1997 was Depeche Mode’s Ultra, the first album recorded by DM as the trio of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher since A Broken Frame 15 years earlier. The band enlisted the help of producer Tim Simenon (Bomb the Bass) as well as two additional musicians for most programming and instrumentation on Ultra, a testament to the manpower needed to fill the void left by Wilder’s departure.
Wilder’s first single with Depeche Mode was "Get the Balance Right" (Track 1), which has a strong Synth-pop feel to it still somewhat reminiscent of DM’s sound when Vince Clarke was with the band. Also released in 1983 was Construction Time Again, the first full-length album that Alan worked on, which had a similar overall feel to it. Alan did however, contribute two songs of his own to the album, including "Two Minute Warning" (Track 2). Notice when listening to this song, particularly after one such as "Get the Balance Right," that it is somewhat less upbeat and uses a different vocal style of Gahan’s to create a sound that is similar but not precisely true to the "typical" Depeche Mode sound of this period.
As mentioned earlier, Wilder began working on a side project Recoil during the mid-eighties, and his first major release under this name was the 1992 album Bloodline. Here Wilder introduces two concepts that had not been too prominent with Depeche Mode: extensive sampling and enlisting the help of an array of guest vocalists to complete the record. Take, for example, "Electro Blues for Bukka White." (Track 4) This bizarre track features samples of Blues Singer Bukka White set to an entirely electronic backing soundtrack. Another of the album’s more innovative tracks is "Curse," (Track 5) a rap-influenced piece featuring the prominent techno artist known as Moby. Also evident in this song is a sample of what is believed to be a sample of an early Depeche Mode song – although Wilder has not made public a list of actual samples used he has confirmed that he frequently samples from earlier work, including both DM and Recoil material.
Meanwhile, Wilder's influence on the overall sound of Depeche Mode became most evident with the release of Songs of Faith and Devotion in 1993. Although Wilder had begun steering DM away from the "Synth-Pop" sound with 1990's Violator, featuring much darker, less upbeat songs (the track "Halo," for example; Track 3), it was on Songs... that an almost entirely new sound began to emerge. It is by most accounts a "rock-influenced" album as opposed to the pop-y synth-based efforts of the 1980's. Although electronic instruments are still prevalent, live drums and guitars are also featured extensively throughout the album, once unheard of for their studio recordings. The collaborative style that defined Bloodline was also incorporated, to a lesser extent, with Songs. One track his a strong gospel influence, including a trio of gospel singers backing up Dave Gahan on Vocals, and other track features a small string ensemble as the only instrumentation. The track "Walking in my Shoes" is featured on the accompanying CD (track 6) as representative of the new direction being taken by the band musically with this release.
Wilder expressed disappointment with the fact that he seemed to be leaving Depeche Mode as their were in the midst for their strongest point musically, stating that "last few albums were an indication of the full potential that Depeche Mode was realising," presumably referring here to Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion. Despite this, he still felt that due to deteriorated group relations along with the growing sense within him that his work with DM was being "taking for granted" made it unfeasible for him to remain committed.
His split with Depeche Mode opened the door further for him to expand his innovative collaborative style that he had begun to develop with Bloodline, and he immediately began working on tracks for a new Recoil release. Two years later, Unsound Methods was released, the fourth total for Recoil and the second of the "commercial," widely available releases. Although the collaborative style or recording the album was similar to that of Bloodline, the means by which it was recorded was different in that he had had 5 years to expand his home collection of musical equipment into a full-fledged home studio, known as the Thin Line. It consisted of a variety of Mac Workstations, Analog Synths, Samplers, and one Digital Synth. Click here for a complete list (external link).
As for the music itself, the opening track of UM, "Incubus" (Track 7), features vocalist Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb (with whom Wilder had worked before) reciting lines from the movie "Apocalypse Now" (though the fact that McCarthy’s voice sounds almost exactly like that of Martin Sheen makes it indistinguishable from a direct sample from the movie). It is set to a dense musical background which starts out as quiet and natural in sound, becoming more chaotic for the mid section, and then finally reverting back to the quiet at the end. It is followed by the track "Drifting" (Track 8), a slow, dreamy track also featuring dense sound textures as well as a guest vocalist (this time Siobhan Lynch). Another notable selection is "Red River Cargo" (Track 9), an intriguing track focusing on the civil rights struggle in the Southern U.S. during the 1960’s. It features gospel vocalist Hildia Campbell, whose vocals are intertwined with various samples of speeches by black civil rights activists as well as white southern politicians. All three of these tracks are featured on the accompanying CD and together form an excellent example of the innovation and experimentation displayed by Wilder on this, his most recent release.
The following exchange recently took place on the "Q&A" section of Wilder's official home page where he responds to various inquiries from fans:
Q: On the subject of inspiration, I was stuck in front of the computer the other night wanting to write something but totally stuck. I let my daughter (6 months old) bang away on the keyboard for a bit on a drum patch - after quantisation I found she had written quite a groovy little percussion riff. Ever tried anything along these lines?
Wilder: Have you heard 'Speak and Spell'?
Speak & Spell, of course, is referring to Depeche Mode's first release back in 1981. Here, we see Wilder poking deliberate fun at his own former band's older work, underscoring the progress that he can see has been made over the course of nearly 20 years in terms of musical sophistication. So has Alan Wilder finally reached the state at which he is actually pleased with the music he is producing? Probably not. He recently stated the following regarding his motivations: "I never feel I'm fulfilling all I can achieve - it's what drives me on. I'm a self doubter who's never satisfied." So Wilder will continue refining and remaking his own sound, each version a matured, enhanced version of the previous, and each one reaching for new levels of musical genius.
Taken from: www.netspace.org/users/demory/mu11/report1.html
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