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album // Remixes 2 : 81- 11
No matter how much of a Depeche
Mode fan you are, thirty-seven remixes is a lot to take.
I found the act of listening to their first remix compilation a
wearying experience, not because of the quality of the mixes, but
because of the sheer number of them. So here we go again.
There are three physical versions of Remixes
2 : 81 - 11 available - a regular, single CD version (13 tracks),
a triple CD version (all 37 mixes) and a six-LP version (all 37
mixes), the latter of which will set you back a cool £50.00.
I've said before that us Depeche fans are by nature format whores,
but that six-LP set, while no doubt beautiful, is definitely for
catalogue completists only.
One of the major draws of Remixes 2 : 81 - 11
is the inclusion (on disc three) of remixes by former Depeche Mode
members Vince Clarke (1980 - 1981) and Alan
Wilder (1983 - 1995), and it's the first time either ex-member
have remixed their former band. Wilder's mix seemed inevitable,
following his appearance with Martin Gore at Depeche's
Royal Albert Hall concert a year or so ago and he turns in a characteristic
mix of 'In Chains' from Sounds Of The Universe, ably assisted
by Daniel Myer and Paul 'PK' Kendall. As to what
it sounds like, well, somewhat unsurprisingly, it sounds like Depeche
Mode circa Songs Of Faith And Devotion - dark, dangerous
and full of tension; almost as if the band had been frozen in time
and thawed out in 2011. Perfect stuff. Like he's never left.
Vince's version too had a whiff of certainty after
he began working with Martin Gore on a new album. His take on 'Behind
The Wheel' has a snaking, minimal quality, keeping most of Dave
Gahan's vocal and adding a dark electronic backdrop full
of echoing bleeps, clipped vocal sounds and a bassline that sounds
like it was fashioned out of rubber. Is this what Depeche would
have sounded like if Vince had stayed on board? Unlikely, but as
'reconciliations' go it's pretty impressive. Then again, of late
Vince has seemed able to turn out quality mixes like this almost
in his sleep; nevertheless, this is definitely one of his best.
Once again, whilst there's some excellent fresh
remix talent on display here from some stellar names, my ear is
drawn to the familiar, or more accurately, the forgotten. Sometime
NovaMute artist and current Underworld member Darren
Price's dreamy trip-hop mix of 'Snowblow' (B-side to 'Useless')
being one; fellow NovaMute / One Little Indian act and Martin Gore
collaborators Spirit Feel's tribal dub mix of 'Walking
In My Shoes' is another, as is Bomb The Bass head
honcho Tim Simenon's mix of 'Strangelove' with
Mark Saunders from the live single of 'Everything
Counts'. All of these used to be really familiar to me, but they
are presently languishing in boxes in my loft and have never made
it into an iPod, so I enjoyed reminding myself of those. Likewise,
the set includes François Kevorkian's dub mix of 'World In
My Eyes' and The Orb's thudding pop-ambient vocal mix of its B-side,
'Happiest Girl', both of which were only available as either sought-after
promos or limited edition 12" singles. Both mixes are familiar
in the sense that they have a sonic palette similar to other mixes
of both tracks by Kevorkian and The Orb, but I've never heard either
before. 'Happiest Girl' is one of my all-time favourite Depeche
B-sides, and I love The Orb, so its inclusion was a bonus for me.
A mix like the thudding acid euphoria of Mark 'Spike' Stent's remix
of 'I Feel You' took me back to 1993 and my first attempt at learning
to drive; I used to psyche myself up for the lessons using this
mix, played loud on my old JVC mini-system, which is also in the
loft along with the CD of 'I Feel You' from which this mix was taken.
Kevorkian's deep and trancey house take on 'Higher Love', an edit
originally included on the 'In Your Room' cassette single release
(I think) reminded me of my A-levels and thwarted attempts to make
electronic music myself.
In complete contrast, the 'Death' mix of 'Fly On
The Windscreen' by Gareth Jones doesn't generate
a fuzzy emotional response; it was always going to be bleak to start
with, but with its inventive sampleadelic electro sound it rather
instils a shudder-inducing darkness today. (The 'Final' mix included
later on Black Celebration still sounds clean and sleek
today, in comparison.)
I stopped paying attention to dance music and remixes
generally a few years, which is why my ear tends to be drawn here
to the mixes from a period where it was still acceptable to include
a decent portion of the original track in a mix. That said, this
collection does seem to prove that remix techniques have gone almost
full circle, with mixes like Le Weekend's take on Sounds Of
The Universe's boxset-only exclusive track 'Ghost' which incorporates
pretty much all of Dave's vocal and a decent slug of Martin Gore
guitar. Pleasingly, Eric Prydz - whose talents I've always looked
upon disapprovingly since that video - puts to bed his awful mix
of 'Personal Jesus' from the single that preceded this, and produces
a thrilling take on 'Never Let Me Down Again', wherein the guitar
sound that makes the intro to the original so exciting is here used
as the backbone of the mix, shifting subtly as it progresses throughout,
and it never gets boring.
Claro Intelecto's new mix of 'Leave In Silence'
has a cracked, glitchy quality to its electronics and some soulful
keyboard chords and strings. Clark's mix of 'Freestate' again has
a clipped quality, the vocal and beat seeming dispossessed of one
another, only forming something more solid at the very end's sullen
electro passage. Röyskopp tackle 1981's 'Puppets' and give
Gahan's vocal a clarity that means you can actually hear the lyrics
properly now, but it doesn't sound anything like I'd expect a Röyskopp
mix to sound. No frozen soundscapes here I'm afraid. Just a bouncy
and vaguely cheesy euphoric retro synth track.
Elsewhere, I am not a fan of Joebot's mix of 'A
Question Of Time' at all, and Miike Snow's Christian Karlsson and
Pontus Winnberg's mix of 1981's 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' is again disposable,
a stuttering, slurring, wobbly mix whose only appealing facet is
the clarity given to Gahan's vocal; in doing so it provides confirmation
that Dave does indeed sing 'skel-ing-ton' rather than 'skeleton'.
Bless. Their mix of 'When The Body Speaks', just a few tracks earlier
on CD3, is far better.
After all thirty-seven tracks I felt thoroughly
exhausted, much as I thought I would. Yet there's even more - an
exclusive US 12" with limited tracks, more energy-sapping digital
exclusives than an iPod can handle (including another Alan Wilder
mix via iTunes) and - if the first Remixes compilation
sets any sort of precedent - there are probably more to come.
The triple CD edition I bought includes copious
liner notes from Ralph Moore. Artwork is courtesy of Matt Cook at
Intro. Remixes 2 : 81 - 11 was released on Mute, even though
I understood Depeche Mode wouldn't release records on Mute
following their split from EMI in 2010.
cd:
1. Dream On (Bushwacka Tough Guy Mix Edit)
2. Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)
3. Suffer Well (M83 Remix)
4. John The Revelator (UNKLE Reconstruction)
5. In Chains (Tigerskin's No Sleep Remix Edit)
6. Peace (SixToes Remix)
7. Tora! Tora! Tora! (Karlsson And Winnberg Remix)
8. Never Let Me Down Again (Eric Prydz Remix)
9. I Want It All (Roland M.Dill Remix)
10. Wrong (Trentemøller Remix)
11. Puppets (Röyksopp Remix)
12. Everything Counts (Oliver Huntemann And Stephan Bodzin Dub)
13. A Pain That I'm Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
6xlp/xlcd:
1.1. Dream On (Bushwacka Tough Guy Mix)
1.2. Suffer Well (M83 Remix)
1.3. John The Revelator (UNKLE Reconstruction)
1.4. In Chains (Tigerskin's No Sleep Remix)
1.5. Peace (SixToes Remix)
1.6. Lilian (Chab Vocal Remix Edit)
1.7. Never Let Me Down Again (Digitalism Remix)
1.8. Corrupt (Efdemin Remix)
1.9. Everything Counts (Oliver Huntemann And Stephan Bodzin Dub)
1.10. Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Vocal Mix)
1.11. Walking In My Shoes (Anandamidic Mix)
1.12. Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)
1.13. Slowblow (Darren Price Mix)
2.1. Wrong (Trentemøller Club Remix)
2.2. World In My Eyes (Dub In My Eyes)
2.3. Fragile Tension (Peter Bjorn and John Remix)
2.4. Strangelove (Tim Simenon / Mark Saunders Remix)
2.5. A Pain That I'm Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
2.6. The Darkest Star (Monolake Remix)
2.7. I Feel You (Helmet At The Helm Mix)
2.8. Higher Love (Adrenaline Mix Edit)
2.9. Fly On The Windscreen (Death Mix)
2.10. Barrel Of A Gun (United Mix)
2.11. Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Mix)
2.12. Ghost (Le Weekend Remix)
3.1. Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix Edit)
3.2. Never Let Me Down Again (Eric Prydz Remix)
3.3. Behind The Wheel (Vince Clarke Remix)
3.4. Leave In Silence (Claro Intelecto 'The Last Time' Remix)
3.5. In Chains (Alan Wilder Remix)
3.6. When The Body Speaks (Karlsson And Winnberg Remix)
3.7. Puppets (Röyksopp Remix)
3.8. Tora! Tora! Tora! (Karlsson And Winnberg Remix)
3.9. Freestate (Clark Remix)
3.10. I Want It All (Roland M. Dill Remix)
3/11. A Question Of Time (Joebot Presents 'Radio Face' Remix)
3.12. Personal Jesus (Sie Medway-Smith Remix)
single // Personal Jesus 2011
Heralding the release of a second expansive volume
of old and new remixes comes this collection of five new versions
of Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus', orginally released
in 1990.
It's a funny thing with new mixes of much-loved
tracks, as 'Personal Jesus' has become for me; you either embrace
the fresh new take, or you somehow turn your nose up at it. I find
myself doing both over the course of the two tracks here.
Stargate's mix recasts the original's, dirty blues
as a shiny and rapturous electronic pop track eschewing all but
Dave Gahan's vocal and the barest trace elements
of the chugging beat. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but something
about it feels slightly wrong. Sie Medway-Smith's mix adds mournful
strings to an otherwise upbeat version, but in the main it doesn't
feel like anything terribly special; the introduction of the (still
thrilling) Martin Gore's guitar provides the highlight,
once again. Alex Metric's remix is, on the other hand, far better.
It keeps more of the original, including Gore's
guitar, with Metric creating a digital respray that doesn't sound
a million miles away from how the joyous way the band tend to perform
the track live these days. The beats are more urgent and the essential
drama of the original is retained, whilst sounding totally updated
at the same time. An edited version is included on the digital release.
Eric Prydz doesn't quite know where to go with his
remix and it falters repeatedly, only hitting paydirt when it shuffles
toward a mutant sort of acid house; except, just as you expect the
303s to flail and pitch wildly out of control, the track ends. It's
a bit of a let-down really. The mix by M.A.N. (producer Mark Ronson,
Andrew Wyatt from Miike Snow and Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes) is better,
though it again falters for the first half until it settles into
an urgent hyper-electropop groove, lots of synths flying about all
over the shop. Given the hype around the M.A.N. project, and given
my general indifference toward Ronson and Rhodes, I'm quietly impressed
by this.
12" (coloured vinyl):
A1. Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix)
A2. Personal Jesus (M.A.N. Remix)
A3. Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)
B1. Personal Jesus (Eric Prydz Remix)
B2. Personal Jesus (Sie Medway-Smith Remix)
cd:
1. Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)
2. Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix)
3. Personal Jesus (Eric Prydz Remix)
4. Personal Jesus (M.A.N. Remix)
5. Personal Jesus (Sie Medway-Smith Remix)
i (3 x separate iTunes formats):
1. Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)
2. Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix Edit)
3. Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix)
4. Personal Jesus (Eric Prydz Remix)
5. Personal Jesus (M.A.N. Remix)
6. Personal Jesus (Sie Medway-Smith Remix)
7. Personal Jesus (Sie Medway-Smith Dub)
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