Comatose
Notes
Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher said in the May 2001 issue of Keyboard magazine:
Gore: "[Comatose] was one of the weirdest tracks on the record. There's not really a bass going on in that one. There's a lot of really loud hi-hat. The majority of the rest of that backing track was actually a sampled organ that we filtered down until it ended up sounding like a steamboat or something. It works, in a strange kind of way."
Fletcher: "It was a Wurlitzer or something - a big organ, with a Leslie. That track was actually fuller at one point, with a more conventional arrangement. We went more minimal."
Gore: "The chords were a lot more apparent on the demo. Mark sampled some sound; it was one chord. It was a good idea, and it had a good atmosphere, a good vibe to it, but somehow it didn't work. So we really distorted it. It just went a little bit too far: The chords were lost. That's when we had the idea of sampling each individual chord and doing the same sort of treatment he had on the original sample. That worked."
Fletcher: "[The pause after "Don't be afraid // I'm floating away"] was how it was on the demo. The rhythm track carried on under it on the demo, but apart from that it's very similar."
Producer Mark Bell, in the same magazine:
"On 'Comatose' the demo vocal was perfect. I changed the harmonics and rhythm to make Martin sound as if he's in one room singing and the music is being played in another room by some crazy dope nutty professor."
Mark Bell told author Jonathan Miller in 2001: "[W]e used that new PPG soft synth [Steinberg/Waldorf PPG Wave 2.V] on 'Comatose' where it plays an arpeggiating part."
Mark Bell also told Keys Magazin (translated from German): "We used a bass and noise-sound from the Casio FZ-10M, which has got a very weird sounding filter, as well as an arpeggio out of the PPG Wave 2.3."
Lyrics
Comatose
Comatose, almost
You've got me dreaming
Slipping in
And sliding out
Of conscious feeling
Take a light
Start the flame
Play the game
I am lost
In your eyes
Hypnotised
Here I believe
Dreams never deceive
Comatose, almost
You've got me dreaming
Slipping in
And sliding out
Life has no meaning
Bodies move
Colours change
Girl, you're strange
Here inside
I'm at home
I'm alive
Don't be afraid
I'm floating away
Comatose, almost
You've got me dreaming
Slipping in
And sliding out
Of conscious feeling
Comatose, almost
Comatose, almost
Comatose
Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©2001 EMI Music Publishing Ltd. London WC2H 0EA. Assigned by Grabbing Hands Music Ltd. All rights Reserved.
Dates where Comatose was played
Comatose has never been played live.
