Depeche Mode sample sources

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Among the thousands of original samples recorded and utilized by Depeche Mode to enhance the atmosphere of their musical output are many that originated elsewhere, such as brief passages of musical recordings by other artists as well as snippets of audio from television shows, radio broadcasts, and films. Analysis of these sample sources and how they are manipulated is a common topic of discussion among fans of the group.

Within reason, this page aims to capture all identifiable sound sources for many of the samples used by Depeche Mode on their studio albums, official remixes, and live performances, as well as the samples used in former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder's Recoil studio albums, official remixes, and live performances. In addition to confirmed samples, the tables below also describe samples that are commonly believed to be but were not actually used by Depeche Mode in the specified song. The confirmation status of each sample is measured by the following standard:

Depeche Mode

  • Deconfirmed - This sample is not used in the specified song.
  • Unconfirmed - This sample may or may not be used in the specified song.
  • Likely - This sample is likely to be used in the specified song but is not yet confirmed.
  • Confirmed - This sample has been independently confirmed to be used in the specified song and an audio demonstration is available.
  • Officially confirmed - This sample has been confirmed by either a past or present member of Depeche Mode or an individual involved in the production of the specified song.

Speak And Spell

Speak And Spell does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

A Broken Frame

A Broken Frame does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Construction Time Again

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Everything Counts
(Tim Simenon/Mark Saunders Remix)
1989 Breathing sound Kraftwerk - Tour de France 1983 Unconfirmed
Intro sweep Kraftwerk - Die Roboter 1978 Unconfirmed
The Landscape Is Changing 1983 Spoken word in German Einstürzende Neubauten - Merle (Die Elektrik) 1983 Unconfirmed

Some Great Reward

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
People Are People (Are People People? Mix) 1984 Doo-wop vocal sample The Citadels - When I Woke Up This Morning 1964 Confirmed Credit to Brat (Daniel Barassi) for this discovery.[1]

Black Celebration

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
A Question Of Time 1986 Moan vocal sample The Chanters - She Wants To Mambo 1954? (Re-release by Jazzman Records in 2014) Officially confirmed The second feminine moan in the song is sampled and played in a descending two note passage with EQ for added top-end during the chorus sections of A Question Of Time. Martin Gore confirmed the use of the sample in the August 1986 issue of Electronics & Music Maker:

'It's not that audible, though. It's a sample from a record called 'She Wants to Mambo', an old doo-wop disc. At the end of each verse, the woman who sings sort of moans. We sampled this moan and played it up a few notes, which made it sound like a girl moaning. We used it on the chorus section of 'A Question of Time'.'[2]

Fly On The Windscreen 1986 "Their living hell" vocal sample Peter Jennings, ABC News (Television News Report, unidentified date) ? Likely Jennings was an active news anchor from 2/1/1965 to 4/1/2005. It is likely the exact date of the report sampled by Depeche Mode occurred sometime before or between approx. November 1985 and December 1985 at the latest.
Fly On The Windscreen (Death Mix) 1986 "I don't care how you feel!" vocal sample Richard Pryor - Unidentified film ? Unconfirmed
"Help the dying" vocal sample Steve Kroft, CBS News (Television News Report, unidentified date) ? Likely Kroft was an active television news anchor with CBS news starting in 1980. It is likely the exact date of the report sampled by Depeche Mode occurred sometime before or between approx. November 1985 and December 1985 at the latest.

Music For The Masses

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Never Let Me Down Again 1987 Classic John Bonham drum loop Beastie Boys - Rhymin' And Stealin' 1982 Officially confirmed The heavy drums of Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks sampled on the Beastie Boys song Rhymin And Stealin were subsequently sampled by Depeche Mode. One-shot samples of the bass drum and snare drum are sampled and sequenced to form the primary drum pattern of Never Let Me Down Again. Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record. The sampled parts would later be re-purposed for Halo.

From memory, the drums were sampled from LED ZEPPELIN's When the Levee Breaks (but secondhand from a rap record). It is one of the most commonly used drum samples – for obvious reasons as it has that very special Bonham sound. The same snare drum sound appears on DM's Get Right With Me. I've also heard that snare on a MASSIVE ATTACK record and many others. I think Violator was the first album that we used whole performance drum loops to create rhythm tracks, as opposed to programmed single drum sounds, and Halo was one of the first tracks we recorded for Violator in fact. Flood and I were listening to quite a lot of hip hop and rap records at the time – those artists were the forerunners when sampling larger sections of rhythms and grooves. And the unusual feels that were created on those albums really influenced Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.

Classic John Bonham drum break Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks 1971 Officially confirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record. (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin).
N/A Gary Wright - Love Is Alive 1982 Unconfirmed
Guitar riff and drum elements 3rd Bass - Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2 1989 Officially confirmed American hip-hop group 3rd Bass employed an uncredited sample of the opening guitar riff from Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again for their 1989 track Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2. Depeche Mode were fond of their use of the sample, and would later sample it back from Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2 and employ it during the live interlude of Never Let Me Down Again as performed on the 1990 World Violation Tour. Former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder would use this sample and other elements from Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2 in the live production of In Your Room as part of Recoil's 2010-2011 Selected Events tour.
Strangelove (The Fresh Ground Mix) 1987 N/A Cameo - Word Up' 1986 Unconfirmed
Route 66 (Beatmasters Mix) 1987 "They come from everywhere to take the challenge", "If they can name it they can claim it", "It's big money, high hopes, near misses, and love and kisses", "So, join host Tom Kennedy, tonight at 7:30, and 'Name That Tune!'" vocal samples from a television promotion for the television game show Name That Tune Unspecified television advertisement for Name That Tune (game show) ? Confirmed

Violator

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
World In My Eyes 1990 Bell tree sample Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman 1982 Confirmed This sample is used for two distinct sounds in the production of World In My Eyes:
  • One version of the sample features oscillating pitch with added reverb that is reversed and played in chorus with a separate sample, producing an exciting "whirl" effect that occurs during the verses and throughout the song.
  • A second version of the sample appears on the first bar following the end of the first chorus, with added reverb to create a distancing effect. This sample is used to dramatic effect during the outro to the 1993 Devotional Tour version of World In My Eyes.
Sweetest Perfection 1990 Bell tree sample Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman 1982 Confirmed This sample is looped and manipulated to produce a ghostly pad with oscillating pitch and creative panning effects during the verses.
Personal Jesus 1989 Vocal huffing rhythm Kate Bush - The Dreaming 1982 Likely
'Preacher' vocal sample "I'm not crazy anymore!" A Cry In The Wilderness (film) 1974 Likely
Halo 1990 Classic John Bonham drum loop Beastie Boys - Rhymin' And Stealin' 1982 Officially confirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record. The sampled parts would later be re-purposed for Halo:

From memory, the drums were sampled from LED ZEPPELIN's When the Levee Breaks (but secondhand from a rap record). It is one of the most commonly used drum samples – for obvious reasons as it has that very special Bonham sound. The same snare drum sound appears on DM's Get Right With Me. I've also heard that snare on a MASSIVE ATTACK record and many others. I think Violator was the first album that we used whole performance drum loops to create rhythm tracks, as opposed to programmed single drum sounds, and Halo was one of the first tracks we recorded for Violator in fact. Flood and I were listening to quite a lot of hip hop and rap records at the time – those artists were the forerunners when sampling larger sections of rhythms and grooves. And the unusual feels that were created on those albums really influenced Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.

Classic John Bonham drum break Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks 1971 Officially confirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin). These samples were later re-purposed for use in Halo and Get Right With Me.
Clean 1990 Bass guitar Pink Floyd - One Of These Days 1971 Deconfirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Clean does not employ a sample from Pink Floyd:

I recognise the similarity but It's not a Floyd sample. It was programmed using a combination of analogue synth and sampled bass gtr.[sic][3]

Happiest Girl (Pump Up The House Mix) 1990 "Pump up the volume" vocal sample M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume 1987 Confirmed This sample appears sporadically in the Happiest Girl (Pump Up The House Mix) as a simple vocal sample played in time with the bass drum.
Sea Of Sin (Sensoria Mix) 1990 N/A Madonna - Vogue 1990 Unconfirmed
Policy Of Truth (Trancentral Mix) 1990 "I'm not a politician, I'm a businessman" Robert Hoskins vocal sample The Long Good Friday (film) 1980 Likely
N/A My Side of the Story - The "Checkers" Speech, Richard M. Nixon speech broadcast, 1952 1952 Uncomfirmed
World In My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix) 1990 N/A Kraftwerk - Musique Non-Stop 1986 Unconfirmed

Songs Of Faith And Devotion

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Walking In My Shoes 1993 Drum loop Funkadelic - Nappy Dugout 1973 Unconfirmed
Mercy In You 1993 Drum loop The Headhunters - God Make Me Funky 1975 Unconfirmed
In Your Room 1993 Drum loop Rusty Bryant - Fire Eater 1971 Confirmed
Drum loop Simtec & Wylie - Bootleggin' 1971 Unconfirmed
Drum loop Melvin Bliss - Synthetic Substitution 1973 Unconfirmed
Get Right With Me 1993 Classic John Bonham drum loop Beastie Boys - Rhymin' And Stealin' 1982 Officially confirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin). These samples were later re-purposed for use in Halo and Get Right With Me.
Classic John Bonham drum break Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks 1971 Officially confirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin). These samples were later re-purposed for use in Halo and Get Right With Me.
N/A N.W.A. - Unspecified song N/A Unconfirmed
Higher Love 1993 Drum loop U2 - So Cruel 1991 Officially confirmed Wilder indirectly confirmed in a response to a question regarding the sonic similarity between the drums of Depeche Mode's Higher Love and U2's So Cruel in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that a drum loop from U2's So Cruel was utilised by affirming producer Flood assisted in the production of both records (Depeche Mode would later cover this song, see So Cruel):

Didn't Flood work on both LP's?.....[4]

My Joy 1993 'Rolling' percussion fill Beastie Boys - Funky Boss 1992 Confirmed The 'rolling' percussion fill audible in the intro of the Beastie Boys' Funky Boss is sampled and stretched via resampling to match My Joy's approx. 101 BPM tempo, with light distortion/saturation added to introduce a 'dirty' quality to the part. As it was in the Beastie Boys original, this sample remains in use as a drum fill, appearing sporadically throughout the song.
Heavy drum loop with built-in bass drum, snare, and programmed hi-hat sequence Beastie Boys - Pass The Mic 1992 Confirmed The heavy drum loop present in the brief instrumental break of the Beastie Boys' song Pass The Mic is sampled and streched via resampling to match My Joy's slightly faster BPM. Once matched for tempo, the sample is sliced into two bars, placing the part that originally plays in the second bar (which features a "slurred" quality on the first snare hit) into the first bar, and the remaining content is placed into the second bar. The results are then looped with some light processing added, creating the main drum bed of My Joy. For drum fills, the final beat of the first bar containing a snare hit is sliced and placed prior to the start of the loop. The drums were originally performed by Mike D. (Michael Diamond) during the recording of Check Your Head at G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, CA. According to the late MCA (Adam Yauch) in 1999:

One memorable thing about recording [Pass The Mic] was the drums. We had heard that [Led Zeppelin drummer] John Bonham had used a really long kick drum on something and thought it would be interesting to put his technique to the test. Taking full advantage of the size of the G-Son live room/basketball court, we wrapped a long piece of cardboard from a refrigerator box around the kick drum and then put a mic at the far end of it. Mike played the beat, and we looped it.[5]

My Joy (Slow Slide Mix) 1993 Drum loop James Brown - Funky Drummer 1970 Confirmed
Drum loop Dexter Wansel - Theme From The Planets 1976 Confirmed
In Your Room (Jeep Rock Mix) 1993 Drum loop Skull Snaps - It's A New Day 1973 Confirmed
Walking In My Shoes (Extended Twelve Inch Mix) 1993 N/A The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Language Of Violence 1992 Confirmed
Walking In My Shoes (Grungy Gonads Mix) 1993 Drum loop Mountain - Long Red 1972 Confirmed
Orchestral string passage Ennio Morricone - In Chiesa, from the Ad Ogni Costo (film) soundtrack 1967 Officially confirmed The string passage in the introduction to this orchestral piece was sampled by the late trip-hop pioneer Jonny Dollar and Portishead member Geoff Barrow[6] for use in the Grungy Gonads Mix. The sample is stretched to match the tempo of Walking In My Shoes, with sixteen manual scratches on the third bar producing an exciting scratch effect. The sample appears in multiple Walking In My Shoes remixes from the period, and has commonly been employed in many performances of this song since its live introduction on the 1993 Devotional Tour. Credit to Christopher Baird for this discovery.[7]
Walking In My Shoes (Random Carpet Mix) 1993 Orchestral string samples Doctor Zhivago (film) 1965 Unconfirmed

Ultra

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Painkiller 1997 N/A Vanessa Paradis - The Future Song 1992 Unconfirmed
Useless (Cosmic Blues Mix) 1997 "I want to hear you play some bass" vocal sample National Lampoon's That's Not Funny, That's Sick (Sketch comedy album) 1977 Likely

Exciter

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Dream On (Remix) 2001 N/A Kraftwerk - The Robots 1978 Unconfirmed
The Sweetest Condition 2001 N/A Kraftwerk - Musique Non-Stop 1986 Unconfirmed

Playing The Angel

Playing The Angel does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Sounds Of The Universe

Sounds Of The Universe does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Delta Machine

Delta Machine does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Spirit

Spirit does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Recoil

Upon his departure from the group in 1995, Alan Wilder would expand upon the creative sampling techniques he developed through the years as a member of Depeche Mode for his Recoil music project, utilising samples from contemporary music, films, film soundtracks, and samples from his own past work with Depeche Mode.

1 + 2

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
1 & 2 1986 N/A Depeche Mode – Any Second Now (Altered) 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – If You Want 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – The Sun & The Rainfall 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – "Oberkorn (It's A Small Town) 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – The Great Outdoors 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – Shouldn't Have Done That 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – Tora! Tora! Tora! 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – Shake The Disease (Edit the Shake) 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – Pipeline 1978 Confirmed
N/A Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours 1978 Confirmed
N/A Kraftwerk – Radioaktivität 1978 Confirmed
N/A Kraftwerk – Uran 1978 Confirmed
N/A Kraftwerk – Radioland 1978 Confirmed
N/A Duet Emmo – Or So It Seems 1978 Confirmed
N/A Duet Emmo – Heart of Hearts 1978 Confirmed
N/A The Hitmen – Shade in, fade out 1978 Confirmed
N/A Hard Corps - Je Suis Passée 1985 Unconfirmed

Hydrology

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Stone 1988 French vocal sample French train announcer, unidentified source ? Confirmed Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Stone employs a vocal sample of a French train announcer, but he is unsure of its origin.[8]

Bloodline

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Faith Healer 1992 Bell tree sample Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes 1990 Confirmed This sample was originally sampled for use in Depeche Mode's World In My Eyes, and is re-used to atmospheric effect in Faith Healer.
Bell tree sample Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman 1982 Confirmed This sample was originally sampled for use in Depeche Mode's World In My Eyes, and is re-used to atmospheric effect in Faith Healer.
Snare Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes 1990 Confirmed
Drum fill elements Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus 1989 Unconfirmed
Combination of Xpander 'zap' and Pro One bass sweep Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence 1990 Confirmed
"Eyes" vocoder sample Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes (Dub In My Eyes Mix) 1990 Confirmed
Electro Blues for Bukka White 1992 N/A David Bowie - Aladdin Sane 1973 Likely
Bukka White vocal performance Bukka White - Shake 'Em On Down 1937 Confirmed
Curse 1992 Diamanda Galás vocal sample Diamanda Galás - Unidentified source ? Unconfirmed
Snare Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance 1990 Confirmed
The Defector 1992 Anthony Hopkins "Closer...", "That is his nature", "No, no, no, no, no" vocal samples Silence Of The Lambs (film) 1991 Likely
The Defector 1992 N/A LFO - El Ef Oh 1991 Unconfirmed

LFO - EL EF OH - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku-XcQICZ5M The Defector

Electro Blues for Bukka White falls in the same category, but the title is different this time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t59S92GpTc

Unsound Methods

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Incubus 1997 Percussion elements Depeche Mode - Clean 1990 Confirmed This percussive loop was originally recorded for use in Depeche Mode's Clean, and is re-used among other percussive elements for a rhythmic, tribal atmosphere in Incubus.
Shouting vocal sample Peter Gabriel - Rhythm Of The Heat 1982 Likely
Last Breath 1997 Ebow guitar sample Depeche Mode - Walking In My Shoes 1993 Confirmed
Drum loop The Incredible Bongo Band - Last Bongo in Belgium 1973 Likely
N/A Ernest Gold and Pat Boone - The Exodus Song (This Land Is Mine) 1960 Unconfirmed
Shunt 1997 Gated synth element Piquet - Caress 1996 Confirmed
Sub bass and bass drum element Massive Attack - Better Things 1994 Likely
Drifting 1997 Gated synth element Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas 1985 Confirmed
Stalker 1997 Ambient pads Peter Gabriel - Birdy (film soundtrack) - Unidentified source song 1985 Unconfirmed
N/A The Last Seduction (film) 1994 Unconfirmed
Luscious Apparatus 1997 Introduction guitar chord The Cure - Club America 1996 Likely
Control Freak 1997 N/A Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need To Get By 1968 Unconfirmed

Liquid

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Black Box (Full) 2000 Orchestral string part Symphony No. 3 (Górecki) 1992 Unconfirmed
N/A Plastikman - Consumed 1998 Unconfirmed
Want 2000 Drum loop PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? 1998 Likely

SubHuman

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
Allelujah 2007 N/A Tangerine Dream - Rubycon 1975 Unconfirmed
Processed and double-tracked guitar "splang" chord sample Depeche Mode - In Your Room 1993 Confirmed Wilder describes the recording of this particular part in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site:

Affectionately known (to me anyway) as 'Splang' rather than 'twoo, twaa and twee', the sound is derived from a guitar. Each chord was sampled individually and then double-tracked with a second but different guitar sound. There is also a string/choir pad (another backwards sound) playing the same chords in the background.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many

Drum loop Elbow - Fugitive Motel 2003 Unconfirmed
The Killing Ground 2007 Harmonica and drum elements Talk Talk - The Rainbow 1988 Likely
99 To Life 2007 N/A Digital Intervention - La Louve 2003 Unconfirmed

Recoil Remixes (Misc.)

Song Song release year Sample Description Source of sample Source release year Status Notes
In Chains (Alan Wilder Remix) 2011 Percussion elements Depeche Mode - Nothing's Impossible 2005 Confirmed
Ambient pads Depeche Mode - The Darkest Star 2005 Confirmed
Orchestral string arrangement Depeche Mode - I Am You 2001 Confirmed
I Am Undone (Alan Wilder Remix) 2011 Percussion elements Scott Walker - Manhattan 1995 Unconfirmed
Inheritance 2012 Percussion elements Depeche Mode - Nothing's Impossible 2005 Unconfirmed
Dum Dum Girl feat. Shara Worden 2012 Percussion elements Depeche Mode - Nothing's Impossible 2005 Confirmed

References

  1. Discovery of doo-wop sample used in People Are People (Are People People?) mix by Adrian Sherwood by Brat (Daniel Barassi) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bif2G7gD7ui/
  2. Martin Gore confirms use of moan sample from The Chanters She Wants To Mambo in August 1986 issue of Electronics & Music Maker http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/modes-of-operation/1937
  3. Alan Wilder deconfirms use of Pink Floyd sample on Depeche Mode's Clean http://oldsite.recoil.co.uk/forum/qa/dviol2.htm
  4. Wilder indirectly confirms Depeche Mode's Higher Love uses a drum sample from U2's So Cruel, also produced by Flood (Mark Ellis) http://oldsite.recoil.co.uk/forum/qa/dmsfd2.htm
  5. http://www.beastiemania.com/songspotlight/show.php?s=passthemic&band=b MCA on the recording of the heavy drum loop eventually sampled by Depeche Mode for My Joy
  6. Wilder confirms Jonny Dollar and Geoff Barrow are responsible for orchestral string sample employed in remixes and live renditions of Walking In My Shoes https://www.facebook.com/groups/recoilshunt/permalink/2485386374806770/
  7. https://www.depeche-mode.com/forum/index.php?topic=30176.msg758921#msg758921
  8. http://www.recoil.co.uk/evidence/qa-vault/qa-recoil/qa-recoil-1-2-hydrology/