2015-06-03 VSSL, Dublab, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Notes

Mikey Nightchilde, the host of VSSL Radio interviewed Martin Gore over the phone for dublab. The two talk about Gore’s new album, MG, the creative process and his approach in composing the songs for this record.

For Box.com, the songs have been cut out. On dublab, you can download the podcast including the songs.

• Duration: 29:13 minutes (with songs) | 16:44 minutes (without songs)

Transcript

Mikey Nightchilde: This is Mikey Nightchilde from VSSL Radio, and right now you're listening to 'Pinking', the opening track from Martin Gore's solo album 'MG', which was recently released on Mute Records. I had the pleasure to speak to Martin, picking his brain about the backstory of 'MG', how it was constructed, and a little about Mute Records and his long relationship with the label. Being a longtime fan of Depeche Mode, when I got asked to do this interview, I was absolutely thrilled. This was my chance to hear how Martin's creative process worked. Martin, thank you so much for joining us on Dublab.

Martin Gore: You are welcome.

Mikey: Alright, so let's talk about 'MG'. I know you have written other instrumental compositions before, and this is your first solo album of all instrumental originals. So for me, being a fan of Tangerine Dream or instrumentalist producers like Wolfgang Voight, was there ever any sort of inspiration that persuaded you to make a record without words?

Martin: Well, over the years I have actually written a lot of instrumentals that have actually appeared on Depeche Mode albums as interludes or even being actual instrumental tracks, or there being B-sides, back in the old days. So it's not something that's new to me. It's just the concept of making a whole instrumental album that was quite exciting, and getting the whole thing to work as a whole was a challenge and fun to do.

Mikey: I did some research after I first listened to the record, and I read that with the album the starting point was with a few tracks that were meant to be put on 'Delta Machine', the last Depeche Mode record? Can you tell us what those tracks were, initially?

Martin: Yeah, 'Elk' was written quite early on, and 'Brink' was written around that date. I think 'Featherlight' was written around that time as well. There might have been one more, I can't remember actually which one I've started.

Mikey: So from those tracks, were all the new stuff that you were writing based off those tracks, or did you kind of tweak those tracks to make them fit the newer stuff that you were writing for the record?

Martin: No, I think that although 'Brink' was kind of techno and sort of would fit into that genre, the other two tracks were more atmospheric, and I felt like that was the way to go with this album, because the last time the band took a break, I did that project with Vince Clark, the 'VCMG' project, and so I thought it would be very predictable of me to put out another techno kind-of record. So I liked the idea of making it more of a filmic, cinematic thing. I like 'Brink', especially on the album, because one of the things I was concerned about was making sure that there was a lot of diversity on the record. But in general I wanted to be more kind of soundscape-y.

Mikey: So right when the ball started rolling, what was the key vision that you had in mind for 'MG'?

Martin: I don't think that other than making it a filmic kind-of record, and keeping all of the tracks quite short, I saw them as almost tailored as for a scene for a film. So I didn't want tracks to dragging off into the eight-minute mark, I wanted it like it was just a short little piece for a film. Other than that, I didn't really have a great vision for it, other than trying to make everything different, but still keep it quite atmospheric.

Mikey: The first time I heard 'MG' a few weeks ago, I was on my way to a mixing session with my bandmate in his car, and all I could think of was, "This record sounds completely flawless". And I know artists sometimes look back at their work when it's finished, and they're like "Man, I just notice this little thing", or "I wish I could have just turn that up right here", or... Was there anything you maybe wanted to change right after hearing it complete as a whole?

Martin: Ehm, I don't think I ever think like that when I finish a record. Even with the band, I may look back now and think, "What were we doing when we made 'Speak And Spell'?", but it brought us sort of to the attention of the world. And maybe there are some things that I would change in hindsight now, but maybe I wouldn't be making records today!

Mikey: Yeah, especially since maybe there was a timeline before, or... Now it's just, like, you can do everything from home, you have your own studio, and you can work with your own time, just to put more details in it and everything.

Martin: Yes. I don't overfocus on everything, and it's not like I listen to it all the time, as well. I did an interview with somebody yesterday and they were saying, "What's your favourite track?", and I was saying, "Well, it kind of changes all the time", but at the same time, I don't listen to it. It's not like I'm constantly listening to it. I said, "I haven't probably even heard the record now for, like, six to eight weeks". I had to listen to Depeche pressings when they came in, but I don't go to bed each night, putting it on.

Mikey: You're not falling asleep to the record?

Martin: [laughs]

Mikey: So I wanted to talk about the track 'Hum'. So, first of: I wish that track was 15 minutes long, because there's gotta be, like, an extended remix of it, it's so just hypnotic and just awesome, I love that track. But, to me, I got this very visual aspect to the track, like Poltergeist, like static, you know, like from the movie. And once the music starts kicking in, I get this first persion view of, like, flying through downtown L.A., at nighttime. Kinda like Bladerunner or something. Were there any moments for you once you got to hear the record for the first time, from start to finish, that sent these visuals through your head? Or even while writing a particular track?

Martin: Well, I think that, when I first started out, I didn't really have this vision of it being kind of sci-fi-like at all. And I think that, with me, it sometimes takes a little while to realise what I'm doing. And I think that when I maybe got five or six tracks in and I was listening back to them, I thought, "This is quite sci-fi, and I like that". And so I kept that at the back of my mind when I was working on the rest of the album.

Mikey: So it was basically the process of the sounds that you were coming up with that made it into this kind of sci-fi element, I guess you could say?

Martin: Yeah, I suppose so. When I was unaware of that, I suppose it was the choice of instrumentation and the sounds that were created, and the icyness and just... I don't know, when I close my eyes, I saw kind of, like, space visions, and for some reason I saw a lot of travel, things were always moving when I was seeing pictures.

Mikey: Oh yeah, that's exactly what I was saying, just, like, flying over L.A., and, like... I just got a very, like, kind of, like... Especially living here, just this Bladerunner feel to it, while listening to it.

Martin: Yeah, well I love Bladerunner, that's probably my favourite sci-fi movie of all time, so if it reminds people of Bladerunner then I'm very happy.

Mikey: So for 'Europa Hymn', you have a video for that. As far as for the director, his name is 'M-I-E', or is it...? How do you pronounce his name?

Martin: Ehm, good question, I don't even know.

Mikey: [laughs]

Martin: No, when we decided to put out a lead track, I mean, we have to be careful not to use the word 'single', because you can't really put out a single from an instrumentals album...

Mikey: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Martin: We decided to make a video for it, with the concept of the whole album, because the majority of it was made on modular synthesizers. With the whole visuals for the sleeve and everything, we had a lot of different versions of modular synthesizers drawn up, and I chose the simplest one, which was just the kind-of attenuverter, just one knob. And that summed it all up, that was very simple. The idea that we had was to carry that on with the video.

Mikey: Yes. So the cover was made before the video was actually made?

Martin: Yes, yes. And the video was made in London, and the guy who puts the stuff together for Mute is based in London, and he recommended the company that actually made this video. So they sent a script over, if you will - you can't really call it a script, I suppose, for animation - they sent over some art.

Mikey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like a video demo, or...

Martin: Yeah. And I really liked it, so I decided to go with that.

Mikey: Sometimes while writing you may encounter a combination of sounds together that don't really fit the record but it's still too cool to throw away. Were there any moments during the creative process of 'MG' that you were, like, "Oh man, I'm gonna gonna save the sound", or "I'm gonna save this track for DM or something else"?

Martin: Ehm, not really, no. Obviously, if you come up with an amazing sound, you can record it and save it for something later, but one of the things I really like about modular synthesizers is that once you've created a patch, you either record it, or it's gone. You can't leave it up.

Mikey: Oh, yeah!

Martin: You can leave it up for maybe a day, but the chances are, if you come back the next day, it won't sound exactly the same. Yeah, it really depends on what modulars you're using. There will be some resemblance, probably, but... I mean, I have left things up overnight and come back the next day and thought, "That sounds really different". A lot of the newer stuff is obviously temperature-compensated and stuff like that, but I don't know how people did it back in the old days, where oscillators will just go out of tune, because they've heated up.

Mikey: Oh my God, even, like the ARP 2600 or something is just completely out of tune.

Martin: Yeah.

Mikey: So, this album is released on Mute Records, and I've been a huge longtime fan of the label, and I'm so glad to see that Daniel Miller has it still going on. So as far as Daniel, when you sent him the ideas, was there any advice or constructive criticism that you got from him about the record?

Martin: Yeah. I mean, firstly I'd like to say I'm probably a longer-time fan of Mute than you, because we were big fans of Mute Records before we signed to them, and we were lucky enough to get a support slot with Fad Gadget, and Daniel was mixing the sound, and that's how we got to meet him. He was a superstar to us back then. We were complete unknowns. The night we met him, he offered us a one-off single deal. So it's just great that all these years later, 35 years later, we're still working with him. He's involved in everything that, obviously, I do. I mean, this record just came out on Mute Records, like you said, but also with the band. Even the band's last few studio albums that have come out on major labels have involved Daniel in some form or another. We always get him into the studio and we value his opinion a lot. He's very important to the band, still.

Mikey: That's amazing, yeah. So were there any changes before it finally went to press?

Martin: Daniel is not you average record-company guy. When he comes into the studio, he might even say, "Oh. I'm not sure about that sound. Let me have a go at that", because you have to remember that Daniel was a synthesizer wizard way before we knew very much about it at all. So when we were a synth-band, he came into the studio with his ARP 2600: we had never seen one before. He still can be hands-on, even in the studio. He's not your typical record company A&R man who comes in and talks a lot of nonsense. And he's got such a broad taste in music, he knows so much about so many different styles and is into so many kinds of music. So when I sent him stuff, he would - not often, but there was one track in particular that I remember, that he said, "You know, there's just too much going on, and it all happens too quickly. I think it would be much nicer if it was mellower and not so much happening, and it just evolved very slowly". So I listened back to it, and I thought, "He's absolutely right!" So I went back to it and worked on it, and made it into a much mellower track.

Mikey: Awesome, yeah. He's, like, the guru.

Martin: He is!

Mikey: [laughs] So since doing the 'VCMG' collaboration, was there any chance that you may have sent a demo to Vince to get some criticism from him as well?

Martin: [laughs] No. I mean, I did enjoy that project. It was fun to reconnect with Vince, even though we did it distantly, you know, we sent files to each other. We did meet up to do some interviews after the record was finished, and I saw him a couple of times after that as well. But when I decided to do this project, I decided to do it on my own. So I didn't really feel a need to contact Vince.

Mikey: Yeah. Alright, so, I just wanna say how much of a fan I've been of you music. I still have a copy of 'Some Great Reward' on cassette tape that I got when I was, like, ten. And the actual tape is... Because I played the tape so much, the tape actually has this, like warble sound to it, like a warp sound. But, yeah, that tape basically opened my eyes to something more than the hair metal stuff that I was listening to before that record. And now I'm listening to 'MG', and thank you.

Martin: Alright, well thank you very much.

Mikey: So there you have it: a few tracks from 'MG' by Martin Gore which was recently release on Mute Records. It's an album that's visual and tells a story without the need of dialogue. I highly recommend checking out the album. To me, it's Martin's best work. Again, this is Mikey Nightchilde, and you're listening to Dublab.com.