Recording - December 2013 - 32

So naturally when the opportunity arose to
remix the new single "Should Be Higher" off of
Delta Machine, it could not be ignored. I tend to
gravitate towards a lot of lo-fi sounds mixed in
with cinematic vibes, which piqued their management's interest, so that's the approach I wanted to take. Two weeks were given for the remix,
which fell on top of the July Fourth holiday weekend, so there really wasn't much time... and
there were more complications lying in wait.
The materials
"Should Be Higher" is a very minimalistic and
subtle recording with Dave Gahan's soaring
vocal delivery. Strict orders were given not to
mess with the vocal-"no distortion", "no pitch or
tempo changes". Totally understandable, as with
a voice like Gahan's, it would be like taking a 50
year old wine and mixing it with grape soda.
The stems provided to me all lined up in Logic
perfectly. One of the best parts of listening to the
stems was hearing Gahan's vocals solo'd-he
sounds better than ever! Another was listening
closely to the synth bits, and noticing that although
they at times sound pretty simple in the album mix,
some of them are a very complicated blend of several synths mixed together. (Unfortunately such little nuances aren't always so audible when all
tracks are blasting away!) Some of the parts also
utilized distortion peaks, which is something I personally love. A "less than perfect" sound can be
the perfect sound for a track, when done right.

By Eric Alexandrakis
Just because something is old (or older) doesn't mean you throw it away. Age should
never be a foundation for judging art, and Depeche Mode is a case in point. Their first
album Speak & Spell came out in 1981, and while I personally have enjoyed DM's
music from the beginning, my admiration has grown much stronger in recent years due
to this "old" band's more experimental approach over the last three or so albums. Have
you noticed that as they got older, they got much more daring? Their bold use (especially recently) of lo-fi electronics and sounds, minimalism, space, noisy guitars, and
complicated beats, has created a style that is so creative and innovative that I can hardly contain myself. I actually like them more now than I did when I was a kid.
The first time I really noticed their experimental side was when the song
"Barrel Of A Gun" was released-totally wicked guitar and synth play on those
verses! Then the 2005 album Playing The Angel, with its totally out-there guitar
intro, set a whole new tone into motion. I suppose that when you reach a certain point in your success, you have to create music that satisfies you, otherwise
you're just chasing the past. Good for them!
There is a lot of beautiful music on the new Depeche Mode album Delta
Machine. None of it is blatantly commercial, but who cares? Apparently it doesn't matter in DM's case, because Pollstar listed them as the highest-grossing touring band about two months ago, grossing over $60 Million in touring revenue.
Like I said, just because something is old(er), doesn't mean you throw it away!
32

RECORDING December 2013

Real strings... or not
It's tough settling on a song arrangement, as
really a song like this could go in all sorts of
directions. Lesson One: Sometimes you just have
to sit down, do it, and not think about what you
might have done differently.
I rolled some possibilities around in my head
for a few days, and knew that I wanted some live
classical players involved. I had secured several
live players from the local symphony on a
moment's notice-violin, cello, flute, accordion,
and clarinet-and managed to secure the gymnasium at a local elementary school for recording. It's a really nice room, with plenty of reverb
sloshing about. Charts were written...
...But the night before the recording, lo and
behold, I got some kind of food poisoning. It was
a huge bummer, because I didn't want to have to
play those parts and end up with too much of a
MIDI vibe. But time was running out, so I ended
up playing a blend of Logic samples and Korg
synths to create tremolo strings, cello parts, timpani, and general orchestral string pads. (More
on my rig below.) Lesson Two: Deadlines don't
budge, so you do what you must in the time you
have.
I then asked my good friend, producer
Anthony J. Resta [Collective Soul, Duran Duran,
Blondie, Perry Farrell, Scissor Sisters, Elton
John] if he wanted to play on it, as he has a
great sonic imagination. Lesson Three: Outside
ideas are good for your brain.
Anthony and I are in a group called ELECTRONS along with Steve Ferrone [Tom Petty &
The Heartbreakers] and Warren Cuccurullo
[Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, Duran Duran].

Recording - December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2013