Chatting with Alan Wilder
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 21:24:40 +0100
From: Henrik Wittgren
To: bong@commline.com
Yesterday i got the chance to meet Alan for an interview. I had 30
minutes, but I also talked to Alan for about 15 minutes after the interview..just
normal talk (no interview questions). Some days before I got the new
album from Mute just for preparing the interview. There are 9 tracks:
Incubus
Drifting (also forthcoming single)
Luscious Apparatous
Stalker
Red River Cargo
Control freak
Missing Piece
Last Breath
Shunt
I think Stalker, Luscious App. and Red River Cargo are the best ones....now
to the meeting with Alan!
I came to the hotel about 2 hours before the interview :) I waited
on a parkbench outside the hotel...after 1 hour Alan and some journalists
came out for doing some kind of photosession. When it was my turn I
walk into the hotels restaurant and met the mute manager. The interview
was delayed for about 5 minutes...I drank a Cola and spoke to the mute
manager and Alans wife...the 5 minutes went very slow. I installed the
tape recorder and said hi to Alan. I was quite nervous the first question
but when I realized that Alan really seemed to enjoy my questions I
became very cool :) When my time was out I there seemed to be a pause
to Alans next interview...I spoke about 10 minutes with Alan about Swedish
music, Depeche Mode-sleeves (antons works) and some other topics...
I'm going to listen to the interview-tape now and write down the questions/answers!
Dont complain on my bad English! :)
H=me=Henrik Wittgren
A=Alan
H: Its a long time since the last (bloodline) album
and much have changed. Whats the difference between Unsound methods
and your previous albums?
A: The previous Recoil album was really an instrumental record
but we ended up with some vocals on it, but it essentially remained
as an instrumental record. So the vocals really were like an afterthought.
This time...as the music came together it became clear that every track
really required vocals to make it really complete and i was determined
this time to push the project so it didnt have anything lacking at the
end in my mind anyway. So thats the main difference. And of course,
instrumentually it moved on for me well its probably a lot less electronics
and less programms and I has a sort of looser feel and it's a bit dark.
H: You have a lot of guest singers on the new album and Recoil
seems to be a very free project for you. What do you think about that?
A: for me its essential really in these day...to have that kind
of freedom..it was main reason really for leaving Depeche and I've done
this project before as a side project to depeche and I wanted to have
more time for it and more control of what i'm doing. I felt like I didnt
want to be in a group anymore and this project has many advantages if
i keep it the way it is where i bring people in to contribute you know..something
to it but not to become a permanent member then I can really do just
about anything I want to do with it and I like the idea, it keeps changing
and new people come into it...
H: Why did you choose "Drifting" as the forthcoming single?
A: Well I think the album doesnt really have what I would call
that many radio friendly tracks on it. Its quite dark. So Drifting is
probably one of those maybe two or free that are more likely yhe ones
the play on the radio and thats really the reason..but well I like the
track and it has some sort of more melody with the vocals...some of
the other vocals are quite...narrative(?)..they are spoken...
H: What are the words about?
A: Well...I dont write the lyrics so I'm possibly the right person
to ask. All of the singers on this album wrote their own lyrics.. Siobhan
Lynch whos singing on drifting..her words are quite ambigious so.. you
could have different meanings too.. I have an idea in my mind..but I
never thought of asking her to tell my...just in case it destroys my
own vision...and I think the listener should have that choise as well
so I think its better to leave it open and let the listeners make up
their own mind what its about.
H: How long have you been working with the album and are you
satisfied with the result?
A: I started work last september and finished in June so it took
about 9 months with a couple of breaks... Yes essentially i'm happy
with the result..i think is the most focused thing I've done and the
most completed. There always a side of me that things I could have done
something better, but I think thats not a natural reaction...you always
feel that you can do more and do better...
H: You have worked with many different peoples in your career.
Who do you want to work with in the future? Do you have any dreams?
A: Well. Actually you say that I have worked with a lot of people..but...most
of the time in Depeche Mode we didnt work as a group and we didnt used
to bring people in..the last album we done..we did have some extra musicians
but that was the only one. As I said there is a lot of advantages to
having this...I can bring in people..and...I always try to find someone
new to work with and think its a real challange to keep your hope(?)
It makes you do things differently if you work with a stranger, somebody
new...so I like to give myself that challange to find intresting new
people each time...so i should carry on looking for new people to work
on the next project which I hope will start quite soon.
H: Where do you find your inspiration?
A: Well I try to...I mean..its elements of everything I listening to...so
I think a lot of the rhythm on this record are influences by hip-hop...and...many
british bands like Portishead and Massive Attack have influenced me
too...I think the last album with Recoil..and the Depeche Mode albums
are a little bit to much programmed..so i was constantely trying to
do something like this...I also bring influences from all my other musical
taste...which includes...Classical music, soundtracks, and traditional
irish..grunge..
H: Do you like going to other groups gigs?
A: Well, I dont go to many gigs these days to be honest..sometimes I
find that I'm to close to it...well I go to a gig and all I can see
is the setting up of the scene..and imagine the backstage...I cant just
enjoy it for what it is...Generally I dont go to many gigs but I listen
to a lot of music which I just mentioned before... I have a huge collection
of cds and vinyls...well...I'm the kind of people who hear one track
on the radio and then I go and buy the whole album instead of just buying
the single... and usually i'm just disapointed with the album...so these
days...i moved away from buying too many poprecords...i reasearch all
the musicareas...like soundtracksareas are really interesting...
H. Have you ever had plans to play live with Recoil?
A: At the moment there's no plans...although there's always a possibility..you
know..if an important tv-station come along or there was a big demand
to go on the road then I could consider it but its difficult to imagine
how a project like this could be taken on the road... I dont feel like
i'm a natural front person...I more like to do things like work in the
studio.
H: What kind of response have you got after your depature of Depeche
Mode?
A: Well I haven't really had much contact with either media or my fans
- if I have got any, cause I've been out of the picture for more than
3 years so this Is really an interesting period for me now to find out
really if I do have any fans.
H: Did Depeche Mode set stop for your work with Recoil and it is easier
to work with just one project.
A: There was never any problem having a sideproject..but you had not
so much time...the last album I did with Recoil i couldnt really promote
it cause Depeche Mode took so much time...so this gives me a lot of
more time to doing promotion, exactly like this, to put the album further.
H: Depeche Mode cooperated with Anton Corbijn. Is he going to do something
for Recoil?
A: Well I havent asked Anton and I dont even know if he would like to
do it. I really like Anton and what he does, but I feel I would be a
mistake to use Anton cause it would be to close to what i did before.
H: I've heard about a band called Daphne and the Tenderspots. Can
you tell me about it?
A: Well. Thats an unfair question....ah...no...it was a group I was
in last 70ies...we were some sort of new wave...and Daphne was the singer...and
we did have a recorddeal and realesed a few records and then we didnt
do anything.
H: Do you have an education, as a musician or a normal education?
A: I have a grammar school education...i only got three o-levels(?)
cause I was lazy, but I did have quite a good musical education I had
pianolessons and I did well in those..I got up to grade 8 and i didnt
really enjoy the lessons at the time but now i'm really pleased that
I did have them and I think its a big step for what I do know.
H: Have you written many songs which never have been released?
A: No..I wouldn't say that I'm prelific writer at all..ahm...I write
music...but I have trouble writing words and I did write a few songs
for the early Depeche Mode-albums...but i really didn't like them and
I still don't do...I think theres a few extra tracks that didnt make
it onto this album which may get used later...they have different vocals
and different words..so they may get used at some point but I havent
got to many others.
H: What are you intressted in besides music?
A: ahm..I recently moved to the country and got a child..so that takes
up a lot of my time...but having children and being very hand on with
them which we are takes a lot of time..I mean we dont have a lot of
time to the things we want...I love to go to the cinema...and I went
to the cinema a lot before..a really love film..and I love football...Queens
Park Rangers...and what else? I go to resturants...ah..I have a sort
of.. ah..we both of us collect submedicalinstruments(??) and we go around
to antiquefairs and thing like that and collecting pieces of furniture...quite
a lot fun...
H: Do you feel old and is there something left in your life that you
want to do?
A: I should hope so otherwise I would just top myself right now...ahm...I
do feel older...but i actually feel that I'm in a really good time in
my life...with complete control of everything I'm doing and I'm really
enthustiastic of what I'm doing even more enthustiasthic in making music
then I have ever been...and i have created a situation where I got no
real limitations..now a've got my homestudio where I working so I can
work in exactly the way a want to and when I want to. And I can also
combine as I said my privatelife and my family and everything so I feel
I have got to a really good stage in my life.
H: This radio show is for greedy students. Have you got any tips on
cheap food?
A: Cheap food? I dont know about it cause I'm always going to expensive
restaurants. But what is cheap food? McDonalds?
H: no..that is expensive....you have a limit of one pound.
A: ok...they should live the hippie life and grown there own vegetables.
thats a cheap way of living.
Then my time was out...so I pressed the Stop button and thanked Alan
for the interview...then he signed some things for me...the bloodline
cd, a new promo photo, the innersleeve to World in My Eyes L12" (big
photo with Alan) and the 1+2 LP...Alan seemed to have a pause so we
talked about swedish synthmusic...he had just got the dm-tribute "Your
wolrd in our eyes" and he couldn't find the meaning of doing tributes....
after some minutes I thought that Alan would prefer do be away from
people like me so said byebye and went to the trainstation...
/Henrik