AW -After making and releasing 'Liquid', I did feel very drained and a bit resentful that, having put so much effort into trying to create something special, people were writing to me saying "I want to buy your album but it's impossible to find it in the shops." Also, during the weeks when radio stations were playing the singles, again, they were unavailable to buy almost anywhere. I thought - well what's the point? So I decided to spend some time having a life and enjoying my family. I always wanted to be there to see my children grow up - and they do put making records into perspective. Stan had just been born and was proving quite a handful (still is!) and it just wouldn't have been fair to have left Hep to deal with all the childcare. As it is, she does so much more than I do, without (much) complaint. During the break, I also managed to fit in a lot of drinking, watching of sport, drinking and watching sport.

Q+A - Round Two
Q - What was the impetus for your return to the studio?

AW - In fact, it was Hep who encouraged me most to get back into the studio and start working again. There was only so much sitting around drinking and watching sport that she could take! I had actually made a couple of false starts during the 5 year break where I just couldn't really get going. I think, eventually, my enthusiasm came back and i realised that I'm actually much less grumpy when I'm being creative in some way.

Q - How was the recording of this album different from previous Recoil albums?

AW - It wasn't especially different. My approach is always both experimental and methodical so, once I'd got past the inevitable learning curve with new equipment and computer upgrades and so on, I was back in my natural habitat where I just start throwing different sounds and loops together until I get a spark. Trying to get my head around the new gear was a bit daunting. I had to upgrade nearly everything in the digital domain and it took me a couple of months before I could get any actual music going. i also discovered 'Ableton Live' (software) which I used a lot on this LP for manipulating loops. The recording of Joe Richardson was a bit different. Hep, PK and I travelled to Texas and used a local studio but I'll explain more about that in an editorial which will appear on the Recoil site soon.

I think the results are a little more accessible in many ways. 'subHuman' probably has more melodies and is less experimental but it does possess all the usual Recoil trademarks, like strong atmosphere and aural depth. I also think it's a more subtle record than 'Liquid', narratively.Iwould hope that the listener will discover more and more in it with repeated listens.
There is clearly a strong blues flavour throughout which was intentional from an early stage and then enhanced by Joe's vocals. His character is really stamped all over the record and, if you don't like his style, then you will be disappointed.
Personally, I love it.
I've been fascinated by Blues & Gospel music since an early age, when I first discovered Glam rock in the 70s.I wanted to go back and find out where this music originated from and I would find myself at the piano trying to work out all the old blues licks instead of practising my scales! I suppose the immediate emotional content of the blues connects with me ( there is nearly always an inherent melancholy ) and I love the idea of adding that richness onto the Recoil canvas to create a deeper experience.

Q+A - Round Three
Q - Has the industry movement to software synths and samplers changed the way you make music?

AW - Not really. I still enjoy using the technology and it can definitely make your life easier, as long as you don't become a slave to it. When it comes to computers and software, you just have to keep updating otherwise you find that nothing is compatible anymore. For me, 5 years out of the studio meant massive changes were necessary and it was quite frustrating trying to bring myself up to speed with everything. You see, I'm really not that technical - once I get a method, I tend to stick to it.

Q+A - Round Four
Q - How do the thematic elements of this album relate to previous Recoil albums?

AW - As usual, I didn't write any of the lyrics so I just try to interpret them in a way that makes sense to me and suggests a theme. I guess the themes relate in that we are still looking at the darker side of human nature, which I find essentially quite depressing but also fascinating. Joe's words set me thinking about the idea of the 'subHuman'. Whether we are talking about class, religion, race, sexuality and so on. It's not just what is happening in the world today but the fact that it is a never-ending cycle, happening on so many levels, in so many ways. How often do we see the human rendered as subhuman - a worthless recyclable being - by those wishing to subordinate? We are all looked down upon by somebody..., every day.

Q+A - Round Five
Q - If you meet someone who doesn't know your work professionally, and the topic comes up in conversation, how do you describe Recoil to them?

AW - Usually by faffing around looking for the right adjectives and sounding like a complete moron while doing so. Then I carry on by saying 'it's nothing like Depeche Mode - honest!' In the end, I come up with some sort of pretentious 'oh it's sort of avant garde, filmic soundscapes' or some such twaddle...

Q+A - Round Six
Q - Which of the Depeche Mode albums do you think benefited the most from the re-mastering? How about the 5.1 treatment?

AW - Daniel Miller's concept for the DM 5.1 mixes was very much to re-create the original stereo mixes, so that didn't leave much room for experimentation. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed by that although I could sort of understand his reasoning. It should have been a wonderful opportunity to update some of the mixes and reveal a lot more. For example, I would have liked to have done a newer version of 'Songs Of Faith & Devotion' because I don't think we got the best from the mixes on that album (and it's also my favourite LP). Each album was very different but when we listened to the multitracks, we often found that many of the sounds had been bounced down with their effects and that made it impossible to get at the original pure source. It was also a logistical nightmare to source each original part as quite often, we had run the parts live during the mix (and never recorded them to tape). Luckily, there was one band member who had taken the trouble to make DAT back-ups of everything. On 'SOFAD', many of the mixes had been squashed heavily using SSL compressors and the only way to re-create the excitement that brought was to replicate it in the 5.1 mixes! This meant almost undoing all the new-found clarity in order to be faithful to the concept. So, it was a bit frustrating at times. Some albums seem to have dated worse than others. 'Music For The Masses' sounded a bit uninspiring, 'Black Celebration' still sounds really good (barring a few duff tracks! 'New Dress' anyone?).

Q+A - Round Seven
Q - What about the 'subHuman' 5.1 and ambient mixes - how did they come about?

AW - Having said all that (regarding the DM 5.1 strategy), the surround mixes for 'subHuman' are also based mainly on the stereo versions. I suppose, having just completed the stereo mixes, I didn't see the point in completely changing everything so soon afterwards. Perhaps in 10 years time! So for this, we ran off stems, which are essentially sub-mixes of all the elements allowing us to place individual sounds anywhere in the surround image. The effect shouldn't really be that different to the stereo mix apart from extra clarity and breathing space for all the parts. However, when we were working on the 5.1 mix at the mastering sessions, PK and I decided to check only the back pair of speakers. We really enjoyed only listening to the reverbs and other more ethereal elements of the tracks. It occurred to me that it would be great to create a whole album version a bit like this which would expose these elements more. So this is when I decided to do the ambient reduced version (which, in an ideal world should have been in 5,1 too). I'm sure that a lot of Recoil listeners will enjoy this insight into how the music was constructed and the chance to hear some of the other sounds more clearly.

Q+A - Round Eight
Q - Will we ever see Recoil tour? It would be great to see you live and get the chance to actually meet you!

AW - I used to enjoy being on the road with Depeche Mode but Recoil is a completely different beast. I'm not totally dead set against live performance but it's not something I'm driven to do (unless it were some kind of financed arty film/audio production). There's also the question of feasibility. For a start, the main issue is all the different collaborators; what are you going to do, enrol a couple of vocalists to sing everything or try and get all of them together in one place, let alone on a tour bus for 3 weeks?! Then there's the music to think about; If Recoil did go live, I'd want to make the experience quite different from the records and that would involve complicated and time-consuming programming. Finally, what would the line-up be - PK shuffling about fiddling with knobs, Hep in a pink catsuit on tambourine and me looking crusty and embarrassed behind a keyboard? Or, maybe I should just do it DJ stylee (DJ Crusty), wiv some decks an' stuff ; "Big shout goes out to da Recoil posse........boyee!!!"

I do understand that many fans appreciate the more personal touch so I'm looking into perhaps doing some kind of 'live' listening session with a webcam so that people can join me in analysing the album and ask questions. Not sure about the technicalities yet but watch this space.....