Violator came out when I was like 14, and then I'd just started working on Saturdays in a record store when Songs of Faith and Devotion came out. RM: Yeah, with Depeche Mode there was a particular period that was very influential for me. Martyn LeNoble was playing bass, and he was saying: "You should take them on the road, they'd like to go", and I heard Rich in the background going "Yeah, we'll go on tour!" So that's how the idea was planted, and I was like: "Really? Well, if you're up for doing that then you'll be at the top of the list in my book." And then the opportunity came for their band to tour with my band.ĭave, was that partially your idea, just because you were already a fan?ĭG: Yeah, but it actually came about in a strange way. I follow them, and Mark Lanegan, and I was introduced to Soulsavers' records by Mark initially. Rich Machin: Yeah, I can't imagine the conversation taking place without that.ĭave Gahan: Right, we wouldn't have had that conversation. And, for Gahan at least, that feeling of freedom - that ability to just relax and express himself - seems to make all the difference.ĭid the origins of this project have a lot to do with the time you spent together when Depeche Mode took Soulsavers on the European leg of 2009's Tour of the Universe? Though they were coming from two very different environments (Gahan has lived in New York since 1997, while Machin was visiting from the UK), the two looked and spoke like good friends, rather than just as a couple of top-flight artists - this from a pair who just put together an album that will likely be a definitive moment in both of their careers. We had a chance to sit down with Gahan and Machin in a swanky hotel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the artistic bond that's quickly developed between the two was palpable. But The Light the Dead See may have had a new and different cathartic effect on Machin and Glover as well as on Gahan, given the apparent creative connection between them that's resulted from working on the album. Their complex arrangements, which employ layers of unexpected instrumentation and a wide dynamic range, have allowed Soulsavers to adapt with success in each case, including the most recent effort. This is essentially nothing new for Soulsavers - comprised of Rich Machin and Ian Glover - who have worked with a cadre of high-profile guest singers over the past 10 years, including Mark Lanegan, Gibby Hanes and Jason Pierce. It's more directly emotional, but it's also grander in scope, incorporating both shared influences and individual strengths throughout a powerful 12 tracks. The Light the Dead See, which will be released by Cooperative Music on May 21, represents a new direction of exploration for Gahan following two previous solo efforts - Paper Monsters in 2003 and Hourglass in 2007. And after returning from a bout of gastroenteritis while on tour in 2009, which led to the surgical removal of a tumor and doubts from fans about his future, it's fair to say that Gahan has earned the right to be characterized as a resilient performer.Īs with fellow DM member Martin Gore, who's said that his recent side project (VCMG, a partnership with ex-DM bandmate Vince Clarke) has injected new vigor into the rest of his work, Gahan seems to have gained a second wind of his own after teaming up with the eclectic production duo Soulsavers. After over 30 years and 12 albums with Depeche Mode (and a 13th forthcoming), as well as a career marked by artistic tension, drug addiction and several brushes with death, he's certainly had plenty to put into perspective. Gahan - who recently turned 50 - fits rather well into that role of defiance. It's passionate, and a bit sad, but there's a feeling of sheer resilience that sweeps like a current over the whole tune, as well as the rest of the album. It leads with a lonely, distorted, Morricone-esque guitar, and slowly builds in instrumental scope and intensity until you start to form a mental image of Gahan standing there, waiting silently for the showdown at high noon. The opening track of The Light the Dead See - the new album by Soulsavers and guest vocalist Dave Gahan - is a brief instrumental introduction that feels like something out of an epic Spaghetti Western.
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