all day at work, I was trying to remember if it was at 25% speed, or 200%, now that you bring up aliasing, I am definitely thinking they slowed it way down instead of speeding it way up.
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i am def thinking Pipeline off of the Construction Time Again album.
[edit] just found this:
1:57 mark talks about the pebble sound
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Yeah thats the track. I’ve seen that video as well, great insight, good share.
I forget where, but a young Martin Gore keenly demonstrates rolling a pebble along a sliding door frame.
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You can watch the pebble sampling you mention here:
The DVDs that accompanied the “Deluxe Editions” are quite interesting to see the journey that DM made with his sound through the years.
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Ah yeah this is it. I remember there was a video for each of the early albums. Thats a super useful resource for seeing progression and also how they feel about the work. Nice share.
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huh… i never thought of DM as big sample users, so thanks for the insight there. they’d probably use modern tools the same way they used whatever they had. assuming the rest of the recording process remained the same with analogue gear and recording to tape, etc., they’d use a DT like any other instrument.
aside: a long time ago, friends of ours participated in a club’s halloween show where local bands dressed up as other bands and performed covers of their songs. one band did a killer prince set. our friends did a note for note recreation of depeche mode songs with vintage synths, v drums, and some other stuff, but i don’t think they used samplers. it was all sequenced and played live. they sounded exactly like depeche mode.
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They wouldn’t. As soon as they got this tech and began playing around with it they would be abducted by government officials inspecting their device and conducting extreme interrogation for where they got their hands on it.
Was it the Russians?! The Chinese?! What are you doing with this advanced tech and what is it for?!
Its for music making.
You really expect us to BUY that?! Do we look like idiots?!
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Interesting, I always felt that way too about Violator. They made that definite synth pop album and after that the genre was dead, and DM moved on musically (temporarily) and almost died as well (both as a band and literally as in drug overdose).
As for the Kraftwerk heritage… Francois Kevorkian was involved in sound engineering who also worked on Tour de France. If you also listen to some of his remixes for other 80s artists (Pet Shop Boys “Rent” for example) I think his influence on the sound/atmosphere/the “spaciousness” of Violator wasn’t negligible.
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Some great reward, black celebration, music for the masses and violator are the 4 peak Dm albums, I love them all although music for the masses would always be my 4th favourite, some great reward 3rd and it’s close between black celebration and violator as the best. As for them having a digitakt then basically those four albums wouldn’t have existed in the form as they are now as they are a product of the gear available at that time.
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It’s funny as when I was young I sort of thought of New Order as a “more serious” band but as I get older I barely listen to them anymore while my respect for Depeche Mode has grown signifyingly.
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New order- one of those bands who I’ve just never been able to get into, mainly I think because I don’t like Bernard Sumners vocals, however I love Joy Division ?
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That did happen, and was the inspiration for the Hector Octatrack promo video. The govt won’t let Depeche Mode talk about it though.
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Yeah, me too. Although I still love Technique and PC&L. For me, I think it’s because NO’s later output exposed their earlier mysterious, supposedly “serious” lyrics as potential random empty nonsense. Whereas Martin Gore’s lyrics remained consistent (and “heartfelt” for lack of a better word), even when he forgot how to write a decent tune. I’ve always liked Bernard Sumner’s voice though. Always slightly off and uncomfortable but going through with it anyway. If you haven’t watched it, I think The Perfect Kiss video sums up the band like no words could. A fascinating documentary of all encompassing unease. New Order would have used the Digitakt for more frog samples.
(Damn, Stephen’s look at the end. Meme-worthy 
)
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Love DM stuff, and really dislike how clean Elektron samplng is, which makes this a super fascinating consideration of these two worlds.
I don’t see any contradiction here. I always fond Vialoator to be a super clean sounding album.
I think they would have loved a Digitakt.
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I never got into New Order. It’s the same with them like 90% of New Wave songs for me: great beginning and basic vibe but then there’s not that much happening and it just keeps on looping for about five minutes, which is at least two minutes too much. Thankful for tips for New Wave bands that don’t fit into this description.
You all say you love DM and NO but can your love withstand these two gems?
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Violator is very clean, your totally right.
I had pre Violator in my mind, more 1986, BC and the albums before that even.
Violator definitely was a 90’s sound for sure.
That’s essentially my new band: Elektron/Korg/Yamaha gear all driven from Ableton with guitar.
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Of course! 
Years ago, I remember an interesting Kontakt library dedicated to Depeche sounds:
I just tried the Official website, but it seems inactive, no idea where to find the library now