Unsound Methods
Encyclopedia
Unsound Methods is the third Recoil
studio album, released in 1997. It was recorded at Alan Wilder
's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex
, during sessions that lasted from September 1996 to March 1997. The album was produced by Alan Wilder, with assistance and coordination by Hepzibah Sessa
, and additional production and engineering by Steve Lyon. The album was mixed by Wilder (with assistance from Paul Stevens and Simon Shazell).
Unsound Methods was Alan Wilder's fourth Recoil release, and his first since leaving Depeche Mode
in June 1995.
The music was far different than that of previous Recoil offerings. According to Wilder, "...[T]he sound relates much more to the approach taken on Depeche Mode's Songs of Faith and Devotion
LP
, which featured and combined lots of snatches of performance (with all their inherent feel). These parts were then sampled
and sequenced
utilizing all the available technology, to hopefully achieve something more interesting than the sound of a band playing together."
Spoken word
artist Maggie Estep
, Nitzer Ebb
vocalist Douglas McCarthy
, Songs of Faith and Devotion backup singer
Hildia Campbell, and Siobhan Lynch were all vocalists. The performers could not be more removed from one another, but it helped make the album diverse and original.
Recoil (band)
Recoil is a musical project created by former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder. Essentially a solo venture, Recoil began whilst Wilder was still in Depeche Mode as an outlet for his experimental, less pop-oriented compositions...
studio album, released in 1997. It was recorded at Alan Wilder
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder is a British musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil, started as a side project to Depeche Mode. When he left the latter in 1995, it became Wilder's primary project...
's home studio, The Thin Line, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, during sessions that lasted from September 1996 to March 1997. The album was produced by Alan Wilder, with assistance and coordination by Hepzibah Sessa
Miranda Sex Garden
Miranda Sex Garden were a music group from London, England. Formed in 1990, they were originally a trio of madrigal singers. Their first album, Madra , was entirely a cappella, with the songs all based on traditional English verse...
, and additional production and engineering by Steve Lyon. The album was mixed by Wilder (with assistance from Paul Stevens and Simon Shazell).
Unsound Methods was Alan Wilder's fourth Recoil release, and his first since leaving Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
in June 1995.
The music was far different than that of previous Recoil offerings. According to Wilder, "...[T]he sound relates much more to the approach taken on Depeche Mode's Songs of Faith and Devotion
Songs of Faith and Devotion
Songs of Faith and Devotion is the eighth album by the British electronic music group Depeche Mode, released in 1993 on Mute Records. The album incorporated more guitar textures than previous releases. Upon its release, Songs of Faith and Devotion reached number one in both the UK and US album...
LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, which featured and combined lots of snatches of performance (with all their inherent feel). These parts were then sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and sequenced
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
utilizing all the available technology, to hopefully achieve something more interesting than the sound of a band playing together."
Spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
artist Maggie Estep
Maggie Estep
Maggie Estep is an American poet and writer. She has published six books and released two spoken word albums: Love is a Dog From Hell and No More Mr. Nice Girl.Estep was born in 1963 in Summit, New Jersey...
, Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb is a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris , Douglas McCarthy , and David Gooday .-Band name:...
vocalist Douglas McCarthy
Douglas McCarthy
Douglas John McCarthy is the vocalist of Chelmsford, Essex-based EBM band Nitzer Ebb.Apart from writing and performing with Nitzer Ebb, McCarthy has also appeared on recordings by Recoil and has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy...
, Songs of Faith and Devotion backup singer
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Hildia Campbell, and Siobhan Lynch were all vocalists. The performers could not be more removed from one another, but it helped make the album diverse and original.
Track listing
All music written by Alan Wilder- "Incubus" (Words: Douglas McCarthyDouglas McCarthyDouglas John McCarthy is the vocalist of Chelmsford, Essex-based EBM band Nitzer Ebb.Apart from writing and performing with Nitzer Ebb, McCarthy has also appeared on recordings by Recoil and has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy...
/Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
(listed as F. Copolla)) - "Drifting" (Words: Siobhan Lynch)
- "Luscious Apparatus" (Words: Maggie EstepMaggie EstepMaggie Estep is an American poet and writer. She has published six books and released two spoken word albums: Love is a Dog From Hell and No More Mr. Nice Girl.Estep was born in 1963 in Summit, New Jersey...
) - "Stalker" (Words: McCarthy)
- "Red River Cargo" (Words: Thomas A. DorseyThomas A. DorseyThomas Andrew Dorsey was known as "the father of black gospel music" and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as "dorseys." Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom.As formulated by Dorsey,...
) - "Control Freak" (Words: Estep)
- "Missing Piece" (Words: Lynch)
- "Last Breath" (Words: Ernest Gold/Pat BoonePat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
) - "Shunt" (Words: Wilder)
CD: Mute / CD MUTE 209 (UK)
- "Drifting"–Radio Mix (by Wilder)
- "Drifting"–Poison Dub (by Wilder)
- "Control Freak"–Barry AdamsonBarry AdamsonBarry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
Mix - "Shunt"–PanasonicPan sonicPan Sonic was a Finnish experimental electronic music duo consisting of Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen.-Music:...
Mix
CD: Mute / CD MUTE 214 (UK)
- "Stalker"–Punished Mix (by Alan Wilder and PKPK- Gaming :* Pk, or Probability of kill * Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows, a video game* Player killing, player versus player conflict in MMORPGs and MUDs- Geography :* Pakistan * Park...
) - "Missing Piece"–Night Dissolves (by Wilder and PK)
- "Red River Cargo"–Album version)
Credits and personnel
- Alan Wilder–All music (except as noted), producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, programmerProgrammerA programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
, mixerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, and background vocals on "Missing Piece" and "Shunt" - Douglas McCarthy–Lead vocals on "Incubus" and "Stalker"
- Siobhan Lynch–Lead vocals on "Drifting" and "Missing Piece", background vocals on "Control Freak" and "Stalker"–Punished Mix
- Maggie Estep–Lead vocals on "Luscious Apparatus" and "Control Freak", background vocals on "Stalker"–Punished Mix
- Hildia Campbell–Lead vocals on "Red River Cargo" and "Last Breath", background vocals on "Incubus" and "Control Freak", (also uncredited background vocals on "Missing Piece–Night Dissolves")
- Hepzibah Sessa–ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
solo on "Missing Piece", talking on "Drifting" and "Last Breath", background vocals on "Incubus", "Control Freak", and "Shunt", assistance and coordination - Oliver KrausOliver KrausOliver Kraus born 1970 in Shepherd's Bush, London, is an English musician best known for his work as a cellist and string arranger/ producer and composer for film and television.-String Arrangements & Performance:...
–Cello on "Stalker" and "Control Freak" - Steve Lyon–Additional production and programming
- Paul Stevens–Mix assistant
- Simon Shazell–Mix assistant
- Ian Cooper–Metropolis mastering
- House (at Intro) –Sleeve design
- Merton Gauster–PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Trivia
- Francis Ford Coppola is listed as a co-writer of "Incubus" as the song is filled with quotes from Apocalypse NowApocalypse NowApocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
. Douglas McCarthy even sounds like Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
's Capt. Benjamin L. Willard. - Pat Boone and Ernest Gold are listed as a co-writer of "Last Breath" because an interpolationInterpolation (music)Interpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...
of their song "Exodus (This Land Is Mine)", from the 1960 film ExodusExodus (film)Exodus is a 1960 epic war film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger, the film was based on the 1958 novel Exodus, by Leon Uris. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo, which represented the breaking of the Hollywood...
, is used. - Hildia Cambell was tapped to sing on the album after joining Depeche Mode as a touring singer during the DevotionalDevotional (video)Devotional - A Performance Filmed by Anton Corbijn is a video release by Depeche Mode, featuring almost an entire concert from their 1993-1994 Devotional Tour, filmed in Barcelona, Spain , Liévin, France and Frankfurt, Germany...
Tour. She also sings on the song "Get Right With Me" on the Depeche Mode album Songs of Faith and DevotionSongs of Faith and DevotionSongs of Faith and Devotion is the eighth album by the British electronic music group Depeche Mode, released in 1993 on Mute Records. The album incorporated more guitar textures than previous releases. Upon its release, Songs of Faith and Devotion reached number one in both the UK and US album...
. - Douglas McCarthy is the only collaborator to sing lead vocals on two Recoil albums. He also sang the single "Faith Healer" on the Bloodline album.
- "Red River Cargo" is based on the Thomas A. Dorsey gospel songGospel musicGospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
"Take My Hand, Precious LordTake My Hand, Precious Lord"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" is a gospel song, lyrics by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey , melody by George Nelson Allen .-History:...
", written in 1932. - In "Control Freak", there is an interpolation of part of the Ashford & SimpsonAshford & SimpsonNickolas Ashford , and Valerie Simpson , were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists....
song "You're All I Need to Get ByYou're All I Need to Get By"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J...
" (made popular by Marvin GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
and Tammi TerrellTammi TerrellThomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...
). The words are changed to "You're all I need to get high".