It wasn't the studio guy that made it into a dance track. It was band member Alan Wilder that reworked the song into what we know, as he was basically the band's architect.
Yeah Dave said it was Alan who decided to make it what it was. Martin (song writer) hated it. Alan and Flood then worked 90% of it but Daniel Miller still wasn’t happy with it so he mixed it with another engineer and that’s what we hear and love today.
Well, Alan was sort of the "studio guy" of the band, as in the only member who put in a lot of time and work in the studio to create the songs. Although they always worked with a producer, Alan was effectively the other producer on every album who also happened to be a member of the band. As far as being the band's "architect", if by that you mean their musical director, then I agree, although they all had some input.
@@johnblackmouth Martin hated it because it was completely different from his own conception of the song, which was a slow ballad with the style and energy of a funeral dirge. Not that there is anything wrong with that (especially coming from Depeche Mode), but in this case, it's virtually impossible not to consider the final uptempo dance version far superior. Probably only Martin, in the entire world, prefers his original conception of the song, which is natural because that's how he wrote it. Martin still wanted people to hear the song as he had intended for it to sound, so the "Harmonium" remix was released, as well. It's a good representation of his original demo, faithfully rendered by Alan, as though to atone for what he did with the song. There is at least one other example of Martin releasing a remix that directly represented his intention and demo of a song, because he didn't like what Alan and the producer had done with it, and that is the "Spanish Taster" remix of "To Have and to Hold". The irony here is that in this other case, Alan actually slowed down the song and made it less danceable (but far more dark and atmospheric) than Martin's demo. That's the exact opposite of what he did with "Enjoy the Silence". 😄 By the way, Martin didn't hate the final version of "Enjoy the Silence" forever. He was already somewhat appeased when he was asked to provide a guitar riff (the main, iconic riff) for the song, which made it even better than what Alan and Flood had come up with by that point, so I think Martin was happy that he had a chance to participate in this experiment. If his song was going to be ruined anyway (since Martin was outvoted), then he might as well be the one to ruin it, or as in this case, help make it even better than anyone had imagined. Apparently, it ended up better than Martin imagined, so he wasn't too upset anymore by the time it was finished. He was still sore enough, though, to have the "Harmonium" remix created and released, as well. Over the years, he has acknowledged more and more that Alan had done the right thing with this song. It's just too good, especially with that simple but memorable riff that Martin composed himself for this version.
@@DxModel219 It was different with each album and person they worked with. Dave Bascombe really was more of the lead engineer on that album rather than a traditional producer, while Alan really served as the producer, so you have a point there, although I never implied otherwise. However, the credits say the producers were Dave Bascombe and Depeche Mode, not Alan specifically. I don't think that sat well with Alan, who complained that he never got enough credit for all of the work he had done. Similarly, Vince Clarke did all of the producing with Daniel Miller on the band's first album, _Speak & Spell_ , but only Miller and Depeche Mode were credited. Believe me, no one in the band did any production on that album besides Vince. Martin and Fletch (RIP 😢) didn't take the band seriously then and worked at their day jobs, only popping in occasionally to watch and tell each other jokes, and Dave only sang. To be fair, Martin likewise was never specifically credited with the albums he produced, such as _A Broken Frame_ ; once again, the credits just said Depeche Mode. I wonder why. Other producers (e.g. Daniel Miller, Gareth Jones, Flood) took more of a lead role than Bascombe, by the way. He was the exception rather than the rule, although he was influential on their sound as an engineer. What most people don't realize is that Alan is not that much of a gear-head or technically inclined person. He had great ideas, especially in terms of arrangement, and made great choices for orchestration, but he needed help to make all of the sounds that Depeche Mode became famous for. Sometimes producers worked on more or less equal terms with him, and in the case of the first two albums after his departure, producers Tim Simenon ( _Ultra_ ) and Mark Bell ( _Exciter_ ) did all of the production work themselves (and griped about it). Martin wouldn't get involved much until they hired Ben Hillier to produce, and he demanded that the band members work with him, and that really meant Martin, as Fletch and Dave were/are neither musical nor technical. Martin has the talent and skills, of course, but was lazy for this sort of work; not so much now, though.
Just recently saw them live at Madison Square Garden. Those opening chords to Enjoy The Silence...25,000 fans go nuts. What a band , what an experience.
The guy gets paid to play with keyboards. What's not to love? It's about my ideal job description, except for perhaps the professional cat cuddler they're looking for in Dublin.
That's not (always) true for many groups (especially electronic)..specially not during Alan Wilder's tenure. Alan was the primary producer & engineer on everything between Music for the Masses and Songs of Faith and Devotion - Flood, Moulder, Kevorkian, etc,. were co-producers and co-engineers. It was really the final master where they would shine in..not during the production as much. Also - Kevorkian doesn't get enough credit for his contributions to violator really..
Went to three DM concerts in the last 12 months and I can say I enjoyed every single one more than the last. Wasn’t really ever a huge DM fan but my mum surely was for as long as I can remember! Thank god she took me with her to these concerts!!
stumbled on this series and i'm super hooked. will kurk's humor is half the reason to watch (the other half being his incredible knowledge of vintage synth sounds)!
As a massive DM fan, I thought this was pretty damn awesome!! However, I WISH you had tackled the brilliant drum programming on this song as well. That drum kit sound is legendary, especially the snare. Special kudos to Flood and Alan Wilder for taking Martin Gore's beautiful ballad and turning it into this masterpiece. :)
in my minds eye, i always picture a Rube Goldberg drum machine on this track; mechanically driven strikers hitting pads relentlessly, perfectly. Just turn the crank.
Alan Wilder says he used the Akai S1000 on Violator: "The entire Akai sampler range, starting with the S1000 and then S1100 and S3000 was used extensively on DM and Recoil albums. They appear all over ‘Violator’, ‘SOFAD, ‘Unsound Methods’ and others. Flood was a big fan. In particular, many of the famous ‘Violator’ and ‘SOFAD’ drums were sampled using the Akai which was particularly good at stacking and triggering sounds tightly (much better than the Emulators which took a back seat around this time)." This quote is from Alan Wilder's 2011 equipment auction catalogue.
Finally...Enjoy the Silence! Great as always. One thing to note...the “studio guys” that drove the change from a ballad to a dance song were Flood and Alan Wilder. There’s a great video on here where Flood talks about the whole story behind the song’s evolution.
Yeah. It's a favorite development story for Flood. Here's just one of the recordings of him doing a seminar about it. ua-cam.com/video/dm2HM44aAJo/v-deo.html
Got this masterpiece album on cassette when it came out when I was 14 and still can't believe how good that album is after a zillion years. Gonna go listen again now.
Love this series, William’s personality adds some fun into what could’ve been a boring and dragged out Depeche Mode remake! Good work and can’t wait for more
I am a full-time voice actor and musician who grew up in the 80s and 90s. I am primarily a guitarist and I can’t play keyboards worth anything however I absolutely enjoy this series. Another job well done! Thanks for posting!
This is such a lovely show. I don't know much about synths, but it's a testament to the quality of the show that it's super interesting for someone not in the know. Only thing I missed from this one was that I wanted to hear the individual bass sounds by themselves. It's hard for my untrained ear to separate things in a mix. I'm gonna keep on watching this show for as long as you make them:)
I don't know how helpful this is but treating listening to music as an exercise really helps with distinguishing individual sounds. Or making music yourself.
Same, I think I have an idea aboit the individual sounds. What's complicated for me is the electronics behind it. But this video really makes it look so awesome.
You make this song breath like few others do. You see all these "80s synth" songs on UA-cam that are nostalgia...and the don't get the funk and space in 80s synth music.
Love this series so much!! Another great episode. I looked for an E-mu Emulator plugin for ages a few years back and couldn't find one, so thanks for turning me onto the Emulation II!
1990? Damn, I feel so old! I saw DM live at the Hannover Messehalle in ‘88 during the Music for the Masses tour, then I saw the Violator tour at Wembley Arena, then the pinnacle for me was the amazing Songs of Faith and Devotion tour.
I came for the content in the title, but I did not expect such production quality, and I definitely didn't expect such a great host! New Subscriber, along with the bell.
This series makes my day so much better. Forgot the big model D bass laser blast note that comes in towards the end of the song. That’s my favorite part of the song!
@@rickc2102 I think Zhorell Ski meant the Enjoy the Silence version from the Devotional Tour, in which Martin makes a guitar riff almost at the end of the song. I really like that version, you should check it.
Would love to hear you do "Policy of Truth" and Kraftwerk - "Computer Love", anything by The Cars too, "Just What I Needed" has some awesome synth parts, but I suppose it's only one sound. Still iconic!
Yup. As per Flood's seminars, Mute executive Daniel Miller was suggesting they needed more dance friendly stuff (Martin biased towards dirge-like ballads, at the time). Alan Wilder suggested disco.
The Bass Line was played on the Roland System 700 i think. It's a misconception that Flood And Depeche used a Minimoog and an ARP for the bass in this song. But you can get pretty close with the MINI V. As for the Choir sound if you listen to the original Samples of the Choir in the track it's pretty different. I think they might have sampled a KORG M1 choir patch and then modified it. Depeche used a LOOOT of sampling of other instruments. They had a rule that they don't use sounds twice and don't use pre-existing presets. Of course this changed when flood came along for Violator. But still.. Who knows. In this example if you remove the vibrato, add more attack, it would sound pretty damn close :D And they would have always combine sounds to sound more full.. A good example is the Bell Pad Patch. If you listen to the original, it's a little bit of Celeste, and a little bit of pad and a little bit of who knows what... XD But anyway, it's a great video and series. :)
100% correct, the bass is a Roland System 700. The choir stabs audible throughout the song are entirely custom. Depeche Mode Live Wiki was recently able to determine how the sound is built - it uses the various Martin Gore "ahhs" samples famously heard in the outro of "Enjoy the Silence", with each sample playing a different note of a chord, along with two sampled operatic choir sounds and a brief choir sample found in the Emax I sequence bank for "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth", which was produced for live use on the 1987-88 Music for the Masses tour. These samples, roughly eight sounds in total, combine to form the ethereal choir stabs heard throughout the song. The strings heard in the song are the Emulator II Marcato Strings (also used on "World In My Eyes"), which unlike the choir stabs actually is a preset. The strings are potentially layered with another Emulator II factory disk, #38 Pipe Organ (also used on "Policy of Truth"). The brass is also partly a factory sound, I believe it is a sample taken from Emax I factory disk ZD705.
I love how this guy is unlike any other cookie cutter UA-cam-persona, that he just calmly sits there on his stool and stares at the camera while he explains in his own personal manner, the structure of the synth songs he is presenting.
Studio guy didnt say that (Alan wilder) turned this ballad into what we hear, know and love today. Alan transformed this track masterpiece And hes not getting any credit for it either and that's a shame.
So true. Martin moaned and groaned about Alan and Flood changing up the song. But after a few minutes at Andy Fletcher’s teet, Martin was soothed and relaxed once again. ;)
@@neotek8582 lol If only Fletch’s milk wasn’t so addictive for Martin maybe Alan would still be in the band and Fletch would be gone. He could’ve gone on to clap and be smug in some other band.
Thank you for this. I've been enjoying your videos. But, this one specifically gave me a renewed appreciation for a song I forgot I loved so much. Please keep making Synth Sounds videos.
That choir preset is not the same as in the song, nor the strings. Alan was known for spending countless hours in the studio sampling, tweaking and filtering every sound and detail during those years. It’s part of what set DM apart from the rest.
100% correct, the choir stabs audible throughout the song are entirely custom. Depeche Mode Live Wiki was recently able to determine how the sound is built - it uses the various Martin Gore "ahhs" samples famously heard in the outro of "Enjoy the Silence", with each sample playing a different note of a chord, along with two sampled operatic choir sounds and a brief choir sample found in the Emax I sequence bank for "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth", which was produced for live use on the 1987-88 Music for the Masses tour. These samples, roughly eight sounds in total, combine to form the ethereal choir stabs heard throughout the song. The strings heard in the song are the Emulator II Marcato Strings (also used on "World In My Eyes"), which unlike the choir stabs actually is a preset. The strings are potentially layered with another Emulator II factory disk #38 Pipe Organ (also used on "Policy of Truth").
@@trevormason3592 Depeche Mode generally get their sounds wherever they can, often starting from samples from existing music, movies, other media, or real life. They also use presets as starting points, or the presets themselves (with some effects on top) if they are suitable. I'm not sure why some folks have hangups over presets, just because they're the default sounds that come with the instruments. I guess it seems less creative, but no one calls Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart uncreative just because they used the "presets" of acoustic instruments. And no one seems to have a problem with the grand piano preset used in "Somebody". Even when Depeche Mode only had basic monophonic synths with no presets or memory of any kind (they've largely gone back to that now with Martin's interest in modular synths), they started creating sounds from the waveforms of the oscillators, and those are like presets, of a sort. You have to start somewhere. The point is to use the right sounds in the right places, wherever they come from. I'm not arguing against anything you said, by the way, just using your comment as a jumping off point.
Cyberchrist I thought I remember reading somewhere it was Alan's idea to speed the song up. Either way Flood is my favorite producer. NIN, Depeche mode, curve, smashing pumpkins.
P.S. Yes, I teared up the more I watched some of your vlogs. Over two decades of being a touring musician singer-songwriter and drummer here in San Diego California. Winning at the San Diego Music Awards in 2007 and 2008 was surreal. The best part was using reel to reel and older equipment. Thank you again for putting so much effort into this.
For Violator, DM used the Emulator III in the studio and Emax/Emax II on tour. The Emulator II/II+ was pretty much obsolete by 1989. The drum parts were "borrowed" from a classic Disco tune which shall remain unknown in perpetuity. Flood admits it in another UA-cam video. Also: The decision to speed up the Martin Gore's moody ballad version into a dance tune was Alan Wilder's idea, not "some studio guys."
I thought the choir was from Emax II that was released in the same year this track was produced. Or then maybe Emulator III has the same preset. And yeah, Alan Wilder made a lot of work for the DM electronic dance sound in the 80s.
Really enjoyed the time travel back (circa)Mid-80's a really great and interesting time in music in general. In would love to see your breakdown of either Mint Conditions; Forever in Your Eyes, or Human League's; I'm Only Human. Greatly appreciate your knowledge of old and new technology. Stay Positive and Blessed.
Here are a few Synth Sounds of -videos I´d like to see: Led Zeppelin - In The Light/No Quarter Rush - Tom Sawyer/Subdivisions Björk - Army of Me Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine
Here is the house. Where it all happened. Those tender moments. Under this roof. Body and soul come together. As we come closer together. And as it happened it happened here in this house.
Never watched a video like this - very impressed! Embarrassingly, I haven't appreciated the complexity required to make these songs. Thank you for uploading the video, very much appreciated : )
I'm hooked on this series. This guy is super entertaining and amazingly talented. I play guitar and not the keys, but I can get behind any vintage gear when it's demo'd like this!
Am I the only one that thinks that the synths on this video doesn’t even sound like the ones on the original record? I love this series but If you really hear the isolated tracks of this song, imo the original synths sounds MUCH better than this.
Nope. You're not the only one. I thought so too. I think for the "choir" sound, the attack was pulled way back with a lot of reverb on the original. The string patch was way punchier too, slow attack and slow decay, but swift build and drenched in reverb. The bass was pretty dead on though. DM loved the ARP 2600. Obviously, Martin's reverbed guitar makes the song (as well as the driving drum track).
The sounds are in the same category as the originals, but they arent the actual sounds. Kind of close. But to a trained ear there are all kinds of characteristics that don't match the original. Still, very entertaining video!
At DM's concerts in 1984, 1985, 1986 i brought a pair of binoculars and watched as Alan Wilder loaded his diskettes.
Based
This brought me great joy to read
Haha 😂
Good God..... Did you mean between songs? ..... That's terrifying...
@@drbreathe3459 Yeah, what if there were a read error? He wouldn't have had time to retry it or switch to a backup disk.
It wasn't the studio guy that made it into a dance track. It was band member Alan Wilder that reworked the song into what we know, as he was basically the band's architect.
Yeah Dave said it was Alan who decided to make it what it was. Martin (song writer) hated it. Alan and Flood then worked 90% of it but Daniel Miller still wasn’t happy with it so he mixed it with another engineer and that’s what we hear and love today.
Well, Alan was sort of the "studio guy" of the band, as in the only member who put in a lot of time and work in the studio to create the songs. Although they always worked with a producer, Alan was effectively the other producer on every album who also happened to be a member of the band. As far as being the band's "architect", if by that you mean their musical director, then I agree, although they all had some input.
@@johnblackmouth Martin hated it because it was completely different from his own conception of the song, which was a slow ballad with the style and energy of a funeral dirge. Not that there is anything wrong with that (especially coming from Depeche Mode), but in this case, it's virtually impossible not to consider the final uptempo dance version far superior. Probably only Martin, in the entire world, prefers his original conception of the song, which is natural because that's how he wrote it.
Martin still wanted people to hear the song as he had intended for it to sound, so the "Harmonium" remix was released, as well. It's a good representation of his original demo, faithfully rendered by Alan, as though to atone for what he did with the song. There is at least one other example of Martin releasing a remix that directly represented his intention and demo of a song, because he didn't like what Alan and the producer had done with it, and that is the "Spanish Taster" remix of "To Have and to Hold". The irony here is that in this other case, Alan actually slowed down the song and made it less danceable (but far more dark and atmospheric) than Martin's demo. That's the exact opposite of what he did with "Enjoy the Silence". 😄
By the way, Martin didn't hate the final version of "Enjoy the Silence" forever. He was already somewhat appeased when he was asked to provide a guitar riff (the main, iconic riff) for the song, which made it even better than what Alan and Flood had come up with by that point, so I think Martin was happy that he had a chance to participate in this experiment. If his song was going to be ruined anyway (since Martin was outvoted), then he might as well be the one to ruin it, or as in this case, help make it even better than anyone had imagined. Apparently, it ended up better than Martin imagined, so he wasn't too upset anymore by the time it was finished. He was still sore enough, though, to have the "Harmonium" remix created and released, as well. Over the years, he has acknowledged more and more that Alan had done the right thing with this song. It's just too good, especially with that simple but memorable riff that Martin composed himself for this version.
@@rbrtckThe producer of Music of the Masses admitted he was just a co-producer and Alan was really the producer of the Album.
@@DxModel219 It was different with each album and person they worked with. Dave Bascombe really was more of the lead engineer on that album rather than a traditional producer, while Alan really served as the producer, so you have a point there, although I never implied otherwise. However, the credits say the producers were Dave Bascombe and Depeche Mode, not Alan specifically. I don't think that sat well with Alan, who complained that he never got enough credit for all of the work he had done. Similarly, Vince Clarke did all of the producing with Daniel Miller on the band's first album, _Speak & Spell_ , but only Miller and Depeche Mode were credited. Believe me, no one in the band did any production on that album besides Vince. Martin and Fletch (RIP 😢) didn't take the band seriously then and worked at their day jobs, only popping in occasionally to watch and tell each other jokes, and Dave only sang. To be fair, Martin likewise was never specifically credited with the albums he produced, such as _A Broken Frame_ ; once again, the credits just said Depeche Mode. I wonder why.
Other producers (e.g. Daniel Miller, Gareth Jones, Flood) took more of a lead role than Bascombe, by the way. He was the exception rather than the rule, although he was influential on their sound as an engineer. What most people don't realize is that Alan is not that much of a gear-head or technically inclined person. He had great ideas, especially in terms of arrangement, and made great choices for orchestration, but he needed help to make all of the sounds that Depeche Mode became famous for. Sometimes producers worked on more or less equal terms with him, and in the case of the first two albums after his departure, producers Tim Simenon ( _Ultra_ ) and Mark Bell ( _Exciter_ ) did all of the production work themselves (and griped about it). Martin wouldn't get involved much until they hired Ben Hillier to produce, and he demanded that the band members work with him, and that really meant Martin, as Fletch and Dave were/are neither musical nor technical. Martin has the talent and skills, of course, but was lazy for this sort of work; not so much now, though.
Violator is one of my favourite albums of all time, after watching this I have a pressing need to listen to it again!
ua-cam.com/video/cEGP7s_92zg/v-deo.html
Just recently saw them live at Madison Square Garden. Those opening chords to Enjoy The Silence...25,000 fans go nuts. What a band , what an experience.
3:27 Ferris complains about not having a car yet he has an $8,000 sampler in his room.
His parents had that 80's, Chicago suburbs money lol
Thank you. That always bugged me.
That was literally a plot point; Jeanie got a car, Ferris got the keyboard
Scott Wozniak maybe was found at a garage sale.
And a Gretsch White Falcon, Carver amp, color monitor for the computer, etc.
I'm a guitarist, but Will, your series has become my favorite on Reverb. Humor, great song selection, and awesome clothes. My childhood restored.
The guy gets paid to play with keyboards. What's not to love? It's about my ideal job description, except for perhaps the professional cat cuddler they're looking for in Dublin.
This is their best video on synths, long live depeche mode, fav. band
ua-cam.com/video/cEGP7s_92zg/v-deo.html
Pretty addicted this series now. Always diggin the gaming themed Tees.
i just see you everywhere! Amazing mah dude
bakerXderek CHEAH!
bakerXderek A Reeaalll Good series! 👌👌
Just saw him for the first time and this dude is awesome to watch.. Instant subscribe and yep I want that t shirt lol
Very underrated song
It was Alan Wilder that reworked the ballad into a dancesong/hit.
alan wilder is GOD!
Flood and Alan Moulder as well.
Jason M mostly Wilder.
Correct it was Charlie
That's not (always) true for many groups (especially electronic)..specially not during Alan Wilder's tenure. Alan was the primary producer & engineer on everything between Music for the Masses and Songs of Faith and Devotion - Flood, Moulder, Kevorkian, etc,. were co-producers and co-engineers. It was really the final master where they would shine in..not during the production as much. Also - Kevorkian doesn't get enough credit for his contributions to violator really..
God bless Alan Wilder, he was the sound of Depeche Mode! Thanks to him, all their songs from 82' to 95' sound as they do.
Alan ist the really Mr.Depeche Mode!!!!
Went to three DM concerts in the last 12 months and I can say I enjoyed every single one more than the last.
Wasn’t really ever a huge DM fan but my mum surely was for as long as I can remember!
Thank god she took me with her to these concerts!!
stumbled on this series and i'm super hooked. will kurk's humor is half the reason to watch (the other half being his incredible knowledge of vintage synth sounds)!
As a massive DM fan, I thought this was pretty damn awesome!! However, I WISH you had tackled the brilliant drum programming on this song as well. That drum kit sound is legendary, especially the snare. Special kudos to Flood and Alan Wilder for taking Martin Gore's beautiful ballad and turning it into this masterpiece. :)
in my minds eye, i always picture a Rube Goldberg drum machine on this track; mechanically driven strikers hitting pads relentlessly, perfectly. Just turn the crank.
Alan Wilder says he used the Akai S1000 on Violator: "The entire Akai sampler range, starting with the S1000 and then S1100 and S3000 was used extensively on DM and Recoil albums. They appear all over ‘Violator’, ‘SOFAD, ‘Unsound Methods’ and others. Flood was a big fan. In particular, many of the famous ‘Violator’ and ‘SOFAD’ drums were sampled using the Akai which was particularly good at stacking and triggering sounds tightly (much better than the Emulators which took a back seat around this time)."
This quote is from Alan Wilder's 2011 equipment auction catalogue.
John Ghadimi As a massive DM fan, is always a pleasure to salute another massive DM fan!
Their producer for that album, Flood, has commented that the beat is a looped sample from an Italian disco tune. He won't say which one, though.
@@artisan002 TenCity
Finally...Enjoy the Silence! Great as always. One thing to note...the “studio guys” that drove the change from a ballad to a dance song were Flood and Alan Wilder. There’s a great video on here where Flood talks about the whole story behind the song’s evolution.
otherelbow was going to post that here too. Original version is on one of the cd single releases. Martin sings along whilst playing his organ. 🤣
Yeah. It's a favorite development story for Flood. Here's just one of the recordings of him doing a seminar about it.
ua-cam.com/video/dm2HM44aAJo/v-deo.html
Got this masterpiece album on cassette when it came out when I was 14 and still can't believe how good that album is after a zillion years. Gonna go listen again now.
Love this series, William’s personality adds some fun into what could’ve been a boring and dragged out Depeche Mode remake! Good work and can’t wait for more
"I like big brass, and I cannot lie." ROFL You are too funny Mr. Kurk!
Thanks for the spolier ;)
"I like big brass...and I cannot lie" this guy is a legend, love all his videos so far
ua-cam.com/video/cEGP7s_92zg/v-deo.html
Finally a Depeche Mode lesson :) Great content as always, thanks for all the time you put into it!
ua-cam.com/video/cEGP7s_92zg/v-deo.html
I am a full-time voice actor and musician who grew up in the 80s and 90s. I am primarily a guitarist and I can’t play keyboards worth anything however I absolutely enjoy this series. Another job well done! Thanks for posting!
This whole series has been awesome but this is probably the best one so far.
This song and this album changed my life.
William Kirk is a national treasure. Love this dude. Great video series!
That hook line is iconic. One of my favorites from this group!
This is such a lovely show. I don't know much about synths, but it's a testament to the quality of the show that it's super interesting for someone not in the know.
Only thing I missed from this one was that I wanted to hear the individual bass sounds by themselves. It's hard for my untrained ear to separate things in a mix.
I'm gonna keep on watching this show for as long as you make them:)
I don't know how helpful this is but treating listening to music as an exercise really helps with distinguishing individual sounds. Or making music yourself.
Same, I think I have an idea aboit the individual sounds. What's complicated for me is the electronics behind it. But this video really makes it look so awesome.
@@user-xt3hk1wh6l And he's going to lose all of his money ;)
There are few things more satisfying than someone having fun geeking out over something they love. I'm so glad I found this channel!
"The studio guy" ? you mean ALAN WILDER!! (and Flood)
O M G
I've been waiting for decades for someone to explain the underpinnings of songs like 'Silence'.
Synth Sounds is my jam.
Nice work. Thanks. Damn.
Fantastic bass line - written by Alan Wilder!
I don't even play keyboards that well and I love watching these. This guy is my favorite presenter too...cracks me up.
I sincerely love this guy.
'I like big brass and I cannot lie' - I liked and subbed right after that :D - All kidding aside; great video. Love content like this.
I like big brass and I cannot lie. Dude, you are a true hero
You make this song breath like few others do. You see all these "80s synth" songs on UA-cam that are nostalgia...and the don't get the funk and space in 80s synth music.
Thanks a million! Since this series started this is the song I've been hoping for the most.
I’m not a musician but this just demonstrated the heart of this song and how it was born. Love this!
Love this series so much!! Another great episode. I looked for an E-mu Emulator plugin for ages a few years back and couldn't find one, so thanks for turning me onto the Emulation II!
Peanut Turner look for UVI Emulation II. That should cover most of the sounds you’re looking for.
Or PPG Wave official plugin
Good sounds too
I'm not even a keyboard player and I still love this series. Fascinating to see how it all was done.
How they somehow managed to make a song that you can both brood to and dance to is beyond me
1990? Damn, I feel so old! I saw DM live at the Hannover Messehalle in ‘88 during the Music for the Masses tour, then I saw the Violator tour at Wembley Arena, then the pinnacle for me was the amazing Songs of Faith and Devotion tour.
I came for the content in the title, but I did not expect such production quality, and I definitely didn't expect such a great host! New Subscriber, along with the bell.
This series makes my day so much better. Forgot the big model D bass laser blast note that comes in towards the end of the song. That’s my favorite part of the song!
Great video. Would love to see you do more Depeche Mode songs
"I like big brass & I cannot lie. You tuba players can't deny." was one of the best band t-shirts I ever saw in the 90s. Should have bought it.
Enjoy the Silence is probabaly the best Synth Song with blues guitar solo!
Blues guitar solo? Dafuq you smokin?
@@rickc2102 thank god you said it, thought i was going crazy when i read that hahahah
@@rickc2102 I think Zhorell Ski meant the Enjoy the Silence version from the Devotional Tour, in which Martin makes a guitar riff almost at the end of the song. I really like that version, you should check it.
This series is actually really fantastic. Great work Will! The Members Only jacket is the secret sauce.
Would love to hear you do "Policy of Truth" and Kraftwerk - "Computer Love", anything by The Cars too, "Just What I Needed" has some awesome synth parts, but I suppose it's only one sound. Still iconic!
This is been my favourite song since 1990, and there’s no sign of change
"This will take a while"
Yup! As they say in the manual. This is a good time to take a coffee break! lol!
Still faster than loading 1MB of samples thru MIDI to my Hohner HS-1 (aka Casio FZ-1)
And playing "garota de ipanema" bossa nova
I love everything about this guy. Give him a raise!
coincidentally; this was released on Martin Gore's birthday
Almost as though someone planned it that way... ;)
Ironic given that I don't think he liked this version. This was more of Alan Wilder's vision for the song.
6581punk yes, but he ended up loving it, obviously.
Can you guys do synth sounds of Depeche Mode’s Halo it’s my favorite song.
I love watching these it makes me realise that there's more layering in the arrangement than what I've hear when I listen to the song
It was Alan Wilder who did the arrangements and made it faster
Yeah. The original is just Martin singing with an organ behind.
I always thought it was fletch
Yup. As per Flood's seminars, Mute executive Daniel Miller was suggesting they needed more dance friendly stuff (Martin biased towards dirge-like ballads, at the time). Alan Wilder suggested disco.
Nice, very cool to see how it was put together. Amazing how tech has advanced in time
Thanks Alan Wilder!
That was a really enjoyable and informative video. I'm a huge DM fan and think they never get the respect they deserve. Thanks very much!
The Bass Line was played on the Roland System 700 i think. It's a misconception that Flood And Depeche used a Minimoog and an ARP for the bass in this song. But you can get pretty close with the MINI V. As for the Choir sound if you listen to the original Samples of the Choir in the track it's pretty different. I think they might have sampled a KORG M1 choir patch and then modified it. Depeche used a LOOOT of sampling of other instruments. They had a rule that they don't use sounds twice and don't use pre-existing presets. Of course this changed when flood came along for Violator. But still.. Who knows. In this example if you remove the vibrato, add more attack, it would sound pretty damn close :D And they would have always combine sounds to sound more full.. A good example is the Bell Pad Patch. If you listen to the original, it's a little bit of Celeste, and a little bit of pad and a little bit of who knows what... XD But anyway, it's a great video and series. :)
Yup. Flood talks about it regularly. Roland modular rig. Even stock sequence pattern, apparently.
100% correct, the bass is a Roland System 700. The choir stabs audible throughout the song are entirely custom. Depeche Mode Live Wiki was recently able to determine how the sound is built - it uses the various Martin Gore "ahhs" samples famously heard in the outro of "Enjoy the Silence", with each sample playing a different note of a chord, along with two sampled operatic choir sounds and a brief choir sample found in the Emax I sequence bank for "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth", which was produced for live use on the 1987-88 Music for the Masses tour. These samples, roughly eight sounds in total, combine to form the ethereal choir stabs heard throughout the song.
The strings heard in the song are the Emulator II Marcato Strings (also used on "World In My Eyes"), which unlike the choir stabs actually is a preset. The strings are potentially layered with another Emulator II factory disk, #38 Pipe Organ (also used on "Policy of Truth"). The brass is also partly a factory sound, I believe it is a sample taken from Emax I factory disk ZD705.
I love how this guy is unlike any other cookie cutter UA-cam-persona, that he just calmly sits there on his stool and stares at the camera while he explains in his own personal manner, the structure of the synth songs he is presenting.
i would really appreciate a synth sounds of Zapp & Roger - More Bounce to the Ounce, love to see how it was arranged.
Not interested in learning how to play a keyboard, until this guy! Very fun and entertaining.
Studio guy didnt say that
(Alan wilder) turned this ballad into what we hear, know and love today.
Alan transformed this track masterpiece
And hes not getting any credit for it either and that's a shame.
So true. Martin moaned and groaned about Alan and Flood changing up the song. But after a few minutes at Andy Fletcher’s teet, Martin was soothed and relaxed once again. ;)
@@neotek8582 lol If only Fletch’s milk wasn’t so addictive for Martin maybe Alan would still be in the band and Fletch would be gone. He could’ve gone on to clap and be smug in some other band.
@@user-pn9po6bc3v that comment didn't age well
Thank you for this. I've been enjoying your videos. But, this one specifically gave me a renewed appreciation for a song I forgot I loved so much. Please keep making Synth Sounds videos.
The Admiral returns! Always a treat. I want to hear the band you and Andy start.
Did I say hear? I meant JOIN.
Tears for Fears - Shout
Please, the sounds in this one are pretty esoteric
My man, you got some kknowledge.... one of the best new musical series on you tube...greetings from Colombia...
That choir preset is not the same as in the song, nor the strings. Alan was known for spending countless hours in the studio sampling, tweaking and filtering every sound and detail during those years. It’s part of what set DM apart from the rest.
100% correct, the choir stabs audible throughout the song are entirely custom. Depeche Mode Live Wiki was recently able to determine how the sound is built - it uses the various Martin Gore "ahhs" samples famously heard in the outro of "Enjoy the Silence", with each sample playing a different note of a chord, along with two sampled operatic choir sounds and a brief choir sample found in the Emax I sequence bank for "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth", which was produced for live use on the 1987-88 Music for the Masses tour. These samples, roughly eight sounds in total, combine to form the ethereal choir stabs heard throughout the song.
The strings heard in the song are the Emulator II Marcato Strings (also used on "World In My Eyes"), which unlike the choir stabs actually is a preset. The strings are potentially layered with another Emulator II factory disk #38 Pipe Organ (also used on "Policy of Truth").
@@trevormason3592 Depeche Mode generally get their sounds wherever they can, often starting from samples from existing music, movies, other media, or real life. They also use presets as starting points, or the presets themselves (with some effects on top) if they are suitable.
I'm not sure why some folks have hangups over presets, just because they're the default sounds that come with the instruments. I guess it seems less creative, but no one calls Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart uncreative just because they used the "presets" of acoustic instruments. And no one seems to have a problem with the grand piano preset used in "Somebody".
Even when Depeche Mode only had basic monophonic synths with no presets or memory of any kind (they've largely gone back to that now with Martin's interest in modular synths), they started creating sounds from the waveforms of the oscillators, and those are like presets, of a sort. You have to start somewhere. The point is to use the right sounds in the right places, wherever they come from. I'm not arguing against anything you said, by the way, just using your comment as a jumping off point.
"Like a date! Always on time... but a little late!" Made my day!
The "studio guy" has a name. Mark "Flood" Ellis, who also worked with them on Songs of Faith and Devotion.
Cyberchrist I thought I remember reading somewhere it was Alan's idea to speed the song up. Either way Flood is my favorite producer. NIN, Depeche mode, curve, smashing pumpkins.
We think you're right on the money! We were just suggesting that Flood should not be referred to as "that studio guy".
Cyberchrist I find it kinda insulting.
Understandably so. He should have known Flood is a well-respected producer.
Alan Wilder I think had the original idea, which I am sure he worked with Flood on to convince Martin
P.S. Yes, I teared up the more I watched some of your vlogs. Over two decades of being a touring musician singer-songwriter and drummer here in San Diego California. Winning at the San Diego Music Awards in 2007 and 2008 was surreal. The best part was using reel to reel and older equipment. Thank you again for putting so much effort into this.
For Violator, DM used the Emulator III in the studio and Emax/Emax II on tour. The Emulator II/II+ was pretty much obsolete by 1989. The drum parts were "borrowed" from a classic Disco tune which shall remain unknown in perpetuity. Flood admits it in another UA-cam video. Also: The decision to speed up the Martin Gore's moody ballad version into a dance tune was Alan Wilder's idea, not "some studio guys."
I thought the choir was from Emax II that was released in the same year this track was produced. Or then maybe Emulator III has the same preset. And yeah, Alan Wilder made a lot of work for the DM electronic dance sound in the 80s.
Man, this is the best video i've seen recently! For now on, i'll call you Dr. K! You tha man!
Awesome series how did i just discover this
My most favorite song of all time. Thank you.
Also, Suggestion: Don't You Want Me by the Human League. Really, I'm suprised you've not done that one already.
I'd actually rather see a video about their song "Human", do you know it?
Jan de Vries: I'm only human. Of flesh and blood I'm made. I'm only human...born to make mistakes ☆
You've got it Jan de Vries...hollander.... Ik ben mens van vlees en bloed. Geboren om fouten te maken.
ua-cam.com/video/cEGP7s_92zg/v-deo.html
Really enjoyed the time travel back (circa)Mid-80's a really great and interesting time in music in general. In would love to see your breakdown of either Mint Conditions; Forever in Your Eyes, or Human League's; I'm Only Human. Greatly appreciate your knowledge of old and new technology. Stay Positive and Blessed.
I love synths. I'm a millennial and grew up playing videogames... The good ones. Thanks.
“This is a preset, so there’s no fancy pantsy shmancy keyboard stuff to talk about...”. LOL!
Man, you are TAKING ME BACK to some of the best music of my lifetime! THANKS!
Here are a few Synth Sounds of -videos I´d like to see:
Led Zeppelin - In The Light/No Quarter
Rush - Tom Sawyer/Subdivisions
Björk - Army of Me
Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine
I got no quarter sound down to a t on my microkorg few years back
Glad to see someone who knows their stuff and makes it simple
At this point Here is the House should get the synth sound treatment.
Still one of my all-time favorite DM tracks.
Me too. I started remixing it, but never finished.
Emmanuel Alejandro I love that song and I’m learning it on Bass.
Here is the house. Where it all happened. Those tender moments. Under this roof. Body and soul come together. As we come closer together. And as it happened it happened here in this house.
love that song
Old synth programmer, just stumbled on to this. Sweet video format. Enjoy the silence is still my favorite of all time
How did I just find this series?! Love the concept, breakdown, humor...everything is on point! Keep it up🔥👌🏻
Love this series... always great 80's classics.. Toto, mj now this.. awesome. And the creative ways he can use to describe beats and sounds
Please do synth sounds of *Blue Monday* and some *Patrick Cowley* stuff
Never watched a video like this - very impressed! Embarrassingly, I haven't appreciated the complexity required to make these songs. Thank you for uploading the video, very much appreciated : )
Big up to reverb.
"I like big brass and I cannot lie" - HA! Would have spit out my coffee with that one!
If Will didn't wear his blue members only jacket and claws bracelet it wouldn't be a great episode
I'm hooked on this series. This guy is super entertaining and amazingly talented. I play guitar and not the keys, but I can get behind any vintage gear when it's demo'd like this!
Two words: DEPECHE MODE
Thomas Nettleton where u from just curious
Iowa
Thomas Nettleton the first Iowegian to like DM?
Grandpa Kardashian another cutie in here lol where you from dear just curious lol
ua-cam.com/video/cEGP7s_92zg/v-deo.html
For me, the best song of DM, thanks for this recreation.
Please do Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order. Thank you
This is my favorite UA-cam channel. I have waited for someone to how the synth sounds were created. Thank you.
Guys, seriously, where is Axel F? Just kidding, great video as always
omg wher iz teh jump
OP-X Pro II already has most of the settings to nail it!
ua-cam.com/video/7DqYcSTKdjU/v-deo.html
loren morgan not the same.
That's another classic there.
Always been a great song. I was 16 when it came out. Brings good memories.
Alan Wilder is the greatest.
Amazing explanation for one of the most amazing songs ever
cool, now do " Herbie Hancock - Rockit "
I appreciate the production and clean presentation of this video.
Am I the only one that thinks that the synths on this video doesn’t even sound like the ones on the original record? I love this series but If you really hear the isolated tracks of this song, imo the original synths sounds MUCH better than this.
Nope. You're not the only one. I thought so too.
I think for the "choir" sound, the attack was pulled way back with a lot of reverb on the original. The string patch was way punchier too, slow attack and slow decay, but swift build and drenched in reverb. The bass was pretty dead on though. DM loved the ARP 2600. Obviously, Martin's reverbed guitar makes the song (as well as the driving drum track).
The sounds are in the same category as the originals, but they arent the actual sounds. Kind of close. But to a trained ear there are all kinds of characteristics that don't match the original. Still, very entertaining video!
I agree. Especially the choir sound was way off, but I really liked the host, so I still gave it a thumbs up.
You can see exactly which synths they were actually using in the video of their performance of the song on top of the World Trade Center Twin Towers.
Matt Risch
No offense, but the synths in the video may or may not be what they used to actually record the song.