form..it serves as foolproof evidence that Depeche Mode has no plans for retirement.”
— FILTER MAGAZINE
Groundbreaking, chart-topping electro legends Depeche Mode are released of their long-anticipated new studio album, Sounds Of The Universe on April 21, 2009. Eclectic and energized, the band’s new release is their most dazzling and diverse album in decades. Recorded in Santa Barbara and New York, Depeche Mode returned to using a lot of vintage gear, from analogue synthesizers to drum machines, in order to conjure up the retro-futuristic arrangements featured on the album. (pull)Lyrically the release contains many of the group’s enduring obsessions plus more overt black humor than any of their previous collections.Like with their 2005 studio album, Playing The Angel, Sounds Of The Universe features writing credits for both Martin Gore, the group’s primary songwriter, and Dave Gahan who after honing his talents on two solo albums, has earned his place as Depeche Mode’s second writer.(/pull) The release also marks a reunion between the band and producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Doves, Elbow), who worked with band to help give their new album its timeless sound. The first single from the release, “Wrong,” grabs the listener’s attention from its first stack-heeled, staccato shriek. Over stomping beats, screeching synthesizers, and Dave’s overlord chant, “Wrong” already feels like a Depeche Mode classic. Other standout tracks include Martin’s velvet-lined Scott Walker croon on the sensual lounge-music ballad “Jezebel,” to the sci-fi gospel-blues hymn “In Chains” and “Hole To Feed,” which marries modern electronics to a floor-shaking, bone-rattling Bo Diddley beat.As one of the most influential bands of the post-punk era, with global sales in excess of 100 million, Depeche Mode belongs to a select premiere league of super groups who have survived from the early 1980s with their ideals, creative vision and core members intact. Formed in 1981, Depeche Mode – Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher – continue to win critical and commercial acclaim across the world both in the studio and on the road. All of the band’s 11 studio albums have reached the Top Ten in not only the UK and USA but 20 plus countries around the world including Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Belgium. Additionally, since their inception Depeche Mode’s live shows continue to be a must-see attraction, with the group playing to 2.8 million people across 31 countries on their last tour alone.
Kicking off in Toronto on July 24th, the band’s upcoming 22-city North American tour, will cover both the US and Canada and hit most major markets across the continent (see dates below). Tickets for select markets are set to go on sale on March 13th. Depeche Mode’s “Tour of the Universe” is happening in conjunction with the release of the group’s twelfth studio album, Sounds Of the Universe (Mute/Capitol/Virgin), which will be released on April 21st. Alongside a standard CD format, Depeche Mode has announced that Sounds Of The Universe will also be released as a Special Edition CD/DVD and a Deluxe Box Set that will include a host of exclusive material:
available exclusively– a career first for Depeche Mode.
· A DVD that will feature three films: Making The Universe, a behind-the scenes
documentary about the recording of the album, Usual Thing, Try And Get The
Question In The Answer (a conversation with the band discussing recording
techniques, intercut with personal archive footage from previous album sessions)
and Sounds Of The Universe (a short film featuring track by track with the band).
The DVD will also include the promo video for the album’s first single “Wrong”
(directed by Patrick Daughters), plus four songs filmed live in the studio in
December 2008 and a version of the album the album mixed in DTS 5.1 surround
sound
· Two 84-page hardback books, one featuring the lyrics to all the songs from the
Sounds Of The Universe sessions, accompanied by exclusive photography by
Anton Corbijn. The second book will contain exclusive and candid studio
photography by Daniel Miller, Ben Hillier, Luke Smith and Ferg Peterkin.
In addition, the album will also be released as a double vinyl LP (including a Sounds Of
The Universe CD) and as a download.
Cities and dates for the group’s 2009 North American concert tour are:
Friday, July 24th Toronto
Saturday, July 25th Montreal
Tuesday, July 28th Washington, DC
Friday, July 31st Boston
Saturday, August 1st Atlantic City
Monday, August 3rd New York
Monday, August 10th Seattle
Wednesday, August 12th San Francisco
Friday, August 14th San Diego
Sunday, August 16th Los Angeles
Monday, August 17th Los Angeles
Thursday, August 20th Santa Barbara
Saturday, August 22nd Las Vegas
Sunday, August 23rd Phoenix
Tuesday, August 25th Salt Lake City
Thursday, August 27th Denver
Saturday, August 29th Dallas
Sunday, August 30th Houston
Tuesday, Sept 1st Atlanta
Friday, Sept 4th Tampa
Saturday, Sept 5th Ft. Lauderdale