Depeche Mode sounds as Depeche Mode as ever on Hole To Feed, and their music video for the track is sure to haunt you for a while.

This official Ableton Live video looks at drum processing with Depeche Mode.

via AbletonInc:

Kerry Hopwood is the Live Programmer/Musical Director for Depeche Mode. When it comes to staging a live DM show, theres no cutting corners. Kerry puts it simply: We need to use tools that work. In concert, Kerry and Depeche Mode rely on Ableton Live as an integral component of shaping the bands drum sound. In this movie, shot at a concert in Berlins Olympiastadion, Kerry discusses the advantages that Live offers for on-stage sound processing.

Image: Neil Vance

Vince Clarke with his Yamaha DX7 in 1984.

via the Synthtopia Flickr Group

Emulator II demonstration by Alan Wilder

via Turrican101:

Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode 1982-1995 Keyboarder) demonstrates the use of the Emulator II (French TV, around 1986)

Their Sounds of the Universe (App Store link) is an Phone/iPod Touch application that lets you select from 8 sets of audio loops and make your own Sounds of the Universe mix.

Nine Inch Nails’ iPhone app is the most interesting band app that I’ve seen, but the new Depeche Mode app offers some fun, too, with a lower fan rabidity threshold.

Description:

With this application you are able to select from 8 sets of audio loops where you can make your own “Sounds of the Universe” mix by tapping the colored bars on the album artwork of Depeche Mode’s latest studio release Sounds of the Universe.

The application features never heard before audio loops from producer Ben Hillier and Martin Gore. All of the sounds and loops are from the recording sessions for Depeche Mode’s Sounds of the Universe.

Saturday Synth Porn: The synths of Depeche Mode.

Keyboard Mag has published an interesting photo essay on the band’s synths.

Featured in this shot:

In the foreground is an Oberheim Matrix 12. To its left on the keyboard stand is a Roland Alpha-Juno 1 above a Roland Jupiter-6. To the left of all that is producer Ben Hillier, partially whited out by the Mac’s flatscreen display. On the other wall, to his right, is where things get even more interesting. That big rack contains two vintage ARP 2600 analog synths, and at far right is an EMS VCS3 above an M-Audio MIDI controller keyboard.

This is the official music video for Depeche Mode’s Wrong, from the album Sounds Of The Universe.

Released April 20th, 2009 (UK), April 21st, 2009 (USA)

Director: Patrick Daughters

Actor (in car): Julian Gross

Kicking off in Toronto on July 24th, the band’s 22-city North American tour will cover both the US and Canada. Tickets for select markets are set to go on sale on March 13th.

Depeche Mode’s tour is happening in conjunction with the release of the group’s twelfth studio album, Sounds Of the Universe.

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)

Still no Vince Clarke, though.

• Zune Owners Everywhere Cursing That They Cheaped Out
  Posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 in iPods & Portable Media Players – Comments: (4)
  Zune owners everywhere are cursing the day that they cheaped out and bought a Microsoft portable media player, because Zunes around the world today are dying.
• Deadmau5 at Bleu
  Posted on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 in Music Videos – Comments: (4)
  

  Click here to view the embedded video.

  
  Saturday mau5 porn: A promo video for Deadmau5 when they showed up to Bleu in Detroit.Deadmau5 eye candy courtesy of Natalie – one of Detroit’s top Go Go Dancers. She showed up in style with her very own mau5 head.
• M-Audio Tweaks Torq DJ Software
  Posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 in DJ – Comments: (2)
  M-Audio has released Torq 1.5 DJ software for Mac OS X and Windows.
• Depeche Mode Do Joan Rivers, But It Looks Like They Were Faking It|Posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 in Electronic Musicians – Comments: (2)
  

  Click here to view the embedded video.

  
  Here’s a vintage Depeche Mode performance on the Joan Rivers Show from 1986. We’ve been giving Dali grief for a couple of weeks over her faked performances – is this Depeche Mode performance just as bogus?
• The Strangest Music Video Of 2008
  Posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 in Music Videos – Comments: (2)

  Click here to view the embedded video.

  
  I’ve been easy on Synthtopia readers lately, carefully avoiding posting videos that could scorch your eyeballs, give you nightmares and even warp your unborn progeny. This video, Thriller in the Nude, merits your attention, though, as it may be the strangest music video of 2008. 

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Here’s a vintage Depeche Mode performance on the Joan Rivers Show from 1986. 

We’ve been giving Dali grief for a couple of weeks over her faked performances – is this Depeche Mode performance just as bogus?

Depeche Mode announced today its 2009 Tour of the Universe, which includes 28 stadium dates worldwide beginning May 10 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Dates:

• May 10: Tel Aviv, Israel (Ramat Gan Stadium)
• May 12: Athens (Terra Vibe Park)
• May 14: Istanbul (Santral Istanbul)
• May 16: Bucharest, Romania (Parc Izvor)
• May 18: Sofia, Bulgaria (Vasil Levski Stadium)
• May 20: Belgrade, Serbia (USCE Park)
• May 21: Zagreb, Croatia (Arena)
• May 23: Warsaw (Gwardia Stadium)
• May 25: Riga, Latvia (Skonto Stadium)
• May 27: Vilnius, Lithuania (Zalgirio Stadionas)
• May 30: London (02 Arena)
• June 2: Hamburg (HSH Nordbank Arena)
• June 4: Dusseldorf, Germany (LTU Arena)
• June 7: Leipzig, Germany (Zentralstadion)
• June 10: Berlin (Olympiastadion)
• June 12: Frankfurt (Commerzbank Arena)
• June 13: Munich (Olympiastadion)
• June 16, 18: Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
• June 20: Werchter, Belgium (TW Classic Festival)
• June 22: Bratislava, Slovakia (Inter Stadium)
• June 23: Budapest (Puskas Ferenc Stadium)
• June 25: Prague (Slavia Stadium)
• June 27: Paris (TBA)
• June 30: Copenhagen (Parken Stadium)
• July 2: Bergen, Norway (Koengen)
• July 3: Arvika, Sweden (Arvika Festival)
• July 11: Oporto, Portugal (Super Bock Super Rock Festival)

You are famous as a user and collector of analog synthesizers, but computers made it into your setup list very early on as well. How would you describe the role of the computer in your creative work?

I started using computers around 1984. Prior to that I was using analog sequencers like the Roland MC-4, which is essentially a 4 Channel triggering device.

I started to use computers with a software called UMI, which was made for the BBC Micro computer, a machine that was employed for basic education purposes in the U.K. The UMI software was a 16-channel MIDI sequencer that I used for years on the same computer. Even though technology went way ahead of me I stuck to the same piece of equipment.

The reason for that was that its limitations really helped me to make the right decisions when it came down to making music. I couldn’t get thrown over by having too many choices and that helped me focus on what was important in the song.

When I moved to the U.S. I started using Logic and Max/MSP while I was waiting for all my equipment to arrive from the U.K. That’s when I really got into software synthesizers. It was the first time I read a manual in my life. A rather difficult experience.

Which technology has had the biggest impact on your music?

When I first started using Logic it was purely for convenience and practical reasons. I just couldn’t get all my gear over from the U.K. fast enough. It wasn’t love at first sight. Later when more and more software synthesizers came out that were based on a lot of analog gear I really started to get interested.

Where do you see your musical influences when it comes to working with synthesizers?

I’ve always been a fan of music based on synthesizers. In the 80s the two key bands for me were Human League – before the girls joined the band – and OMD, especially with their first album. I loved the fact that they were using synthesizers in a pop context.

What is your stage setup?

It has changed quite a bit over the years. Right now we’re using Logic. But I had to cut up all the tracks of the individual songs due to synchronization problems. You know, we record to tape in the studio. It was a lot of work but it sounded much better and really tightened things up live. What I would like to get into more is using hardware interfaces with software synthesizers. I really like the idea of using two hands to create a specific sound rather than a mouse. That has to be a good thing.

‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ by Alex Leopard

Description:

Alex ‘The Mac’ Leopard sings Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough.