With Depeche Mode on break, Martin Gore found inspiration from German techno and monkeys
Martin Gore of Depeche Mode perform the at American Airlines Arena on Sept. 15, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images/TNS)
Published February 21. 2021 12:01AM
Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times Get the weekly rundown Email Submit
Native to Central and South America, the howler monkey gets its name from the menacing wail it makes. It s among the largest nonhuman primates in the Americas, part of a cluster that migrated, it is speculated, either by raft or natural bridge from Africa some nearly 50 million years ago.
Martin Gore, co-founder and primary songwriter for Depeche Mode, zoomed in on the monkey while working on the first track on his new EP, The Third Chimpanzee. In his home studio, he developed what he calls a resynthesized vocal that sounds not quite human but like a monkey or another member of the primate family.
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Since 1989, in and around writing the bulk of the songs recorded by Depeche Mode, Martin Gore has been slowly building a solo discography. Itâs a humble side hustle comprising cover versions or, as on
MG, modular-synth instrumentals, some of which originated as demos for his bandâs 2013 album
Delta Machine. But with Gore having no one to please but himself, heâs free to make weirder and more dynamic sounds than he would dare with the day job.
The Third Chimpanzee is his darkestâand strongestâsolo work yet. The five instrumentals, all of them named after different primates, have the overdriven sting of vintage industrial, with bone-shuddering bass and the nastiest synth eruptions that he has elicited since Depeche Modeâs 1997 album
Native to Central and South America, the howler monkey gets its name from the menacing wail it makes. It’s among the largest nonhuman primates in the Americas, part of a cluster that migrated, it is speculated, either by raft or natural bridge from Africa some nearly 50 million years ago.
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