Depeche Mode Delta Machine - A Synth Pop Modular Masterpiece?

[Delta Machine]

I was listening to Depeche Mode's 2013 "Delta Machine" album last night which is, in my opinion, the band's best album since Violator. I felt like discussing the production techniques on this album but it was late and none of my musician friends are that into the band these days. And who can blame them? Other than Delta Machine and maybe their most recent, "Memento Mori" album, their output has been pretty spotty in the last 20+ years.

But still, there is something about Delta Machine that sounds really interesting to me. It's nowhere near as sonically adventurous as Violator and even some of their earlier albums. But sampling as a sonic landscape has pretty much run its course. So where do you go from there?

Delta Machine would seem to emphatically suggest "modular synths"! I've read that Martin Gore of Depeche Mode is a "modular madman" and sometimes buys a Eurorack module a week even though he is basically duplicating (or quadrupling) what he already owns.

My only point in posting here is that I don't think you could ever recreate the cool, raw, minimalist sound of Delta Machine with plugins. That isn't an invitation to open some "flame war" about synth plugins vs hardware synths. I honestly don't have any skin in that game. I use both. And I don't actually own any modular gear because it seems too expensive, too space-consuming, and frankly too much of a pain to use for any improvement in sound quality it might add to my songs.

But then I listen to something like Delta Machine and think maybe I am missing out on something. Because again, I don't think I could ever mimic the sound of that record using my synth plugins or even my more conventional hardware synths.

Anyway, I hope this might be a fun discussion and not get into the whole software vs hardware "debate." I'm also specifically avoiding the topic of whether the songs on Delta Machine are "better" than those on Violator. I don't think anyone can answer that other than for themselves.

But when The Quietus posts a glowing track-by-track review of Delta Machine, then maybe Depeche Mode was actually on to something with that record.

https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/ ... ne-review/

[T-CM11]

My only point in posting here is that I don't think you could ever recreate the cool, raw, minimalist sound of Delta Machine with plugins. That isn't an invitation to open some "flame war" about synth plugins vs hardware synths. I honestly don't have any skin in that game. I use both. And I don't actually own any modular gear because it seems too expensive, too space-consuming, and frankly too much of a pain to use for any improvement in sound quality it might add to my songs.

Why would you want to "recreate" somebody else's album in the first place?

[vurt]

try super collider?

[Delta Machine]

My only point in posting here is that I don't think you could ever recreate the cool, raw, minimalist sound of Delta Machine with plugins. That isn't an invitation to open some "flame war" about synth plugins vs hardware synths. I honestly don't have any skin in that game. I use both. And I don't actually own any modular gear because it seems too expensive, too space-consuming, and frankly too much of a pain to use for any improvement in sound quality it might add to my songs.

Why would you want to "recreate" somebody else's album in the first place?

Perhaps there is a language barrier here? I said, "recreate the sound of" Delta Machine and not "recreate Delta Machine." As much as I enjoy the music of Depeche Mode, I have no interest in trying to recreate one of their albums, even one as great and as influential as Violator.

For starters, that would be a pointless effort. Unless I could somehow inhabit the minds of Martin Gore and Dave Gahan (the two surviving members of Depeche Mode,) I don't know how I could ever "recreate" their art. And what would be the point, anyway? I want to do my own thing as I'm sure they want to do their's.

This was more of a thought experiment to say that you probably couldn't approximate the sound of Delta Machine without modular synthesizers. That shouldn't be controversial, right? And like I said, I don't actually own any modular synths so I'm not an advocate on their behalf.

But I would love to be proven wrong. Please point me to an album with similar sonic characteristics as Delta Machine done with plugins and standard synthesizers and I will be all ears.

[Delta Machine]

try super collider?

Is "super collider" some sort of modular synth module? It sounds like something the late, great Mutable Instruments might have developed.

[yellowmix]

..

[Delta Machine]

My only point in posting here is that I don't think you could ever recreate the cool, raw, minimalist sound of Delta Machine with plugins. That isn't an invitation to open some "flame war" about synth plugins vs hardware synths.

Can you be more specific? What song, what sounds (timestamps would help, perhaps link to YouTube videos with time embedded in the link) do you think cannot be replicated via software?

I can try to go song by song on the album if that might help. Although that might be a pretty lengthy response. So please bear with me.

The super minimalist (at least initially) opening track, "Welcome to My World," starts off with that "growling" bass synth. It's not the most exciting or interesting sound in the world. But I think I might be hard pressed to recreate it with any of the analog modeling synths plugins I own. There is just a really pleasing "growl" quality to the sound and it's quite intense. But more than anything, it doesn't have that "glossy sheen," I associate with most "analog" synth plugins. The sound has a nice, mid-range rawness to it.

Perhaps Depeche Mode used a standard vintage monophonic or even polyphonic analog synth to create that sound. But having seen pictures of the studio where the album was recorded and seeing wall-to-wall modulars, something tells me that Marin Gore and/or Flood used one the modular synths to create that sound. Again, it's nothing special and maybe the natural saturation in the sound was created by playing an MS20 or something like that through a nice analog console and driving the channel really hard to create that pleasing saturation effect.

The second song, "Angel" is an awesome "Synth Blues" track, IMO. It's also got an interesting, low mid-range "bass" sound at the beginning. But then the song gets way more intense. I love the fact that the song is in 3/4 time but sounds nothing like a Waltz to me. Of course, the processed guitar adds a lot to the sound of the track. But there is that weird, analog FM / Filter FM sound that goes along with the guitar that sounds like a "modular synth" sound to me (as little as I know about modular synths).

I'll skip over the "Pop" single "Heaven" because that's the least interesting song on the album to me.

The next song "Secret to the End" has that awesome saturated "sequencer" bass sound that has another really cool, growly, squelchy quality to it. Also, some of the lead "bell"-type sounds are weirdly detuned and don't sound like anything I can get out of my synth plugins or even most of my polyphonic analog synths. The closest I can get to something like that is by using my Waldorf Pulse 1 DCO synth which sounds hard as nails to me and has an awesome, "filthy"-sounding resonance.

The next song "My Little Universe" has that cool detuned, analog lead sound which is obviously a "loop" of some sort that gets truncated in a DAW to create that interesting, abruptly cut off effect. And there is another growly, squelchy sequencer-type bass part that comes in and out. Plus, there are all kinds of weird analog sound FX that I would be hard-pressed to create with plugins. Not that it's impossible. But just harder, IMO.

Anyway, I could go on through each track, but you probably get the point. One of my favorite songs on the album is "Soft Touch-Raw Nerve." Maybe most of the cool sounds in that track are actually processed guitar sounds. But there are also some clearly analog FX sounds that add a lot of atmosphere to the track.

The album is more than synths. There's a lot of production on it. They said it themselves, they weren't sure they were going to put it on the album until they transformed "My Little Universe" significantly from the demo. So you'll need to be more specific about what the synthesizers contribute that can't be attributed to further production.

Violator was a massive pop hit produced by Flood and Francis Kevorkian. Flood returned to mix Delta Machine. So a lot of it could be Flood's influence.

You are probably right. A lot of the sound of Delta Machine is probably the result of post-processing by running synths through interesting FX pedals, analog EQs, compressors, and so forth. That seems to be Flood's specialty, who is an amazing producer, IMO. I had no idea he worked on Delta Machine. Apparently working on Violator was such a fraught process for him and the band that he swore he would never work with them again. But then he picked up the reins again and worked on "Songs of Faith and Devotion" which is different-sounding than Violator but an equal masterpiece in its own way. I still prefer Delta Machine for its greater synth-focus and relative minimalism, however.

[andrew71]

I was listening to Depeche Mode's 2013 "Delta Machine" album last night which is, in my opinion, the band's best album since Violator. I felt like discussing the production techniques on this album but it was late and none of my musician friends are that into the band these days. And who can blame them? Other than Delta Machine and maybe their most recent, "Memento Mori" album, their output has been pretty spotty in the last 20+ years.

The general concensus among fans is that their best albums of the last 20 or so years were Playing the Angel and Memento Mori. Delta Machine, along with Sounds of the Universe and Spirit. I'm inclined to agree, as for me those three albums maybe have a couple of stand-out tracks each and a lot of rather middling tracks. My personal favourite from Delta Machine was Soothe my Soul, as there was something about it that reminded me of Personal Jesus from Violator.

There's an EPK video for Delta Machine here - - which is mostly PR fluff, but has a short sequence showing something being recorded for Soothe my Soul, but it sounds like a fairly basic patch, nothing spectacular. Martin Gore is quite a collector of vintage synths these days, which you can see if you seek out videos on the making of the last few albums.

If you want to try modular, there are some fairly cheap software modular systems, like Cherry Audio and VCV.

[VOODOO U]

Depeche Mode lost its mojo after songs of faith and devotion. But still an awesome band to see live.

[Delta Machine]

The general concensus among fans is that their best albums of the last 20 or so years were Playing the Angel and Memento Mori.

Everyone has their own tastes and there is obviously no "right" answer/response. But the only song I really, really like off Playing the Angel is "Precious" which is a classic Depeche Mode single. It's right up there with some of the best DM singles. It's super Pop and accessible. The guitar part in that song is awesome.

I also like "John the Revelator" and "Lilian" as "deep cuts" from the album.

There's an EPK video for Delta Machine here - - which is mostly PR fluff, but has a short sequence showing something being recorded for Soothe my Soul, but it sounds like a fairly basic patch, nothing spectacular. Martin Gore is quite a collector of vintage synths these days, which you can see if you seek out videos on the making of the last few albums.

That's a really fun video. I also like this "live" take of "Broken" from Delta Machine:



But it's silly to see Fletch pretend to play an MS20. He hadn't played a synth in probably 20 years when that album was made. That doesn't mean he didn't contribute to the making of their albums during that period by offering advice on which songs to include on the albums and on various production decisions. But he was more of a "Business Manager" than anything else. Even though he apparently hated Alan Wilder, Fletch was supposedly a really nice guy. RIP, Fletch. What a legacy. (I mean the sincerely.)

If you want to try modular, there are some fairly cheap software modular systems, like Cherry Audio and VCV.

I actually bought Softube Modular when it was on sale a while back along with a bunch of the additional modules including all of the Mutable Instruments ones. But I haven't used Softube Modular a single time since then. Every time I fire it up and stupidly realize that I need to patch modules together to create even a basic sound, I give up and move on to something like Diva. Some people obviously live for that spaghetti mess of cables, even virtual ones. But not me.

I suppose I'm really, really lucky to live in an age of abundance of amazing-sounding analog synths that offer oodles of patch storage and even mod matrices that allow me to "patch" together mod routings without a single modular patch cable in sight. That's a beautiful thing, IMO.

[Aliens]

try super collider?

[Delta Machine]

There's an EPK video for Delta Machine ... which is mostly PR fluff, but has a short sequence showing something being recorded for Soothe my Soul, but it sounds like a fairly basic patch, nothing spectacular. Martin Gore is quite a collector of vintage synths these days, which you can see if you seek out videos on the making of the last few albums.

My favorite image in this video is the sheet of paper taped to one of the modular racks that says, 'Do NOT touch! Preset." Hahaha. That's exactly why I don't use hardware modulars and a lot of vintage analog synths as awesome as they might sound. The lack of patch storage kills it for me. I guess I'm just too lazy to "suffer for my art" that way.



EDIT: What is the synth that Martin Gore is playing for "Sooth My Soul" in the video? It's looks pretty basic in terms of synthesis features but sounds super raw. I see another Behringer clone in the making!

[Delta Machine]

try super collider?

Haha. I'm a dummy. I get it now. I did a search for "super collider" and came across a KVR member with that username. I am assuming you think I am that person?

That's probably understandable. After reading a few of his/her posts, they immediately struck me as very well-written. I assume this person has some sort of liberal arts degree and did a lot of writing in college or perhaps is required to do a lot of writing for their job.

I myself have a Masters degree in English Literature. So yes, I have read quite a few well-written books over the years and have had to write volumes of papers so I too have been forced to learn how to express myself in an articulate, cogent manner.

As much as I admire English teachers (especially at the K12 level,) I wasn't stupid enough to pursue a teaching career. The money is shit and the thought of ignorant parents accusing me of "grooming" their children to become Transexuals seems intolerable. So I work in Finance. That of course comes with its own frustrations such as trying to communicate with "Quant Jocks" who are practically illiterate despite their advanced Maths degrees.

It is a bit sad that anyone who writes well on a forum is immediately suspect. But hey, it's the Internet and that just comes with the territory. I hope you will allow me to continue to discuss Depeche Mode's Delta Machine album without any further interruptions. Thank you.

[Shabdahbriah]

try super collider?

[...] That's probably understandable. [...]

{cough}

My only point in posting here is that I don't think you could ever recreate the cool, raw, minimalist sound of Delta Machine with plugins.

https://supercollider.github.io/

[andrew71]

EDIT: What is the synth that Martin Gore is playing for "Sooth My Soul" in the video? It's looks pretty basic in terms of synthesis features but sounds super raw. I see another Behringer clone in the making!

It’s a Cavagnolo Exagone XM64, and apparently one of only 25 made according to this article - https://www.matrixsynth.com/2017/10/cav ... -rare.html.