Depeche Mode founder members and electronic music pioneers Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore, who last worked together in 1981 on Depeche Mode’s debut album Speak & Spell, have reunited and made a techno album.
Due for release next spring, the album – as yet untitled – finds the duo operating under the name VCMG. Apparently influenced by the stripped back sounds of modern dance music, it will be preceded by a 12" EP on the 19th December. Entitled Spock, the EP gathers together the title track with four remixes, including Sandwell District member/producer of stern techno Regis, DSV1 and Edit-Select.
VCMG apparently began life as a discussion between Clarke and Gore, before gradually escalating into a full-blown collaborative project.
"I’ve been getting into and listening to a lot of minimal dance music and I got really intribued by all the sounds," said Clarke of the project’s inception. "I realised I needed a collaborator… so it occurred to me to talk to Martin."
The duo wrote the album by working in their own separate studios, swapping files and ideas via email until the record was completed. The album was mixed by Uberzone/Q (who also contributes a remix of ‘Spock’ to the upcoming EP under the name XOQ. It wasn’t until the Mute Short Circuit festival in May this year, where they were both performing, that they met to speak about the project in person.
The Spock EP is released digitally through Beatport on 30th November and through all other digital shops on 12th December. The 12" will be released on 19th December.
