The Quietus - A new rock music and pop culture website

Baker's Dozen

Alan Wilder Of Recoil & Depeche Mode's 13 Favourite LPs
Luke Turner , May 9th, 2011 07:29

As Short Circuit fast approaches, we talk to Alan Wilder about his 13 favourite records, and how they shaped his work in post-Depeche Mode project Recoil

Metal_box_image_1304862599_resize_460x400

PiL - Metal Box
I was immediately attracted to PiL – much more so than the Sex Pistols. The Sex Pistols were great for what they were, but it's like the difference between basic punk rock and Television; it's more thoughtful, it's much darker, and there's something otherworldly about that combination. Keith Levene's guitar playing on it is incredible – not just the sound, but what he chose to play was very unique. Jah Wobble as well – it's a great combination of people. And, of course, Lydon doing his thing.

It's pretty avant-garde stuff. It's very experimental. And that's all in its favour. It feels very natural: they did whatever they felt like doing. You get the feeling that they thought ‘We don't care if it's commercial, we don't care if it's like the Pistols. We're just going to do whatever we want to do'. And it's brilliant.