{"id":613,"date":"2020-05-05T17:05:48","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T15:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taractaylor.com\/TCT\/?p=613"},"modified":"2021-10-03T20:16:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T18:16:25","slug":"covering-a-depeche-mode-standard-enjoy-the-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taractaylor.com\/TCT\/613\/","title":{"rendered":"Covering a Depeche Mode Standard: \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Life in self isolation in the time of the Corona Virus continues in Berlin. \u00a0I have adopted a hybrid French Ninja look when outside the home since it complies with the mask requirements. \u00a0As you know by now I have been involved with a home performance YouTube project created by my dear friend and fellow musician Matthew Presidente<\/a>\u00a0. \u00a0Don and I usually can\u2019t watch the premieres of the \u201cWorld is Watching\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Youtube because, it launches Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. Pacific\u00a0 which, for us, is Tuesday at 5:00 a.m. in Berlin. \u00a0We are NOT morning people and 5:00 am is when we like to go to be and not wake up! Those who know us can attest to our vampire hours. The nine hour time difference makes creating & collaborating with Matthew (who is located on the West Coast of Canada) easy because I am literally always ahead.\u00a0 But again I digress.\u00a0 So long story short Don and I will watch each new \u201cWorld is Watching\u201d<\/a> episode on Tuesday at noon with a coffee in hand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Tuesday April 28th as Don and I were watching episode 6<\/a> and the Youtube live chat during the show.\u00a0 It\u2019s always fun to watch the comments people make on the live chat as they are watching the show.\u00a0 Most of the people watching & participating on the live chat are our friends in Vancouver (we miss them a lot).\u00a0 During the live chat close to the end of the show we see a request for some \u201cSynth Pop\u201d.\u00a0 The conversation went a little like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGlauber Baldo\u200b: Try some Synthpop, like Depeche Mode, VNV Nation or my favorite New Order<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Matthew Presidente\u200b: Depeche Mode is a great idea – – – @Tara?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Vereor11: \u200bYes! this is my depeche mode request!<\/em>\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"If you don\u2019t already know, I am a HUGE Depeche Mode fan.\u00a0 I have been a fan since 1988 and to date I have seen the band 14 times live. I have seen Dave Gahan solo \u201cPaper Monsters\u201d tour (2003) and I attended Alan Wilder\u2019s Recoil Selected tour in Seattle.\u00a0 I have also met past band members: Alan Wilder & Vince Clark and I have met current members: Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher.\u00a0 The only member of DM I have not yet met is the elusive Dave Gahan.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past I have toyed with the idea of forming a Depeche Mode tribute project or covering Depeche Mode songs, getting the rights and releasing them.\u00a0 This request made me wrestle with these eternal questions: What Depeche Mode song should I cover?\u00a0 Should I cover a song that I love but, people would not know or should I do what I would call a \u201cDepeche Mode Standard\u201d?\u00a0 In the end I went with covering the \u00a0standard that almost everyone would know \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>In my humble opinion \u201cViolator\u201d is the BEST Depeche Mode album and \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d is the BEST Depeche Mode single <\/span>(I love it so much I even have the Violator Rose surrounded by a mustard yellow tattooed on my back.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>I know that many fans may or will disagree with me but, I stand by my statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Covering a favorite band always makes me nervous. First off I want to make sure I can do the song vocally and \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d is one of the few Depeche Mode songs sung by Dave Gahan I can actually sing.\u00a0 You see Dave Gahan is a Baritone (two octaves lower than middle C) and I am a Mezzo-Soprano (A3 just below middle C-A5 two octaves higher than Middle C) so, for most of the Depeche Mode songs that are sung by him are usually too low for me to match up in a mid to Soprano range. For some reason \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d is one of those few songs sung by a man who has a thick baritone voice that fits my vocal range.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next thing that makes me nervous is arranging the song.\u00a0 In my opinion I want the song to sound close to the original but also not be a carbon copy of the original.\u00a0 I also want to choose sounds that emulate the song that don\u2019t sound cheezie <\/span>(I\u2019d love to be able to find the original sounds\/samples used on the song but, I don’t have the time for that).\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>I started arranging the song by choosing the beat first, the sounds for the bass melody line second, and the synth instruments that give the sound a rich feeling after that.\u00a0 That took about two days to complete.\u00a0 My next step was to record a scratch vocal track with the beats that I could send to Matthew so, he could lay down his piano track, backing vocal and film his best take to send back as a package to Don and myself. \u00a0This is the process for all our songs we have been producing for the show.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The next stage was for me to record my lead vocal & film the performance. \u00a0 For my costume I decided to emulate the late 80\u2019s\/early 90\u2019s fashion meaning: I dressed in black, wore one of my Depeche Mode concert shirts (it\u2019s from the Global Spirit tour), got out a Leather Blazer style jacket, loaded up with all of my Depeche Mode Pins and last but not least I got my \u201cMartin Gore\u2019esque\u201d black bowler hat out not only to have that \u201clook\u201d but also to hide my Corona Virus Quarantine hair <\/span>(oh my god do I need a haircut.).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"As I got my look together Don transformed our apartment\u2019s living room into our Corona Virus Quarantine recording\/filming studio.\u00a0 Because this was a day shoot we wanted the look of the studio to focus on the synthesizers and midi controllers because of the songs Syth primary sound.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After we had finished setting the stage and I was in costume and ready to go.\u00a0 Filming my lead vocal and syth performance took 7 takes in total to perfect.\u00a0 After recording and filming Don and I will sit \"\"<\/i>down and choose the best \u00a0performance to use for the final mix.\u00a0 This time it was take number 7 (lucky 7!). \u00a0For this and all the other songs in the project we use a single “off the floor” take. \u00a0What that means is we record the vocal and instrument as well as the video in a single take. \u00a0We do multiple takes and pick the best one to use for the final video. No editing, overdubs or mixing between takes. \u00a0This adds to the authenticity of the performance of a “live” show. Now Don will do a final mix of all the audio, midi and vocal tracks including Matthews and then sync the tracks to the video.\u00a0 Syncing and editing video is time consuming and takes a lot of patience.\u00a0 Don uses Final Cut Pro for editing video and this time Don was having fun playing around with all of the visual filters the software has to offer.\u00a0 After has completed all of the video editing we send the finished video to Matthew so he can add it into the show.\u00a0 In the end I really hope the audience likes my version of \u201cEnjoy the Silence\u201d. \u00a0I plan on releasing the version in the coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Other songs I participated in included \u201cHomo for the Holidays\u201d and \u201cHey Jude\u201d by the Beatles.\u00a0 Both songs had been requested. Hey jude was requested by a fan but, \u201cHomo for the Holidays\u201d was requested by someone close to Matthew…his Father.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew\u2019s Father is currently in a managed care facility in the Lower Mainland.\u00a0 Because of the Coronavirus lockdown Matthew had not been able to see his father but, there are staff members of the facility that have access to iPads & wifi so, the staff would bring and iPad to Matthew\u2019s father\u2019s room and screen \u201cWorld is Watching\u201d. \u00a0 After watching an episode Matthew\u2019s father requested a Christmas song so, we decided we should do a \u201ctongue-in-cheek\u201d queer Christmas song we wrote years ago called \u201cHomo for the Holidays\u201d. \u00a0 We got our Santa hats out and \u201cham & cheesed\u201d the whole performance up.\u00a0 It was a hoot to record and film <\/span>(I even got the triangle out)<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018World is Watching\u201d episode 07<\/a> premiered on Monday, May 4th (May the 4th Be With You!).<\/span><\/p>\n

So, for all of you out there that decided to take a moment to read this blog I hope you all stay safe and stay healthy!<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for a glass of wine and decide if I should get Don to cut my hair!<\/span><\/p>\n

Cheers!<\/span><\/p>\n

TCT\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n