Electronic Sound Magazine Issue 105 Edição anterior

From his early days as a synthpop wunderkind in Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly, through to Erasure, VCMG (with Martin Gore) and a host of other collaborations, Vince Clarke has packed an awful lot into the last 40-odd years. And he has never been busier.

Juggling countless projects and remixes, always tinkering in the studio, and as obsessed as ever with synths and modular kit – perhaps even more so – Clarke isn’t somebody who sits still for long. As we put it in the exclusive interview with Clarke, “the electronic force isn’t so much strong, as completely hard-wired”.

The interview took place at Clarke’s New York home studio and covers a lot of ground, including his formative pre-Depeche experiences in Basildon. And with the forthcoming release of his debut solo album, ‘Songs Of Silence’, an exciting new chapter is about to unfold, as Clarke takes himself entirely out of his usual comfort zone. Rather than the electropop earworms he’s known for, this is something quite different, but just as special.

In the glare of the spotlight for the first time as a solo artist, and completely on his own terms, the self-confessed control freak discusses the album’s development.

As well as the Vince Clarke feature, we have a bumper selection of other interviews for you, including Belbury Poly, AR Kane, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Das Koolies, Dot Allison, Delmer Darion and Frankie Rose. We also have a piece on ‘The NID Tapes’, an intriguing compilation of Indian electronic music recorded between 1969 and 1972, while Ghost Box co-owner and sleeve designer Julian House talks us through some of his artwork for the label over the last two decades.