Latest
News About David Gahan Solo Work |
February
27th 2003 |
Logo
©Davegahan.com
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Here
is the press release of his new album Paper Monsters from
Dave Gahan's official website launched today www.davegahan.com |
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DAVE
GAHAN BIOG
NEW ALBUM
PAPER MONSTERS
DAVE GAHAN has risen from livewire Essex soulboy to globally
adored rock 'n 'soul star during more than two decades as
one of pop's most iconic frontmen. As the voice of Depeche
Mode, Dave has become a hero to millions, hitting intense
public highs and deep personal lows. But in all this time
he never quite found the right emotional frame of mind to
vent his true feelings on record. Until now.
'Paper Monsters' is Gahan's first solo album, and finds the
singer starting from scratch again. Composed with a multi-instrumentalist
friend from New York, Knox Chandler, and produced by Ken Thomas
of Sigur Rós fame, the album is a 21st century masterpiece
of tones and textures, reflection and rebirth. Boasting the
freshness of a debut but the seasoned wisdom of an old soul,
it was recorded in an open-ended, back-to-basics manner which
Dave found both liberating and exhilarating.
"What really hit me most was how happy and fulfilled it made
me feel," he nods. "I wanted to hear something that makes
me feel good. That's been the train of thought throughout
this record, and Ken's been really great with that."
Although Dave has fronted Depeche Mode for 22 years, 'Paper
Monsters' marks his debut as a fully fledged songwriter. The
monsters of the title make passing reference to his former
appetite for destruction, but mostly to more everyday demons
- from the agonies and ecstasies of long-term love to the
heartbreaking euphoria of fatherhood. But while sensual, sublime
confessionals like 'Hold On', 'A Little Piece', and 'Stay'
may be lullabies of longing wrapped in chamber-music arrangements,
the album's prevailing mood is overwhelmingly positive. "It
sounds hopeful because that's what I am," insists the rejuvenated
singer.
Indeed, 'Paper Monsters' is a musical journey where hope conquers
hurt. According to Dave, 'Bitter Apple' is about rediscovering
the exquisite pain of love. 'Stay', meanwhile, is a majestic
hymn of quiet awe inspired by the birth of his daughter. "When
she was born it was like a big arrow went through my heart,"
Dave recalls. "I really started to feel like my heart was
beating again."
But 'Paper Monsters' also has its dark, wasted, lustful side.
From the meatgrinder glam racket of 'Bottle Living', featuring
Dave's own ragged blues harmonica, to the nightmarish Wizard
of Oz fantasy of 'Dirty Sticky Floors', the singer gives vent
to the sleazy alter ego he half-jokingly calls Evil Dave:
"Essex Boy made good," he laughs.
All of the album's diverse emotional themes come together
in 'She Said (Goodbye)', an uplifting anthem about answered
prayers and spiritual reawakening. "The most important thing
to me was that all of the songs have a sense of humour," Dave
explains, "but at the same time a message of hope and faith."
A masterpiece of reflection, redemption and rebirth, 'Paper
Monsters' finds Dave Gahan at the peak of his powers, seizing
the day and celebrating his unquenchable lust for life. 'It's
like I'm waking up, and I'm realising there's been a hell
of a lot given to me," explains Dave. "I've been given a lot
of chances in my life and it's time for me to take those gifts
and do something with them. It's all about freedom."
Barbara Charone - MBC Media |
Picture
©Davegahan.com / Anton Corbijn
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On the
official website launched today you will find also wallpapers
taken from pictures of Anton Corbijn, from a photo session
recently done in January in Lisbon, Portugal. |
Tour
Info
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Here
are some dates of festivals and concert places where Dave
will appear :
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February
7th 2003 |
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Dave
Gahan will perform live at the MTV Rock Am Ring , on June
6th -8th in Germany. |
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As announced
on the official Depche Mode website David Gahan's first single
is scheduled for May 19th 2003 (tbc), and the release date
for his album is for June 2nd 2003 .
The titles are still not available . He recorded it in New
York as you could see on a MTV interview ( video on the official
website) at theElectric Ladyland Studios
People who worked with Gahan on this album : Knox Chandler
& Ken Thomas
From what some rumours said, the album sounds quite "rock"
Also a new website is launched for Dave Gahan :
http://www.davidgahan.com
(soon online) |
September
1st 2002 |
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Article
taken from MTV.COM
Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan
"I'm just really full of energy, and getting healthy is
a theme that has crept into my lyrics and vocal melodies."
- Dave Gahan
Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan has been singing Martin Gore's
lyrics for half of his life. Now, he's ready to show Gore
that he's not the only one who can put words in Dave's mouth.
"There's
that danger of Martin becoming a crutch," Gahan said of
the lyricist/composer of the band. "Martin has a particular
style he sings in, and for me it was important to get away
from that on this [solo] album."
Gahan,
who turns 40 this week, said he will enter a studio in July
to begin work on the 15 songs he has demoed for his as-yet-untitled
debut solo album, tentatively scheduled for release in March
2003.
The singer will be working with producer/percussionist Ken
Thomas (Sigur Rós) and cellist/guitarist Knox Chandler (Siouxsie
and the Banshees, Psychedelic Furs) on the album.
He also plans to tour in support of the effort, including
some possible surprise club dates around the end of the
year. The brooding vocalist said his sobriety
- he battled a debilitating, nearly fatal heroin addiction
in the mid-late '90s - has colored many of his songs.
"I'm
just really full of energy, and getting healthy is a theme
that has crept into my lyrics and vocal melodies," he said.
"They're about wanting to find a place of peace and belonging,
but at the same time experiencing that and seeing it through
other people. I always played around with writing songs,
but when you're spending a lot of time in bars you have
a lot of big ideas, but you don't do much with them."
As examples,
he cited the track "Hold On," which describes the birth
of his daughter. "You have to hold on and wait for these
little surprises to come," he explained.
"Just when you think things are in their darkest, blackest
place, these little things happen."
And though Gahan said some of the songs will likely have
the signature Depeche Mode keyboard sound, a demo of "A
Little Piece" mixes gospel emotion and eerie music that
wouldn't be out of place on a song by expat American cult
singer Scott Walker.
Gahan admitted that the demo initially scared his record
company because it was such a departure from his DM work,
but that he doesn't mind bucking expectations. In the meantime,
fans will have plenty of the good old DM sounds to tide
them over until Gahan's album, the release of which should
coincide with the second collection of covers by Gore under
his alter ego, Counterfeit.
On May
28, the band will release a double-DVD entitled "One Night
in Paris - The Exciter Tour." The live document of their
two-night stand at the scenic Palais Omnisports de Paris
Bercy was filmed by longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn
during the band's 2001 tour.
"I watched
it in my house alone a few weeks ago and halfway through
I got very nostalgic and thought, 'This is good,' " Gahan
said. "It's very weird watching yourself ... and sometimes
painful. Anton told me that after watching a few performances
he wanted to get across how I become a different person
for each song and how I throw myself into that song and
drift away somewhere. It's very easy to do that when singing
Depeche Mode songs.
For me, it's a very visual experience and it takes me to
a place, sometimes very sad, sometimes very jubilant."
The
first CD features the nearly two-hour performance, while
the second disc contains bonus footage with behind-the-scenes
clips, the backdrop films Corbijn filmed to accompany the
songs, and interviews with the members of the band, which
also includes keyboardist Andrew Fletcher.
Don't
plan on enjoying the silence for too long, though: Once
all this solo action is out of the way, Gahan said he expects
Depeche Mode will get back in the studio to record their
next album.
-Gil
Kaufman
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