Exclusive interview: Metope

We’ve added an exclusive interview with Metope, who remixed “Suffer Well”, to our features.

Don’t miss it!

Depeche Modes new single, “Suffer Well” , is out and is the first single from an album to be written by someone other then Martin L. Gore since 1981’s celebrated album, Speak & Spell. “Suffer Well” is one of three songs written by Dave Gahan for Playing The Angel and one getting a lot of praise from fans and music journalists alike. Uncut Magazine sang the songs praise by saying, “The sleek, pulsing ‘Suffer Well’ – the best of Gahan’s contributions – evokes the Mode’s classic Violator period” and also gave the track four stars! This third release also has a fantastic crew of remixers as well. Tiga, Alter Ego, M83, Narcotic Thrust and Metope all turned in amazing remixes.

Empty World 3’s Element caught up with Michael Schwanen of Metope to get some background about the two remixes Metope made for “Suffer Well”. Read on to get some insightful information about his remixing and more!

Enjoy!

Can you give us a little background about yourself and how you got in to making music?

In 1990 I started to produce electronic tracks on a Commodore Amiga. I was heavily influenced by the early releases from LFO, Black Dog and others on Warp Records. After a couple of years I bought my first drum computer, a really cheap sounding Boss machine, and an Akai S1100 sampler that I got from a friend. I also had to learn the piano when I was a kid. Of course I am thankful for that, even when I really wasn’t so much into practicing.

How did Areal Records come about?

In 2001 Basteroid, Konfekt, and I founded the label Areal. We all met a year before in Cologne. They moved from Bavaria and I moved from a small town close to Frankfurt into the city. We had a little studio in a dirty basement and all of us really loved the music that we were producing, so we decided that there is only one way to keep it together: on an own platform, Areal.

Do you enjoy remixing as much as making your own music?

I prefer to do my own music. Remixing can be really hard, especially if it’s a really good track and you want to find a way to make a new version of the song while staying true to the original. You want to take new ideas and make changes in it, which makes it an interesting mix, but also keep elements of the original in hopes that people who like the original will also like the remix. It’s important that the remix have the feeling of the original while still feeling like a new track.

Are you much of a Depeche Mode fan and did you ever take influence from what they have been doing through the years?

Yes, I am a big fan and for sure they influenced me in my productions. Maybe all of us couldn’t do this job if there weren’t anyone who are willing to open the mainstream for this kind of electronic music. I am very thankful, that such a huge band gives a lot of artist from the underground the opportunity to present themselves to an unusual audience.

Have you gone to any of the shows this tour and what do you think about them playing some of your music in their pre-show music?

I didn’t have the chance to go to one of the concerts, but I got calls from friends who visited the concerts in Prague, Berlin, Duesseldorf and Munich telling me that one of my songs was just played. I was really amazed and felt honored.

How did it come about that you would remix “Suffer Well” and what do you think of the original version?

I got a request from Seth at Novamute and I was really surprised. I would have never expected that. I don’t really know how it came about that I was requested though. I know that Mr. Gore likes electronic music from Cologne a lot. Maybe that was the reason.

Was there much of an intimidation factor for you being asked to remix or were you pretty comfortable with it? This is also the first single that Dave Gahan has written for the band, did that have any effect on you or did you just think of it as a total Depeche Mode thing?

I felt very nervous when I started to work on the remix. It is for sure a strange feeling to have this opportunity. A friend told me, when we were talking about the remix, that the song “Suffer Well” was written by Dave Gahan. I also found out that he wrote three songs or so on the album as his first ever songs ever for Depeche Mode. I think that this track and the lyrics especially must be something very personal for him as they somehow tell a part of his life. That influenced me, in a way, to give the remixes some of my personal life and how I feel as well, but I honestly always try to do that.

How did you decide on what direction to take the remix? Also, how do you try to stay true to the original song while incorporating your signature sound into the remix?

I had the great opportunity to make two remixes. One which should be close to the original, that contains the vocals, and one were I could do what I want. It just should be playable in a club and that’s my thing anyway. But I really liked to work with the vocals as I don’t really have the chance to do that often.

Do you build your remixes around specific samples you like from the original or do you add them in later after you have built a foundation to work up from?

First thing that I do is listen carefully to the original. In this case it was very interesting, as I never thought that they had so many elements in the song. It was quite amazing to listen later to all the single files and notice how many I still missed in the song. There is a lot to discover in Depeche Mode songs. You can’t listen enough to them. Later I use the samples I like most and try to experiment and edit them. As a third step, I try to make a new song out of it that keeps the feeling of the original.

Were you asked to make a remix and a vocal remix or was that to give them a choice? Which of the two do you prefer and did you get any feedback from the band?

Oh, I answered I bit of this in the question before. I had the chance to do two remixes. The feedback I got was that Mute accepted the remixes very fast. That was a big compliment for me. I guess that also means that the band liked the mixes.

Any new projects we can look forward to from Metope and also from Areal Records?

There will be remixes for my album, “Kobol”, soon by Johannes Heil and Sleeparchive. Also, coming up next month my first EP for the label “Art of Perception” and a new record on Sender will follow in May. On Areal Records, we will release albums by Ada and Basteroid this year.

For more information on Metope and Areal Records, please visit: www.areal-records.com

Interview by Glen. (C) Empty World 3. Do not steal this article without giving full credit and a link! Photo appears courtesy of Metope.