Synth legends, Erasure, have revealed the reconstruction of their album, World Be Gone. The recording gets a classical makeover by the Belgian Echo Collective.
Long-time Erasure collaborator, Gareth Jones, mixed the album, and Andy Bell returned to the studio for vocal duties.
Neil Leiter from the Echo Collective explains:
The process of this project was really deconstruction and re-purposing. We started by listening to each track layer by layer, and then, using the layers that inspired us or we found essential, we reconstructed the tracks instrumentally. Each of the instruments in the band setup were chosen for their inherent capacities and roles. Often choosing which layer to put with each instrument was a question of matching roles and colours. By stripping so much away, we were able to find a new space for Andy to fill. The text of the songs became much more important in the overall construction of the songs, and Andy was free to explore more dynamics and vocal range.
Although he didn’t take part in the recording, the initiative for the project came from Vince Clarke. He is enthusiastic about the results:
It was great to talk through ideas with Echo Collective and then see how their arrangements took shape. The collaboration has given elements of the album a whole new feel and Andy’s vocals remain as powerful and uplifting as ever.
Mute have provided a view into the recording process in this video:
Erasure are currently on tour in Europe. World Beyond comes out on 9 March 2018.