Recoil was born in 1986 as a two-track experimental EP. Simply entitled ‘1 + 2’, this collection of primitive demos caught the attention of Mute Records label boss Daniel Miller and was inconspicuously released as a mini-album on 12" vinyl. An album, Hydrology, soon followed in 1988 and both were eventually re-issued by Mute on CD as Hydrology plus 1+2. These early Recoil recordings revealed Alan’s position as a pioneer in the newly emerging world of sampling technology and demonstrated how he could turn the Depeche sound around to create something entirely new. Wilder described the project at the time as “... an antidote to Depeche Mode; a way to alleviate the frustrations of always working within a pop format”.
Almost immediately, Wilder found himself back in the studio to record what would become the most successful Depeche Mode album to date,‘Violator’. It wasn’t until the band finally allowed themselves an extended break after the enormously successful 'World Violation' tour that Alan could return to Recoil - not, however, before agreeing to produce Ebbhead, an album for label-mates Nitzer Ebb. It was during this time that he cemented a working relationship with lead singer Douglas McCarthy who would return the favour by singing on Recoil’s next album,‘Bloodline’.
Released in 1992, Wilder recruited guest vocalists for the first time with further contributions from Curve's Toni Halliday and Moby, helping to produce an album that demonstrated his ability to concoct slow-burning soundscapes drenched in drowsy paranoia. Bloodline also marked the first Recoil single, a cover of Alex Harvey’s song ‘Faith Healer' as well as the innovative 'Electro Blues For Bukka White', featuring the posthumously sampled voice of Blues-man Bukka White set into a post-modern context - an influential idea later popularised by others.
Between 1992-93 Wilder resumed his Depeche duties as the band recorded the album ‘Songs Of Faith And Devotion’. Released to universal acclaim, it topped the charts in the UK, USA, Germany and a host of other countries. Enjoying hits with ‘I Feel You’, ‘Walking In My Shoes’, ‘In Your Room’ and ‘Condemnation’, the Mode embarked on their most adventurous tour to date, enduring a gruelling 15 months on the road. Although the group had reached the pinnacle of success, aspects of the lifestyle had taken their toll on everyone and things eventually came to a head. In June 1995, having spent 14 years as an integral part of one of the most popular and influential bands the UK has ever produced, Alan Wilder made the difficult but inevitable decision to leave Depeche Mode.
Free from his group commitments, Wilder could now focus solely on Recoil. In September 1996, he began work in his own studio, ‘The Thin Line’, gradually piecing together the unnerving scores that would eventually reveal Recoil's next album ‘Unsound Methods’. The final results were more impressive than ever. What emerged appeared to take up where ‘Songs Of Faith And Devotion’ had left off. Guest vocalists featured Maggie Estep, Siobhan Lynch, the reappearance of Douglas McCarthy, and Hildia Cambell. The styles of each could not be more removed from one another helping to create a startlingly original and diverse collection. The more organic style of Unsound Methods incorporated every imaginable musical genre from trip-hop to gospel whilst dealing with the subject of obsession in all its manifestations, taking the listener to the edge of unease, through dark, dub-infected landscapes, reverberating with shivering piano, seductive strings and a deep electronic pulse.
In the Spring of 2000, Recoil gave us Liquid which this time utilised the unique qualities of internationally acclaimed fellow Mute artist Diamanda Galás, 1940's Gospel crooners The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, along with New York spoken-word performers Nicole Blackman and Samantha Coerbell. The worldwide music press received the Liquid album with a host of glowing reviews and Wilder was awarded the Charles Cros Grand Prix 2000. Strangely enthralling and genuinely unhinging, Liquid masquerades as the aural equivalent of a disturbing movie. Wilder's intoxicating soundscapes kick up clouds of the same dark dust that falls on David Lynch or Nine Inch Nails, but where others may hammer out their message with histrionic force, his touch is lighter and characteristically more subtle.
Now, following a 5 year break from recording, Alan Wilder returns with Recoil's 5th studio album, entitled subHuman released in July 2007.
Collaborating this time is Blues-man Joe Richardson with his band Joe Richardson Express, whose evocative vocal style is complimented by accomplished guitar and harmonica performances. Born in Southern Louisiana, Richardson spent years immersed in the murkier side of New Orleans life and offers a unique commentary on conflict, religion, incarceration and personal struggle. English singer Carla Trevaskis, a songwriter in her own right, brings an expressive range and control to subHuman and has worked with artists as diverse as Fred de Faye (Eurythmics), Cliff Hewitt (Apollo 440) and Dave McDonald (Portishead).
Says Wilder: “We seem to have learnt nothing from past experiences and our so called ‘civilised’ world is still awash with personal and global atrocities. From suicide bombings in the Middle East, to ethnic cleansing in the Balkans; from the homophobic rhetoric of the Christian fundamentalist preacher, to the activities of Western governments engaged in their ‘war on terror’".
subHuman asks us to reach within ourselves and extract the very essence of what makes us human - and more importantly what allows us to subordinate others, sometimes with the most brutal consequences. "We are all 'subhuman' in somebody's eyes."
Official site: http://www.recoil.co.uk
Control Freak
Recoil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of a man she met but didn't know well
She thinks she feels him in her skin
She thinks she sees his sideways grin
She sees him on the street by chance
Follows him as if entranced
Gets on a train that he gets on
A girl like this she is possessed
She sits two seats behind his own,
Can hear him sigh, a little moan
She wonders what he's thinking of
As he removes his right hand glove
She notices his hand is strange
As if the bones were rearranged
She thinks of what she'll say to him
She hears it playing deep within
You're all I need to get high The man jumps to his feet just then
Slips out the train and round a bend
She almost loses sight of him
Shuts her eyes, thinks of his skin
She catches up just as he goes
Into a bar and down below
To where cases of wine are stacked
There is no light, it's nearly black
You're all I need to get high
He turns around to face her then
His right hand seems to claw the air
She doesn't know why she came here
She doesn't know what possessed her
Sweat's running down her spine
But then he breaks into a smile
That lights up his whole face
And then he starts to laugh and laugh and laugh,
And then he says "I've thought about you
Since that day we met but barely spoke"
The lyrics of Recoil's song "Control Freak" tell the story of a girl who is possessed by the thought of a man she met briefly but didn't know well. She can't shake off his smell, feels him in her skin, and thinks she sees his sideways grin. The girl goes to great lengths to be near him, following him on the street and getting on the same train he does. She sits two seats behind him, wondering what he's thinking about, and notices his strange hand, as if the bones were rearranged. She hears a voice inside her head telling her that he's all she needs to get high.
When the man jumps out of the train and goes into a bar, the girl follows him without knowing why. She catches up with him and finds him in a dark underground room full of wine cases. He turns around to face her, and she sees his right hand seems to claw the air. The girl is sweating, scared by the man's strange behavior, but then he breaks into a smile that lights up his whole face. He reveals that he has been thinking about her since they met, though they barely spoke.
The song "Control Freak" evokes a sense of obsession, possession, and unhealthy infatuation that can lead to unexpected and dangerous situations. The lyrics suggest that we can be attracted to someone based on a fleeting moment, a smell, or a look, and that this attraction can lead us to lose control and do things that we wouldn't normally do. The song's dark and intense atmosphere is created by the use of electronic beats, distorted sounds, and the singer's ominous voice.
Line by Line Meaning
A girl who can't shake off the smell
A woman is haunted by the scent of a man she barely knows
Of a man she met but didn't know well
She met him briefly but didn't get to know him
She thinks she feels him in her skin
She imagines he's still with her, almost as if under her skin
She thinks she sees his sideways grin
She hallucinates seeing his sly smile
She sees him on the street by chance
She happens to spot him on the street
Follows him as if entranced
She pursues him as if under a spell
Gets on a train that he gets on
She boards the same train as him
A girl like this she is possessed
She's become obsessed with this man
She sits two seats behind his own,
She takes a seat two rows behind him
Can hear him sigh, a little moan
She overhears him making small noises
She wonders what he's thinking of
She's curious about his thoughts
As he removes his right hand glove
She watches him take off his glove
She notices his hand is strange
She observes that his hand is abnormal
As if the bones were rearranged
The bones in his hand seem to be arranged oddly
She thinks of what she'll say to him
She imagines what she might say to him
She hears it playing deep within
The words she'll say feel like they're repeating in her head
You're all I need to get high
She feels like he's the only thing that can make her feel alive
The man jumps to his feet just then
The man suddenly stands up
Slips out the train and round a bend
He quickly exits the train and disappears
She almost loses sight of him
She nearly loses track of where he went
Shuts her eyes, thinks of his skin
She closes her eyes and imagines his touch
She catches up just as he goes
She manages to catch up to him
Into a bar and down below
He goes into a dimly lit bar downstairs
To where cases of wine are stacked,
The bar has cases of wine stacked up
There is no light, it's nearly black
The bar is very dark
He turns around to face her then
He suddenly faces her
His right hand seems to claw the air
His hand looks as though it's clawing at the air
She doesn't know why she came here
She can't explain why she followed him
She doesn't know what possessed her
She doesn't know what drove her to pursue him
Sweat's running down her spine
She's shaking with fear,
But then he breaks into a smile
He suddenly smiles at her
That lights up his whole face
His smile illuminates his entire face and he seems friendly
And then he starts to laugh and laugh and laugh,
He laughs repeatedly
And then he says "I've thought about you
He admits to thinking about her
Since that day we met but barely spoke"
Ever since they first spoke he's had her on his mind
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind