''1 + 2'' is the debut album by
Recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
, released in August 1986. The CD and cassette version were released two years later with Recoil's second release, ''
Hydrology
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
''.
Wilder had always experimented with his own ideas, but when
Daniel Miller heard some demos (recorded on a
Portastudio
The TASCAM Portastudio was the first four-track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape. The term ''portastudio'' is exclusive to TASCAM, though it is generally used to describe all self-contained cassette-based multitrack rec ...
, a 4-track cassette machine) and asked to reproduce them, Recoil became a musical entity. The early recordings show Wilder's position as a pioneer in
sampling technology and demonstrated how he could completely change the "Depeche Mode" sound into something new.
''1 + 2'', his first collection of
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
, though completed in the early 1980s, was inconspicuously released as a
12" EP the same year as his band Depeche Mode's fifth studio album, ''
Black Celebration
''Black Celebration'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records. The album further cemented the darkening sound created by Alan Wilder, which the band later used for their ...
''.
[Recoil's official website]
Shunt
Re-release
The CD of ''Hydrology Plus 1 + 2'' was re-released in 2007, again on Mute Records. The track listing and artwork remain the same.
Track listing
Credits and personnel
*Alan Wilder – Production, Instruments
*T + CP Associates – Sleeve photography and design
Sample sources
The recording is largely built upon samples of other music, primarily by other Mute Records artists - to avoid legal issues during an era when such approach to music-making was not overtly common.
The samples include the following:
*
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
– "Any Second Now (Altered)"
* Depeche Mode – "If You Want"
* Depeche Mode – "The Sun and the Rainfall"
* Depeche Mode – "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)"
* Depeche Mode – "The Great Outdoors!"
* Depeche Mode – "Shouldn't Have Done That"
* Depeche Mode – "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
* Depeche Mode – "
Shake the Disease (Edit the Shake)"
* Depeche Mode – "Pipeline"
* Depeche Mode – "
Blasphemous Rumours
"Blasphemous Rumours"/"Somebody" is Depeche Mode's twelfth UK single and first double A-side single, released on 29 October 1984. Both A-side songs are from the album ''Some Great Reward''.
Song information Blasphemous Rumours
The verses to " ...
"
*
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
– "
Radioaktivität"
* Kraftwerk – "Uran"
* Kraftwerk – "Radioland"
*
Duet Emmo – "Or So It Seems"
* Duet Emmo – "Heart of Hearts"
* The Hitmen – "Shade In, Fade Out"
* The voice of Daniel Miller
* Random radio broadcasts
Notes
1986 debut albums
Mute Records albums
Recoil (band) albums
{{1980s-electronic-album-stub