''Erasure'' is the seventh studio album by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

album

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

, released on 23 October 1995 by

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

. It was produced by

Thomas Fehlmann Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music since the 1980s. He is currently active on the Kompakt record label based in Germany. Fehlmann is an on-and-off member ...

(of

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

) and Gareth Jones. An overtly experimental and introspective album, ''Erasure'' contains 11 mostly mid-tempo tracks that differed from their past output of shiny, three-minute pop songs. Most tracks clocked in at five minutes or more, several contained long synth interludes, and guest artists included the

London Community Gospel Choir The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 198 ...

and performance artist

Diamanda Galás Diamanda Galás (born August 29, 1955) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, visual artist, and soprano. She has campaigned for AIDS education and the rights of the infected. Galás's commitment to addressing social issues and her involve ...

. Although appreciated for its experimental nature, ''Erasure'' marked the beginning of Erasure's slide from the peak of their popularity in the mainstream music world. Coming off four consecutive number-one albums in the UK, this album failed to hit the top 10, and two single releases also missed the UK top ten. After a successful top 20 debut on the ''Billboard'' 200 for their previous album '' I Say I Say I Say'', ''Erasure'' debuted and peaked at number 82 in the US and generated no

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

singles. In Germany the album also peaked lower than previous albums, at number 87. In an interview with DJ Ron Slomowicz circa 2006, Erasure was asked for their favourite album from their own catalogue. Bell stated "It's a toss-up between "Chorus" and the self-titled "Erasure" album from 1995."

Track listing

2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP

Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalog, and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary, BMG commissioned reissues of all previously released UK editions of Erasure albums up to and including 2007's ''

Light at the End of the World ''Light at the End of the World'' is the thirteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 14 May 2007 by Mute Records. The album's release was announced on the band's website on 26 January 2007 in a video message from membe ...

''. All titles were pressed and distributed by Play It Again Sam on 180-gram vinyl and shrinkwrapped with a custom anniversary sticker.

2022 Deluxe edition - extended edition

In September 2022, Erasure announced the re-release of their self-titled 7th album in a special hardback book edition, with a bonus CD of remixes, release date of 17 November 2020 through Mute/BMG records.

Deluxe CD 2 Track Listing

source:

Classic Pop Magazine ''Classic Pop'' is a bi-monthly British music magazine, which launched in October 2012. It was devised and founded by Ian Peel, who was also editor for the first 19 issues. Rik Flynn stepped in as editor until Issue 23 followed by current editor S ...

Personnel

* Andy Bell – vocals *

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

–

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, programming * Diamanda Galás – vocals * Paul Hickey – background vocals * Ruby James – background vocals * London Community Gospel Choir – choir, chorus

Production

* Dave Bascombe – mixing * Blaise Dupuy – engineer * Thomas Fehlmann – producer * George Holt – engineer * Ian Huffam – mixing assistant * Gareth Jones – producer *

François Kevorkian François Kevorkian (born 10 January 1954), also known by the stage name François K, is a French-born, U.S.-based DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage an ...

– mixing * Mike Marsh – mastering * Patrick McGovern – mixing assistant * Ashley Potter – illustrations * Lloyd Puckitt – mixing * Sly Smith – artwork * Andy Strange – mixing assistant

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Albums produced by Gareth Jones (music producer) Elektra Records albums Erasure albums Mute Records albums