Photo by Joe Dilworth

Mute has announced details of a series of reissues from Recoil, the solo project from ex-Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder, starting with three long out of print albums, Unsound Methods, Liquid and subHuman – due out on double coloured vinyl and CD on 7 October 2022. They’re available to pre-order now.

Talking about the albums, Wilder says: “Having not really listened in full to any of the Recoil albums for many years, the requirement to sit down and closely scrutinise the new test pressings meant that I was obliged to focus on everything once again. It was a surprising and pleasurable adventure to hear the work with fresh ears and I was able, perhaps properly for the first time, to experience all the detail which I had either forgotten about or hadn’t fully appreciated at the time.”

Unsound Methods was Wilder’s fourth album as Recoil, and his first release after announcing his departure from Depeche Mode in 1995. Recorded at his Sussex studio, Unsound Methods saw him working with four very different collaborators – Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy, New York spoken-word artist Maggie Estep and vocalists Siobhan Lynch and Hildia Campbell – to create a world of dark dub-infected landscapes, reverberating with shivering piano, seductive strings and a deep electronic pulse.

Liquid followed in 2000 and the collaborations continued, this time working alongside Diamanda Galás, Nicole Blackman, Samantha Coerbell, Rosa Torras, The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet and more.

subHuman arrived after a seven-year break and saw Wilder working with vocalists Carla Trevaskis and Louisiana bluesman Joe Richardson.

Alan Wilder’s decades in the music industry saw him go from studio assistant to session keyboard player, but it was his 14 years as a member of Depeche Mode where he really honed his skills.

Recoil emerged in the mid-80s as an antidote to the demands of Depeche Mode as Wilder explains: “I always kept an open mind about what the Recoil project could be – allowing it to head off in any direction.

“It reflects my taste in music which involves a certain darkness, plenty of atmosphere, depth of orchestration and collaborative elements. Utilising various voices writing their own words not only gave the music a varied feel but, indeed, filled the gaps that I couldn’t provide myself while still allowing me to pull the strings and executively produce.”

Recoil’s first three albums, 1+2 (1986), Hydrology (1988) and Bloodline (1990), are currently being remastered for release at a later date.