10.21.2006

Depeche Mode - Martyre

This is the lead single off of the legendary Electronic/Rock group's upcoming Best Of collection. In its original form, it is in the same vein as some of the songs on the group's last effort Playing The Angel. Dave Gahan's vocals are the center of attention on this one. This one is pure perfection with the instantly-catchy hook. The Indian sitar synths that are peppered throughout the track are a nice touch.

Paul Van Dyk and Booka Shade provide the remixes. PVD provides some mixes that are a bit of a departure from his regular sound. The Radio Edit of his mix stays very true to the original. It sounds like an alternate version. The Speed Garage sound of the mix is a nice throwback to some of his earlier work, particularly on his epic remixes of "Blue Skies" by BT featuring Tori Amos. The Vonyc Lounge Mix is a misnomer for the kind of mix it is because it is not a Lounge type of mix at all! Some of PVD's usual sound with the hard, big room beats are present in this version, all the while the BPM is still similar to the original version. The Dub and Dub Vox mixes are a bit more big room-ish, but not as hard as the Vonyc Lounge Mix. The Dub Vox contains some vocals and the Dub contains no vocals. The Vonyc Lounge Mix seems to be the only club length mix at this time by PVD. Finally, there is the Booka Shade Dub. It is totally an instrumental. It is very electro and reminiscent of Roysopp and Trentmoller's current work.

There is no word on whether U.S. mixes will be done for this song. These mixes are great. Don't miss out on these.