Although Alan Wilder first released music as Recoil in 1986, Wilder's involvement in Depeche Mode meant that this quite different solo work was largely ignored. Invited by Daniel Miller, head of Mute Records to expand on some 4-track demos, Wilder produced the simply titled 1+2, a largely ambient pastiche of distorted samples. Some of these samples are clearly recognisable as those used on Depeche Mode's Some Great Reward, most notably sounds from Blasphemous Rumours, reflecting Alan's role in Mute's recording studios at the time.
1+2 was released with little fanfare or note, sitting quietly alongside Depeche's top five album Black Celebration. A similar fate awaited Recoil's next release: Hydrology. Ill-timed to the extreme, Hydrology clashed perfectly with Depeche Mode's 1988 tour, and the popularity of the band at that time effectively stopped Alan promoting Recoil in any way. Hydrology was radically different to 1+2, but retained the theme. Repetitive, ambient pianos work their way through three tracks - the shorter Grain clocking in at eight minutes, followed by longer, quarter hour tracks Stone and The Sermon, both of which build upon themes of faith, something Recoil would return to on the next album.
This next album, Bloodline, was far more commercial, being the first Recoil album that could be split up into complete 'songs', though it retained a defiant refusal to settle into a niche. A cover of Alex Harvey's Faith Healer, also released as a single, featured the vocals of Douglas McCarthy and a range of blisteringly sarcastic samples. Toni Halliday provides vocals for Edge To Life, and Electro Blues For Bukka White takes the posthumous vocals of Bukka White and slams them on top of a pulsing, discordant bass line.
As before, however, Depeche Mode continued to eclipse Recoil's work, despite schisms within the band. Indeed, it was not until June 1995, following the Devotional tour, that Alan finally chose to leave Depeche Mode and devote more time to his own work. 1997 saw the release of Unsound Methods, a lavish and unbridled foray into disturbing new territory. Promoted well by Mute Records, benefiting, no doubt, from Alan's full attention and new found freedom, the album made a varied impact on the music world. Q Magazine chose to describe it in scathing terms, whereas Time Out and Massive praised its adventurous nature and genre-defying range of influences.
Once again making use of guest vocalists and heavily manipulated samples, there's an underlying orchestral feel to the work which gives the whole album a dramatic feel. Little pastiches unfold before you, intoned with matter-of-fact tones by spoken word artist Maggie Estep. The vocals of Douglas McCarthy appear once more, and Siobhan Lynch and Hildia Campbell each have a part to play. Unsound Methods spawned a number of singles, and possibly the most sinister pieces of artwork to ever grace a CD: the notion of unsound methods is linked with precise silhouettes of x-rayed body parts and scientific apparatus.
Recoil's next album, released in the spring of 2000, once again featured a range of guest vocalists. Liquid features fellow Mute artist Diamanda Galás, who provides her trademark guttural screams alongside 1940s gospel singers The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet. Spoken word tracks are included once again, this time featuring performers Nicole Blackman and Samantha Coerbell, telling the tale of a young mother and her low-life boyfriend, both shafting the system for all they're worth, and a guy whose need for erotic asphyxiation goes a little too far. It's all horrifically accomplished and darker than Depeche Mode were ever destined to be.
Since Liquid's release, Recoil has been disturbingly quiet. Jezebel, the re-worked gospel track, briefly appeared on T-Mobile's commercial in 2002, but little else seems to be going on. You can visit Recoil's official website at www.recoil.co.uk. | 
