Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan Covers The Raveonettes
A little more than a year ago, longtime Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan got together with Soulsavers to release Imposter, an album of covers. On that LP, Gahan took on songs from people like PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley, and Cat Power, among others. Last month, Gahan joined forces with Kurt Uenala, a Swiss-born and New York-based producer, to release a collaborative EP called Manuscript. Soon, Depeche Mode — now a duo after the death of founding member Andy Fletcher — will release their new album Memento Mori and head out on a huge tour. Before that happens, though, Gahan has released a new track that he recorded with Kurt Uenala, and it’s another cover.
Right now, long-running Danish duo the Raveonettes are getting ready to release a new covers EP of their own. The Raveonettes’ Rip It Off — a play on the title of their 2002 EP Whip It On — isn’t a covers collection like Dave Gahan’s Imposter. Instead, it’ll be other artists covering Raveonettes songs. One of those artists is Dave Gahan, who’s worked with Kurt Uenala to record a rattling, brooding, half-industrial version of the Raveonettes’ Whip It On track “Chains.” It sounds very little like the Raveonettes’ buzzing garage rock original, and that’s presumably the point.
On Instagram, the Raveonettes Sune Rose Wagner says that he’s honored to get a cover from Dave Gahan, and he remembers meeting Gahan when the Raveonettes opened for Depeche Mode on tour in 2005. Below, check out the Dave Gahan/Kurt Uenala cover of “Chains,” the Raveonettes’ 2002 original, and Wagner’s Instagram post.