Erasure • Features • Ask Erasure
Vince Clarke (Apr 2004)
1) If you were left on a lonely island, what could you not be without? (it's a really small island so you can only have one thing) (Ann-Lisbeth)
Vince: An AM radio..(the Archers man!)
02) From your response to a question in 'Ask Erasure' it sounds like you enjoyed and/or endorse using soft synths and modern computers, if this is so how has it changed the way you record a song now compared to the way you used to? and do you start with preset sounds and alter them or do you work the sounds from nothing? (Mark Burrows)
Vince: Recording this album was all done on my laptop. All of the sounds were generated by software synths and the only auxillary equipment I needed was a Oxygen 8 keyboard and a pair of speakers. I used a mixture of edited preset sounds and also programmed my own patches from a whole myriad of soft synths.
03) If you could be any one of the 7 dwarfs, which one would you be and why? (Jackie)
Vince: Snow white?
04) How time flies... soon you will be celebrating your twentieth anniversary as a band. Are there any plans to celebrate it? Will there be a special concert or album? (Swen Greve)
Vince: I'll be baking a cake and Andy will be eating it! I'm sure there will be a special gig or tour.
05) What is keeping you inspired to keep going in the music business? (Shazza B)
Vince: A complete lack of any other marketable skill.
06) Will the 2nd Family Fantastic album ever get released? (Joshua Klinman)
Vince: No plans at the moment.
07) Do you have or keep for personal collection every shirt, promotional package, magazines, merchandise, etc. anything related to erasure that has been put out since the formation of Erasure? If you have a collection what would be the rarest and most personal favorite that you kept and why? (Rene Adame)
Vince: I have a few bits and pieces from previous tours. Probably my favourite is 'The tank' from the Phantasmogorical tour.
08) Did you really sell your Chertsey "futuristic house" and dome studio recently ? Would you build your own home again and if so where and would we see you on "Grand Designs ?" (Lee Greveson)
Vince: No. I haven't sold my house and studio in Surrey. No I wouldn't build another house.
09) Will we have another world tour someday? Is it expensive to bring Erasure to other places like South America, Japan, Australia? (Luciano Cardozo)
Vince: It's expensive to tour everywhere, but 'never say never' (erm..like me)
10) Are you ever likely to produce a DVD-A album recorded and mixed in full 5.1 surround sound? If you could revisit any of your previous albums and produce it in 5.1 which would it be? (Steve Collins)
Vince: I'd love to remix 'Chorus' in 5.1 surround sound..