23rd October 2015 (UK), 23rd October 2015 (DE), TBC (USA)
FORMATS
CD (CDMUTE543) & Digital Download (iMUTE543)
TAKEN FROM THE ALBUM
Always – The Very Best of Erasure

• Sometimes (David Wrench 2015 Mix)
• Sometimes (Love To Infinity Club Mix)
• Sometimes (Original 12″ Mix)
• Sometimes (Danny Rampling Mix)
• Sometimes (John ’00’ Fleming’s Full Vocal Club Mix)
• Sometimes (Love To Infinity Ecstasy Dub)
• Sexuality (Private Remix)
• Senseless (Remix)
PURCHASE LINKS
Lexer Music | Amazon | iTunes
CREDITS
Written by Clarke/Bell.
Published by Musical Moments Ltd/Minotaur Music Ltd/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.
It’s not the way you lead me by the hand into the bedroom
It’s not the way you throw your clothes upon the bathroom floor
Been thinking about you, I just couldn’t wait to see
Fling my arms around you as we fall in ecstasy
Ooh, sometimes
The truth is harder than the pain inside, yeah
Ooh, sometimes
It’s the broken heart that decides
It’s not the way that you caress me, toy with my affection
It’s not my sense of emptiness you fill with your desire
Climb in bed beside me, we can lock the world outside
Touch me, satisfy me, warm your body next to mine
Ooh, sometimes
The truth is harder than the pain inside, yeah
Ooh, sometimes
It’s the broken heart that decides
Woah
Ooh, sometimes
The truth is harder than the pain inside, yeah
Ooh, sometimes
It’s the broken heart that decides
SEXUALITY
Do it
Any way you like it
Give it
Everything you’ve got
Shake it
Move your body
Love it
If you like it or not
Sexuality, sensuality
Come up to my room
Let’s not pretend you’re shy about it
Sexuality
Come up to my room
Let’s make amends, can’t do without it
Sensuality
Lose it
One step in the right direction
Use it
In every possible way
Sexuality, sensuality
Come up to my room
Let’s not pretend you’re shy about it
Sexuality
Come up to my room
Let’s make amends, can’t do without it
Sensuality
Sensuality
Strip it
We’ve got obvious intentions
Show it
Let’s tell the world about it
Play it
We’ve got no rules or regulations
Do it
Sexuality, sensuality
Come up to my room
Let’s not pretend you’re shy about it
Sexuality
Come up to my room
Let’s make amends, can’t do without it
Sensuality
Come up to my room
Let’s not pretend you’re shy about it
Come up to my room
Let’s make amends, can’t do without it
Sensuality
Come up to my room
Let’s not pretend you’re shy about it
Sexuality
Come up to my room
Let’s make amends, can’t do without it
Sensuality
SENSELESS
Go ahead, get captivated
Will you ever give your secrets away?
My mind says it’s gonna drive me senseless
But it’s only tunnel vision, it’s only state of mind
It’s alright
It’s alright to make the move
It’s alright
Get there, stay there
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright to feel the mood
It’s alright
So good, so far
Babe it’s alright
There has to be some be some kind of harmony
To keep the maddening silence away
So hang on and we’ll be moving on
‘Cause it’s only your confusion that’s keeping us behind
It’s alright
It’s alright to make the move
It’s alright
Get there, stay there
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright to feel the mood
It’s alright
So good, so far
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright
It’s alright to make the move
It’s alright
Get there, stay there
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright to feel the mood
It’s alright
So good, so far
Babe it’s alright
Got there, babe better stop there
Inhibition slipping away
Stay there, got a lot that we could share
I found out the secret was only state of mind
It’s alright
It’s alright to make the move
It’s alright
Get there, stay there
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright to feel the mood
It’s alright
So good, so far
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright to make the move
It’s alright
Get there, stay there
Babe it’s alright
It’s alright to feel the mood
It’s alright
So good, so far
Babe it’s alright
For anyone unfamiliar with your work, can you give us a bit of background on your work as a musician and producer and who have you been working with recently?
I’ve been a musician for many years and started out making synth pop records in the Welsh language in the early 90s, and then 3 solo albums over a long period, varying in style from doom folk to high-energy synthpop. My last album was made in collaboration with Julian Cope as part of his Black Sheep project and was an exploration of revolutionary folk songs. I started working as a producer and Engineer in the late 90s and was based in a residential studio in North Wales. I’ve worked on 100s of records. Recently I’ve mixed records for Caribou, Jungle, FKA Twigs, Hot Chip, Bloc Party, Empress Of, Jamie XX, LA Priest and many more.
What was your first reaction to be asked to work on a new mix of ‘Sometimes’ for Erasure? Were you ever a fan?
I was VERY excited. I was definitely a fan. I’d bought the single when it came out originally, and own many Erasure albums. The Circus was a very big influence on me when I was young and getting into making music on synths. I was also a bit nervous as I was aware how good the original mix of Sometimes is. I used to compare my own work to it when I was young!
How did you approach giving ‘Sometimes’ a more contemporary feel? What did you feel you needed to add to the track?
Because the brief was to not give it a remix but to just update the mix I kept referencing the original. The main sonic difference between records now and then is how much bass is on records now. So making the bass end bigger and more upfront was probably the biggest thing I did, also because nowadays we can mix in forensic detail on computer we are used to hearing records with a lot more detailed level automation on vocals, and as such, vocals sit in the mix differently now compared with how they used to.
What were your first thoughts on the vocals and the music when you listened to the original track with this mix in mind? How did it compare with modern electronic pop records?
My first thought was WOW! Back in the 80s you had to get it right or your record sounded bad. These days a lot of things can be fixed at the mix stage, and often are (timings, tunings, unwanted noise/edits), but when Sometimes was recorded it had to be a good performance. The vocal performance on Sometimes in isolation is of a quality that is really rare to get these days. Also, these days, the vast majority of electronic music is made by people who are untrained engineers at home (which in many ways is a great thing). Back then, it was made with professional engineers in a studio, and this shows in the sonic quality of the actual recording, and by how little I had to do to it to make it sound good. Interestingly the song is recorded at a slower speed than the finished mix. This was common in the 80s to speed up the track on tape at the end to tighten up the sound and make it brighter. This is a little more complicated to do digitally so I spent a while comparing different ways of achieving this for the best results.
What’s your working process when you take on a project like this?
I work quickly initially, getting a rough balance, drums, then bass instruments, then guitars and synths and finally vocals. Then I go through everything again in finer detail. I keep referencing the original mix to make sure I’m not making it worse (even with new music I reference the demo). Then I keep listening and making notes, then lots of tweaks until I’m happy. Amazingly, everyone was happy with the first draft I did, this is a very rare thing, usually I get notes back and then do another version taking them into account.
The original song must have been made using much less sophisticated technology, is that a problem for you at all, at any stage of the brief?
Well, in some ways less sophisticated, but in terms of audio quality, of say microphones, nothing much has improved since the 60s, and everyone still loves 80s synths because they sound so great. I also love the sound of tape, and because the production and engineering on the track is so good it was really refreshing, and actually in many ways easier to mix than a lot of modern records. Getting things right at source like they had to back then makes the end process loads simpler. A downside to there being less record sales now is that bands can’t afford to spend a long time in studios with engineers, hence people doing the engineering themselves at home.
Having gone through this process, has it changed your opinion of Erasure’s music at all?
It reminded me that it was a LOT harder to make great sounding records back then in terms of musicianship and production/engineering/programming skills. Huge respect to all involved.
Do you have a favourite Erasure song?
I have many. When this came through as a potential job I got my Erasure LPs out…. I could still sing along with every word of so many songs. The number of massive hits they made is quite phenomenal. The Circus LP will always be linked with a special time for me, being a teenager, driving around in my friend’s Ford Fiesta with the windows down blasting it out of distorting speakers. Wild! reminds me of being a student and jamming along to Drama! on my (at the time, very unfashionable) Juno 6.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Just a big thank you for asking me to be involved and letting me play with the multi-tracks!