As the release of his new solo EP The Third Chimpanzee approaches, Depeche Mode songwriter, guitarist, and overall creative force Martin Gore has let slip a new song from the release, his first since 2015’s MG. The new single “Howler” serves as something of an origin point for the record as a whole, as Gore explained to Rolling Stone:
“‘Howler’ was the first track I recorded for The Third Chimpanzee EP,” Gore said in a statement. “I resynthesized some vocals that almost sounded human, but not quite. That’s why I decided to name the track after a monkey. I thought that would be a good theme to carry on with the rest of the tracks.”
Whereas the previous track “Mandrill” was more rhythmic and bright, “Howler” is a much more atmospheric, brooding instrumental. With the aforementioned “almost human” vocals breaking in periodically over the laid-back beat, the first half of the five-minute track is a minimalist affair, with more synths and melodies overlapping in the second half.
The Third Chimpanzee is out on January 29th via Mute Recordings. Pre-order the EP here, and listen to “Howler” below:
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