Sunday 31 March 2024

INTERVIEW: SiGNL

 


SiGNL are an act comprising MJ and Ian who this year have released they debut singles Ksor and Mathematik as well as remixing Depeche Mode. Most of you know will know SiGNL's excellent remix of Before We Drown, which was one of the highlights of that song's remix package. The band have also remixed People Are Good and that remix is currently circulating as a promo mix in clubs. Their remix of Before We Drown really is a wonderful track on the song. In the video below, SiGNL explain their thinking behind the remix.


 



Prior to becoming SiGNL, Ian and MJ recorded under the name Electronic Periodic - you may recall their excellent remixes of The Sun And The Moon And The Stars and Perfect as well as other great remixes of the likes of Chorus and Winter Kills.

Unlike Electronic Periodic however, SiGNL release their own tracks. Ksor (below) and Mathematik (see end of article) are both very much worth your time. There's no doubt at all that their future releases will also be ones to look out for.


Just like Depeche Mode, SiGNL are headed to Cologne this week where they will play their debut gig at Gewolbe in Cologne on 4th April. Chris Liebing has organised the night where he will be joined by SiGNL, Ida Engberg and Dubfire for "a night of techno, some of their favourite Depeche Mode remixes and beyond."   I asked how the gig came about.

"It came about through Chris Liebing," MJ said. "He is a massive Depeche Mode fan and he'd done a remix previously for the band. We were just talking about dates we were going to see Depeche and it turned out we were both going to Cologne for the first two. He said 'why don't we do a techno night with a Depeche feel to it' and I said why not?"

SiGNL won't be DJ'ing at the event however; instead they will be playing live. After seven weeks of rehearsals, the band are now ready to go and, as well as their own tracks, expect to hear their remixes of Before We Drown and People Are Good.



I asked SiGNL what their plans were after Cologne. 

"We have enough tracks for an album," said Ian, "but for now we will keep the momentum going by releasing a track every other month or so. We might try to get them out on vinyl too." MJ added "A limited run on vinyl would be good plus we will be looking for more gigs and support slots." 


I couldn't let SiGNL off without asking some some Depeche related nonsense. I hate being asked what my Top 3 Depeche Mode songs are as that is an impossible question, so it seemed only fair that I asked Ian and MJ.

Ian: "If I thought about this too hard I'd never give you an answer! Off the top of my head, Never Let Me Down Again, you can't go wrong with Personal Jesus..."
MJ: "We can't go too obvious with Personal Jesus and songs like Just Can't Get Enough!"
Ian: "True. Stripped is really dark and moody.
MJ: "A bit like Declan Rice, the new tracks are going to become favourites. It's hard to pick one. Ghosts Again is really appealing but there are so many tracks on the album so I need to park that to the side as I can't choose. I do think Memento Mori is one of my favourite albums."

(At the mention of Arsenal's Declan Rice, I confessed to being a Liverpool fan. We agreed to disagree on the topic of football...)

MJ: "My thing is live music so tracks from this tour like John The Revelator and A Pain That I'm Used To are real favourites of mine"
Ian: "I'll go for the singalong tracks - World In My Eyes and Stripped."

We basically all came to the conclusion that if we didn't stop, we'd just end up listing every Depeche track.



Thanks very much to Ian and MJ for speaking to me. To get tickets for what promises to be an unmissable night on 4th April, go to https://gewoelbe.ticket.io/0ztmcaz3/

Follow SiGNL:

Official Site - https://signl.co.uk/

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