‘Playing The Angel’ was recorded in Santa Barbara, New York and London. It began recording in California, January 2005 with producer Ben Hillier (of Doves and Blur fame) at its epicentre. “We are all feeling incredibly positive about the album. Ben Hillier has brought a whole new dynamic to the group which is quite inspiring,” says Dave Gahan.

‘Precious’, the first single, is quintessential Mode - all cyber pulse and glorious chorus. ‘The Sinner In Me’ perfectly balances the organic and synthetic, and climaxes, as do most of the tracks, with staccato blasts of noise and FX. On ‘Suffer Well’ Dave's voice is more powerful than ever. ‘Macrovision’, sung by Martin Gore, is hi-tech pop with an enormous hook while ‘John The Revelator’ is one of many potential hit singles.

‘Playing The Angel’ is the first album to feature Dave Gahan on composition credits - three of the tracks (‘I Want It All’, ‘Suffer Well’ and ‘Nothing's Impossible’) were written by the singer.

Producer:  Ben Hillier