Dave Gahan & Soulsavers stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this weekend to promote the release of their latest LP.
The Depeche Mode frontman and longtime collaborator Rich Machin released their new covers album ‘Imposter’ back in November under the guise of Soulsavers. Together they deliver unique takes on songs by the likes of Neil Young, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and many more.
Gahan recently told NME that the 12 selected tracks feel like they carry “a sense of wisdom and longevity that is just there in the song and very apparent in the voice”.
On Friday (March 18), Gahan and Machin dropped by Jimmy Fallon’s late night chat show to deliver a live rendition of their PJ Harvey cover, ‘The Desperate Kingdom Of Love’, originally featured on Harvey’s 2004 album ‘Uh Huh Her’.
You can watch the cover below:
‘Imposter’ was recorded and produced by Gahan and Machin in November 2019 at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studios in Malibu, California.
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According to Gahan, the setting inspired a “magical” sense of freedom for the assembled band and also allowed them to work in the same spirit as the legendary Rubin-produced Johnny Cash covers record ‘American IV: The Man Comes Around’.
“Johnny Cash’s album was one where I wasn’t listening to the originals at all,” Gahan told NME. “His version of [Nine Inch Nails’] ‘Hurt’, for instance, just blew me away and it still does. I’ve heard stories from people who worked on the record that he had absolutely no clue who the original artist was whatsoever!
“These were songs that were given to him by Rick, and Rick then assembled these musicians around him that were going to bring out the best of Johnny at that time. Rich [Machin] has this ability to do that with me. He put me in a setting with the right group of musicians and I felt entirely comfortable and supported. I felt held, so I could do what the fuck I wanted.”
In December, Dave Gahan & Soulsavers brought ‘Imposter’ to London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire. You can see some of the performances from the set here.