Ultra

Depeche Mode 1997 synchronized

electronic trip-hop synth-pop オルタナティブ

Post-rehab Depeche Mode recalibrated through trip-hop electronics — fragile, tentative, stripped of the grandiosity, finding beauty in the simple act of still being alive.

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Grouped by the kind of closeness: sound first, then mood, era, and artistic phase.

Same Artist / Nearby Phase

Useful neighbors inside the same discography, where the artist is moving through adjacent periods.

ViolatorDepeche Mode(1990)same artist

sound89% mood23% era65% phase72%

Same artistShared mood: vulnerabilityClose sound profile

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Memento MoriDepeche Mode(2023)same artist

sound84% mood23% era48% phase100%

Same artist periodShared mood: introspectionClose sound profile

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Construction Time AgainDepeche Mode(1983)same artist

sound82% mood23% era55% phase50%

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Music for the MassesDepeche Mode(1987)same artist

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Speak & SpellDepeche Mode(1981)same artist

sound75% mood0% era77% phase50%

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Closest Sound

Albums with nearby density, space, production feel, vocals, and style.

Hesitation MarksNine Inch Nails(2013)

sound83% mood47% era62% phase100%

Close sound profileSimilar productionSimilar vocal treatment

80%

Naughty BoysYellow Magic Orchestra(1983)

sound85% mood0% era80% phase70%

Close sound profileSimilar productionSimilar vocal treatment

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TechniqueJoy Division / New Order(1989)

sound82% mood0% era88% phase40%

Close sound profileSimilar productionSimilar vocal treatment

77%

DebutBjork(1993)

sound83% mood0% era69% phase10%

Close sound profileSimilar productionSimilar vocal treatment

77%

The Now NowGorillaz(2018)

sound80% mood23% era55% phase70%

Close sound profileSimilar productionSimilar vocal treatment

75%

Same Mood

Albums sharing the emotional palette and thematic atmosphere.

3.15.20Childish Gambino(2020)

sound73% mood52% era42% phase100%

Shared mood: vulnerability, introspectionShared style: electronicClose sound profile

53%

Here, My DearMarvin Gaye(1978)

sound56% mood52% era47% phase40%

Shared mood: vulnerability, introspection

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CruSeu Jorge(2005)

sound66% mood47% era88% phase70%

Shared mood: vulnerability, introspectionClose sound profile

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Born SinnerJ. Cole(2013)

sound59% mood47% era77% phase10%

Shared mood: vulnerability, introspection

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CHROMAKOPIATyler, the Creator(2024)

sound61% mood47% era61% phase70%

Shared mood: vulnerability, introspection

47%

Same Era Feel

Albums close in historical moment or in how they relate to their era.

New Adventures in Hi-FiR.E.M.(1996)

sound70% mood35% era99% phase70%

1 year apartSimilar era stance

77%

PortisheadPortishead(1997)

sound79% mood0% era100% phase10%

76%

The RaptureSiouxsie and the Banshees(1995)

sound70% mood23% era97% phase70%

2 years apartSimilar era stance

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EarthlingDavid Bowie(1997)

sound73% mood0% era100% phase88%

Same yearSimilar era stance

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Automatic for the PeopleR.E.M.(1992)

sound68% mood35% era93% phase70%

5 years apartSimilar era stance

73%

Same Career Phase

Similar artist-position moments: early statement, breakthrough, reinvention, mature work, or late period.

New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)Erykah Badu(2010)

sound76% mood18% era81% phase100%

Same career phaseShared mood: introspection

83%

Midnight LoveMarvin Gaye(1982)

sound77% mood18% era78% phase100%

Same career phaseShared mood: vulnerability

82%

My Love Is Your LoveWhitney Houston(1998)

sound68% mood0% era99% phase100%

Same career phase1 year apart

82%

Night SongNusrat Fateh Ali Khan(1996)

sound67% mood0% era99% phase100%

Same career phase1 year apart

82%

The Last ProphetNusrat Fateh Ali Khan(1994)

sound68% mood0% era96% phase100%

Same career phase3 years apart

82%

Acoustic Profile

Production

Method: electronic-dominant

Fidelity: polished

Tim Simenon (Bomb the Bass) productiontrip-hop influenced breakbeatsambient electronic texturessubdued vocal delivery post-rehabminimalist arrangements with careful layering

Vocal

Approach: sung

Lyrical Abstraction:

5/10

Mood & Theme

vulnerability introspection numbness

Territory: Post-Crisis Fragility, Tentative Recovery, Emotional Convalescence

Emotional Arc: Cautious Emergence from Darkness

Era & Context

1997: trip-hop and electronica are the dominant electronic forms. Tim Simenon brings these textures to a band rebuilding after near-fatal collapse. Ultra proves survival is possible, if not triumphant.

Career Phase

Survival and Legacy 1997-2023

Post-rehab reinvention with electronic producer Tim Simenon, then decades of continued touring and recording. The final album Memento Mori, shaped by Andy Fletcher's death, confronts mortality with hard-won clarity.