Seventeen Seconds - Background

Background

Inspiration was also very high for the album, as Robert Smith wrote the lyrics and music for most of the record on just two occasions. Most of the music was composed by Smith in his parents' home, on a Hammond organ with a built-in tape recorder. Interviewed in 2004, producer Mike Hedges does not recall any demo tracks, with the band generally playing the track in the studio before laying down a backing track to which overdubs were added.

Bass guitarist Simon Gallup and keyboardist Matthieu Hartley were added to the band's lineup. Gallup replaced Michael Dempsey, which relieved Smith as he felt Dempsey's basslines were too ornate and that they weren't gelling socially. Hartley's synth work added a new dimension to the band's newly ethereal sound, although Smith and he clashed over complexity (Hartley enjoyed complex chords; Smith wanted single notes). Hartley left the group after Seventeen Seconds.

Due to budgetary restraints, the record was recorded and mixed in seven days on a budget of between £2000 and £3000, which resulted in the band working sixteen or seventeen hours a day to complete the album. Smith stated that as a result, the track "The Final Sound" was actually planned to be much longer, but was cut down to 53 seconds because the tape ran out while recording, and they couldn't record it again.

The record, mostly a collection of downbeat tracks, features ambient echoing vocals and minimally-treated instruments, with the album's sonic direction driven by its drum sound.