Recoil is the project of Alan Wilder, formerly a member of Depeche Mode. Born on 1st June 1959 in London, England, he is a classically-trained musician and renowned contemporary music producer.

Recoil was born in 1986 as a two-track experimental EP. Simply entitled ‘1 + 2’, this collection of primitive demos caught the attention of Mute Records label boss Daniel Miller and was inconspicuously released as a mini-album on 12” vinyl.   An album, Hydrology, soon followed in 1988 and both were eventually re-issued by Mute on CD as Hydrology plus 1+2.  These early Recoil recordings revealed Alan’s position as a pioneer in the newly emerging world of sampling technology and demonstrated how he could turn the Depeche sound around to create something entirely new.  Wilder described the project at the time as “… an antidote to Depeche Mode; a way to alleviate the frustrations of always working within a pop format”.