It has taken the Depeche Mode group six years to light up new songs, an intense and also dramatic period of time, marked by the pandemic and especially the death last year of Andy Fletcher, the group's charismatic visible head and keyboardist.
The referential electro pop group had published Spirit in 2017 and the arrival of the pandemic paralyzed all the activities of the then still trio, completed by Martin Gore and Dave Gahan. After doubts on his part to resume the pulse of the band after the coronavirus, the new songs that Martin Gore had composed convinced him to return to the front row of musical activity as a member of Depeche Mode.
However, just a few weeks before entering the recording studio, everything fell apart when the death of Andy Fletcher was announced, specifically on May 26 of last year due to an aortic dissection. He was the only original member of the lineup and he was 60 years old.
After the logical impact, Gore and Gahan finally decided to go ahead with the project, that is, to record the new album Memento mori (Sony), which will be released tomorrow, Friday. And also return to the stage, as can be seen at the next Primavera Sound festival both in Barcelona and Madrid as headliners. Martin Gore explains via zoom this little epic.
Why such an "optimistic" title like Memento mori?
About a year ago, when we already had practically all the songs written, one day I remembered this expression that means "remember that you will die", and since many of the themes gravitate or touch the theme of death, I thought it was a perfect title. , very strong, for the album.
All the songs were composed during the pandemic.
I think there is only one song that I wrote in 2019, and the rest I wrote in 2020 and 2021, and the last song was written in 2022.
Are they songs influenced by the rigor of the coronavirus?
The pandemic had a huge effect on the themes on the album, and so does the fact that I turned sixty in 2020. That was a defining moment for me. My stepfather died when I was 61 years old and my biological father died when he was 68 years old, and whether you like it or not, it suddenly comes to mind And the idea is that, that we should all make the most of our time here, which is very limited . You have to live life, the moment. And now that Andy is gone, you see everything much more closely.
The songs of Memento mori talk about...
.... about sex, addictions, excess information and, mainly, death. During the pandemic you see it very close.
Which does not mean that the songs are optimistic, bright in sound. Has it been premeditated?
Absolutely. They even say that it reminds us of the techno of the eighties... But no. It comes out naturally, we never plan anything in advance, the pieces come out and fit together.
In any case, the songwriting process started in a non-typical way.
Yes. Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs proposed to me in the early days of the pandemic why we didn't compose a song together. He sent me a few lyrics, and I put them to music and sent them back, and so we did about half a dozen songs, which are on the album. But in fact when we started writing them we were thinking that it would probably be a side project between the two of us, but the songs took on a dimension that I loved. And there came a time when I asked Richard, although it might sound crazy to him, what would he think if the songs were for a Depeche album. And he was very happy that I thought that and he told me that he felt very grateful.
And those songs were used for something else important, right?
Yes, because due to the pandemic and the forced change of habits, Dave [Gahan] even considered not continuing with the band, because he wanted to not make new music. But when I sent him the new songs he changed his mind and between one thing and another he got back to work, and he began to make those attractive songs that are on the album.
How did the sudden death of Andy Fletcher affect this whole process?
In fact all the songs were written and the title was chosen before Andy passed away, and he was scheduled to start recording them with us six weeks after he died. When that happened we had to make a decision: continue with the project and the scheduled schedule, or let it run. And we decided to go ahead because we thought it was better for our mental health to make and focus on the music we love. We had to stick with Depeche Mode for the sake of our mental health. But it will be difficult, especially when we play live because every night there will be a gap on the stage where Andy used to be.
Aren't you afraid of that moment that could be traumatic?
It is not something that one can practice beforehand, so to speak. We have done television shows without Andy and that has already had a lot of emotional charge. But it is that there are so many things since he died that we have had to learn for the first time to do them without him... like a photo session without him... It has been, is, as I was saying before, very difficult.
How would you define Andy Fletcher as a person?
Andy was such a gregarious and friendly person...I knew him for half a century and he was very loved.
On your return to live shows, like Primavera Sound, will you focus on your new album?
We sure as hell won't be playing the entire new album. We love the new album, we do something with it but there will be many songs from our catalog of so many years.
When you hear, read or are told that Depeche Mode is the most important electronic music band in history, what do you feel?
Well I think people have forgotten about Kraftwerk and a few other bands.
In any case, an obligatory question: what is the formula for having such an intergenerational audience at Depeche Mode concerts?
If I could say what the formula is right now I would be immensely rich, hahahaha. No idea. But related to this, I don't know if this Memento mori is going to reach a lot of people, but I notice that the first single we've released from it, Ghosts again, is possibly the most appropriate thing we've done in a long time for the track. A round theme.
By the way, what music do you listen to when you are at home?
Really everything, of any gender.
Flamingo too?
Ha ha ha. I would like to, recommend me and I will listen to you.
