Depeche Mode ‘avoids anguish’ in Memento Mori and prepares shows without Andy: ‘It will affect us’

“Remember that you are mortal.” It is with this message that Depeche Modenow as a duo, release their first album after the death of Andy Fletcher, keyboardist and founding member of the band. However, anyone who thinks that memento mori it’s a melancholy record. The project has moments of introspection, of course, but its role was precisely to teach dave gahan It is martin gore to look forward to during some of the most delicate periods of grief.

“Obviously, [o disco] it was done under strange circumstances. andy died six weeks before we started recording. We decided to continue because we thought it would be better to be mentally focused on the music, keep our minds on it. We were very happy with the result,” explained goreguitarist of the group, in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil.

In other statements during the announcement of the new phase, the duo already showed excitement with an album which, according to them, Fletcher would be proud. Despite the aura that surrounds memento morithe tracks were not born with a clear purpose. gore I didn’t even know if they would integrate the catalog of Depeche Mode when he started composing alongside Richard Butler. The tracks, by the way, were the first ones written by the musician with people outside the band.

“He [Butler] sent me a message saying we should write a song together. Since we were in the pandemic, I thought it would be interesting. At the time, we thought they would be released as a side project. We made six songs that we liked. I liked it so much that I thought about using them with the Depeche and asked Richard. I had no idea what he was going to answer, but he just said, ‘Okay. I’m glad you’re going to use them.’”

Tracks like “soul with me” help summarize the influences of the band, which manages to bring its identity and a mixture of textures characteristic of its discography without becoming repetitive or dated. gore described the combinations with an unusual example: “As if the Beach Boys had met with Kurt Vile and needed to write a gospel song.” The contrast between the debate about death present in the lyrics and the instrumentals loaded with grandiose synthesizers seems to set the tone for some of the best moments on the album, such as “Wagging Tongue.” “Everything feels empty when you watch another angel die,” says one of the song’s lines.

“Ghosts Again,” the album’s first single, achieved a reception that even the members themselves could not have imagined, reaching a “kind of universal” audience. The popularity of Depeche Modewhich, as pointed out gorehas always renewed itself before the new generations, was leveraged even more by the presence of “Never Let Me Down Again” in The Last of Us – audience success HBO Max.

After the release of memento mori, the next step seems obvious: live performances. While there is excitement about returning to the big tours after five years, the guitarist admits that the absence of Fletcher should move the band: “It will be interesting to see how it goes live, because it will be different and exciting. Look around the stage, the place where andy used to be, it will affect us.”

Until now, Depeche Mode has announced dates in Mexico, North America and Europe, but Brazilian fans shouldn’t be discouraged. Case gahan and gore be “enjoying” the experience and decide to extend the tour, South America should be the next destination.

Check out the full interview by martin gore The Rolling Stone Brazil:

Rolling Stone Brasil: You described Memento Mori as one of the band’s best works in recent years. What was it like working on it and what are you most proud of?
martin gore: We finished the record a long time ago, six months ago. We feel there is something special about him. I’m really looking forward to the audience hearing it.
Obviously, it was done under strange circumstances. andy died six weeks before we started recording. We decided to continue because we thought it would be better to be mentally focused on the music, keep our minds on it. We were very happy with the result.

The record has many different textures, both on the guitar and on the synthesizers. There are tracks like “Wagging Tongue,” which are reminiscent of Depeche Mode hits, and others that resemble ballads. At the same time, memento mori it doesn’t sound like a random collection of songs. What made the album cohesive in your opinion?
There are some reasons why there is a certain cohesion. We had 16 songs recorded and it was very difficult to choose which 12 would go on the album. So, I imagine the 12 that entered make a better collection than the remaining 4 would. It helped. We also spent a lot of time working on the right order to make it work like a record. Another thing I’ve been thinking about: There haven’t been many positives about the pandemic, but having a long period to write is always a bonus for a songwriter.

Was there less pressure?
Well, maybe a little less pressure. I had more time to think about how the demos sounded and make sure the songs worked together.

Talking about one specific track, “Soul With Me,” which has chorusing guitars, a psychedelic feel and melancholy lyrics. How was the process?
It’s a very strange song for Depeche Mode. I like the weird influences I bring to this song. It sounds like a weird Beach Boys track, like they got together with Kurt Vile and needed to write a gospel song.

Wow, an incredible combination.
[Risos] Yes. I like the weirdness.

You mentioned that the first ideas came about in the pandemic. Aside from having more time to write, how did those circumstances affect the record?
The biggest change came a month into the pandemic when Richard Butler reached out to me. He texted me saying we should write a song together. Since we were in the pandemic, I thought it would be interesting.
At the time, we thought they would be released as a side project. We made six songs that we liked. I liked them so much that I thought about using them with Depeche and asked Richard. I had no idea what he was going to answer, but he just said, ‘Okay. I’m glad you’re going to use them.’ So four songs on the album were co-written with Richard. That was a huge change for us. I never wrote with anyone outside the band until then.

It is curious that Memento Mori was born as a side project.
We just thought about writing some songs. We never defined whether it would be a side project or how we would use it. But in the back of my mind, I imagined it to be a side project.

How was the public reaction with the announcement of the album and the release of “Ghosts Again”?
It was the best welcome we’ve had in the last 25 or 30 years. The track is being played everywhere. The radios are playing a lot, even stations that haven’t played our songs in years. A lot of people who don’t usually listen to Depeche Mode are enjoying it, so it had this kind of universal reach.

What was the impact of working with Marta Salogni (who worked with more experimental artists like Björk, Animal Collective and Black Midi) and James Ford, who you had worked with on Spirit?
As you mentioned, we worked with James on Spirit, so we already knew his way of working. He’s a great producer, but he’s also a great musician. It’s really nice to have him around. He might come up with an idea, for example: ‘Oh, let’s add a bass line along with the synth.’ So he goes in there and plays the bass, records it in just one take, and it sounds amazing, we don’t even have to move it. James also plays the drums. We recorded the entire project in my studio, except for five days when we went to Rick Rubin’s studio in Malibu. During those days, James recorded the drums for several songs, we recorded strings…
Marta did the mixing but was also the sound engineer and was there throughout the recording process. It was her idea that we used 1970s tape recorders to create loops. This gave the album a different feel and helped create many of the textures that are present on it.

What’s it like to be back on stage after the pandemic and now without Andy? How did you and Dave come to the decision to finish the album and plan to tour?
About the record, we just decided to continue what we were doing. It was a good distraction to avoid thinking about Andy’s death all the time. Had we opted for a year’s break, we would only have sunk in anguish. Just sitting at home, sad.
It will be interesting to see how it goes live, because it will be different and exciting. Look around the stage, where Andy used to hang out. It will affect us.

I’m sure the tour will be good for you in the end.
Yes, I hope so. We played a small show in Munich. There were only five songs for an audience of five thousand people. We both feel excited to be back playing live after such a long time – since 2018.

Did the success of “Never Let Me Down Again” after The Last of Us premiere surprise you? How is it to see people from younger generations, who maybe didn’t have contact with Depeche Mode, listening to your music?
It’s always a nice surprise when something this big happens and reaches a different audience… but we’re very lucky to attract younger fans anyway. Even on the last tour, it’s always great to see teenagers and young people in their 20s at our shows. Of course, the series speaks to a much larger audience. It was crazy for a few days, the amount of ‘Shazams’. It also happened with ‘Enjoy The Silence’ on TikTok. I think all of that helps, suddenly we come out with a more commercial single that’s being played all over the place and it feels like we’re the hottest artists again. [risos].

Depeche Mode’s songs seem to have aged very well.
Thanks! It’s good to be working again, not staying at home all the time. [risos].

Martin, after the announcement of Depeche Mode’s big tour, including festival dates in Europe, I have to ask if South America is in the band’s plans.
Well, we have plans for a year from now. We don’t talk about where we’re going after that. There’s a chance we could extend the tour if we’re still enjoying it. If that’s the case, I imagine South America would be the next destination.