Since 1980 they have been the perfect soundtrack to melancholy: the Britishband Depeche Mode. That the album to be released in March next year MementoMoric dripping with gloom and darkness, does not surprise a fan. However, thedeath of keyboardist Andy Fletcher, in May this year, puts everything in adifferent light, says singer Dave Gahan shortly after the announcement of thealbum. “The intention was for Fletch to come by to discuss his input, but henever got to hear the new music.”
Gahan – dark purple sunglasses, black shirt, large shiny skull ring on hisleft hand, his silver-grey hair slicked back – quickly starts talking aboutAndy Fletcher from his hotel room in Berlin himself. Controlled, he searchesfor words after every question. On the one hand he is proud of theannouncement of the new album and the tour, on the other hand he mourns hisfriend. ‘Fletch’ died very suddenly at the age of 60: a rupture in his aorta.Suddenly, Gahan and Martin Gore were reduced to a duo.
And that’s how they look in the new photos: the two of them. Taken by Dutchphotographer Anton Corbijn, who has been working with the band for fortyyears. “Martin and I did a photo session with Anton for the first time inyears,” says Gahan. “Without Fletch. That was bittersweet, because it was alsovery nice to shoot with Anton again, and in a way it was also cathartic. We’reobviously doing a lot of things for the first time without Fletch, and that’swhat makes it all so different.”
Is this a fresh start for Depeche Mode?
“In a way, yes. Martin and I were never… how to say… good at communicating.”Gahan laughs. “With nobody! Not even with each other. A frustrating way ofworking, and at the same time that friction fed our work. But that’s a way ofworking I think we’d exhausted. Fletch’s death forced us to come closertogether as friends, to be there for each other during this time. Butmusically it also brought us closer together.”
The new album is called Memento Moric – that’s a heavy title.
“I think that title is perfect for the album’s theme, and that’s how we relateto life. What it is. When it ends, and why it ends. ‘Memento Mori’ means’remember you will die’. It’s no use living in the past, and it’s certainly nouse living in the future. I think the whole pandemic has got everyone thinkingabout those kinds of things. Is this the end? And do I care? Gahan says itwith a charming grin. “That feeling that everyone must have felt for the pastfew years, definitely something of that has made its way into the music.”
This was largely conceived and recorded before Andy Fletcher’s death. Does hisdeath put the album in a different light?
“Secure. When we had recorded about ten songs, Fletch would come over forinput. I first went back home to New York for a few weeks, and during thattime he passed away. In the end, he never got to hear the new music. Thatchanged everything. Then we decided that we would at least finish the album.But it was all very strange.”
Read also how Anton Corbijn followed fans of Depeche Mode in 2019.
Have you considered quitting altogether?
“Yeah, we both thought that maybe this should just be the end. That it was asign.”
Did you and Martin express that idea too?
“Yes, but that didn’t last long. At one point Martin said, “We’ll keep going,won’t we?” And I said, ‘yes.. what else are we supposed to do? We can’t doanything else.’ Look, Martin and I have been the creative hub of Depeche Modefor years. We worked with all kinds of producers and technicians and you nameit, but the creative power came from the two of us.”
Gahan takes his time with what he wants to say, makes half sentences andfalters when it comes to Fletcher’s role in Depeche Mode. For a long time thatrole was also a bit vague: his keyboard sound was hugely influential andlargely determined the sound of the eighties, but he was also oftenresponsible for the more earthly issues of a band: the business part, and thepreservation of the peace between Gore and Gahan.
Andy Fletcher never got to hear the new music
Fletcher therefore sometimes narrowed down his role as a musician. He oncesaid, when Alan Wilder was in the band, “Martin is the writer, Alan the goodmusician, Dave the singer, and I hang out.” That was his humor. He later said,“Sometimes it’s frustrating not to be taken seriously. You could also say thatmy job is the most important; without me there would be no more band.’”
Gahan says cautiously: without Fletcher the band can survive. “Depeche Modeis, I think, a modern band. Fletch was undeniably part of that, I don’t wantto take that away in any way, but when it comes to the music, nothing reallychanges.”
You first recorded at Martin Gore’s home in Santa Barbara, what else wasdifferent about the recording process?
“The biggest difference for me is in the use of modular synthesizers. That’sbecause of Marta Salogni, who worked on the album alongside producer JamesWood and works a lot with analog equipment, such as reel-to-reel tape. Withthat, we could create huge, slowing effects with a voice, a beat, a guitar, orsomething else. That gives the album as a whole continuity in atmosphere.There’s less noise, it’s more streamlined. We started adding a lot to thesongs, only to come to the conclusion that we didn’t need it.”
Also read: the review of the Depeche Mode concert in 2017
Soon your first tour in five years will start, and then also without Fletcher.How will that go?
“I’m looking forward to it, and so are the other musicians who play with us,Peter Gordino and Christian Eigner. We’re not going to replace Fletch, wecouldn’t and we don’t have to. Musically we will figure it out live, but therewill be an empty spot on the stage where he should have been. So that’s how wecontinue.”
Memento Moric will be released in the spring of 2023. Depeche Mode willplay in the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on May 16 and 18, ticket sales have