{"id":86765,"date":"2022-10-04T14:54:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T14:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/depeche-mode-return-with-tour-and-new-album-memento-mori-rolling-stone\/"},"modified":"2022-10-04T14:54:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T14:54:06","slug":"depeche-mode-return-with-tour-and-new-album-memento-mori-rolling-stone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/depeche-mode-return-with-tour-and-new-album-memento-mori-rolling-stone\/","title":{"rendered":"Depeche Mode Return With Tour and New Album ‘Memento Mori’ \u2013 Rolling Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tduring the peak<\/span> of the pandemic, Depeche Mode’s members found themselves simultaneously making sense of Covid’s widespread loss while trying to appreciate life in the moment. Those two themes kept popping up when frontman Dave Gahan and singer and multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore were writing lyrics for what would become their 15th album. They embraced this idea by calling the album Memento Mori<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

\t\u201cThe direct translation [for \u2018memento mori\u2019] is, ‘Remember that you must die,’\u201d Gahan says via phone from Berlin, a few days before the band’s Tuesday press conference announcing Memento Mori<\/em>. \u201cA lot of the songs are going into that place of reminding ourselves that our time is fleeting, and you got to make the best of it \u2014 in a positive way.\u201d Gore says he first heard the Latin phrase from a friend. \u201cI just thought, ‘What a great album title for the songs that had been written already,’\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n

\tIt’s one of the few times the group settled on an album title while making a record and stuck with it all the way through. The album, which producers James Ford and Marta Salogni are finishing in London, is due out next spring while the Memento Mori <\/em>tour will launch in North American arenas, beginning in Sacramento, on March 23.<\/p>\n

\n

\tBefore they could get in the studio, though, the title took on far greater meaning for Gahan and Gore. On May 26, Andy \u201cFletch\u201d Fletcher, who co-founded Depeche Mode and played synthesizers and bass in the group since 1980, died naturally of an aortic dissection. Did they second-guess the title after Fletch’s death? \u201cI think it cemented it, if anything,\u201d Gore says.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\t\u201cObviously, everybody will think that all of the songs were quickly written after Andy died,\u201d Gore continues. \u201cBut everything was planned and ready to go. Unfortunately, Andy passed away when he was really looking forward to getting started with us. So I like the idea of \u200b\u200b’memento mori’ in a more positive way, in a ‘Live each day and make the most of your time here.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\t\u201cThis is the first time we’re doing something like this without Fletch,\u201d Gahan says. \u201cAll the songs were already written before Fletch passed, but when something happens, an event like this in your life, songs change: They take on different forms and have different meanings when you sing them. I think when I was singing some of the vocals, I was reflecting on all kinds of things, but certainly Fletch came up in my mind quite a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tEven now, the two musicians are still making sense of their bandmate’s absence. \u201cYou don’t always get to say goodbye,\u201d Gahan says. \u201cWith this, it was just one of those things where all of a sudden, Martin and I are sitting in a pew in a church together, and Fletch is not here anymore, just like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\t\u201cIt’s obviously really hard to lose your closest friend,\u201d Gore says. \u201cAndy was there with me from way before the band and I feel like he was the one in the trenches with me the whole way. So it’s very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tBut Gore feels his bandmate would have wanted Depeche Mode to continue. \u201cHe was always seen as the glue of the band,\u201d he says. \u201cIt would’ve been unthinkable for him to think that his death would’ve caused the end of the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tNow Gahan and Gore are feeling his loss in more profound ways. Fletch, who had a big, dry sense of humor, used to joke that while Gahan’s and Gore’s roles were well-defined \u2014 Gahan was obviously the singer while Gore wrote the majority of the songs \u2014 his job was to \u201cbum around.\u201d But the two musicians say he was much more important to Depeche Mode than he gave himself credit for.<\/p>\n

\n

\t\u201cWe’ve come to realize more after his death that he did play a huge role in the band,\u201d Gore says. \u201cDave and I are not super-social people, whereas Andy was. If we ever had to do anything, [Fletch] would go in and start just chatting to everyone, and me and Dave could hide out in the corner somewhere. Even though we’ve been together for 40 years, me and Dave have been brought much closer together by Andy passing, because we had to. Whereas before, Andy was, like I say, the glue. He did bring us together; he was the interlinking part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tGahan and Gore didn’t see each other face to face to work on the album until July. The singer feels that if Fletch were working on the album, he’d have joked, \u201cCan we just stop talking about death?\u201d \u201cI missed that in the studio,\u201d the singer says, \u201cand I know Martin did, too. We felt like he was still there with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tThe group opened the Berlin event with a short montage, showing close-ups of music gear as echoey, undeniably Depeche Mode music plays in the background. The soundtrack had a throbbing, fuzzy synth bass line and operatic vocals. Eventually, the camera pulled out to show the musicians together in the studio. Eventually, Gahan’s voice enters and he sings, \u201cWe know we’ll be ghosts again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tNeither Gahan nor Gore feel ready to name any of Memento Mori’s <\/em>song titles \u2014 days before the Berlin event, they’re not even quite sure what the final titles are for the musical selections they’re playing \u2014 but they say the structure of the album as a whole came together naturally. \u201cTo me, it’s got a cinematic quality to it,\u201d Gahan says. \u201cIt takes you on a bit of a trip, starting in a place where we’re like, ‘This is my world,’ and ending with, ‘How do I make the most of it?’\u201d The music, Gahan says, sounds melancholy but it’s also braided with hope and joy. The record will likely feature 12 songs with a few saved over as extras for a deluxe edition.<\/p>\n

\n

\tIn addition to finishing the record, the group is figuring out how to get back onstage without one of their founding members. \u201cWe’re not going to replace Fletch; there’s no reason to replace Fletch,\u201d Gahan says. \u201cThat would be impossible. There was only one Fletch, that’s for sure.\u201d So Gahan and Gore are working with multi-instrumentalist Peter Gordeno and drummer Christian Eigner, who have been touring members of Depeche Mode since the late Nineties, on how to pull it off live and incorporate the new music. (The group’s longtime collaborator, filmmaker and photographer Anton Corbijn, is already working with the band on the look of the tour.)<\/p>\n

\n

\tWhen asked in Berlin if the band will be paying tribute to Fletch on the tour, Gahan said the group was still figuring it out but had zeroed in on some of Fletch’s favorite Depeche Mode songs. \u201cHe’ll be there in spirit, I’m sure, judging us,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\n

\tIn another light moment, a journalist asked if the band would ever consider doing an \u201cunplugged\u201d tour. \u201cWe can’t really unplug because we’re an electronic band,\u201d Gahan said, chuckling. Gore added, \u201cWe can try it with battery packs or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\tIn an unusual move for Depeche Mode, the group will start its Memento Mori <\/em>tour in North America instead of Europe. \u201cI can’t remember the last time we started in America, if we ever have,\u201d Gore says. \u201cI’m sure we did at some point, but it just seemed like something different to do.\u201d (The European leg will begin May 16. Some of the venues the group next year will play include Madison Square Garden, Chicago’s United Center, Twickenham Stadium and the Stade de France.)<\/p>\n

\n

\tUntil then, they will press forward while continuing to grieve their friend and bandmate’s death. \u201cIt was very odd coming to Berlin and coming into a hotel where we have been with Andy many times, and just seeing the bar where we’d often seen sitting,\u201d Gore says. \u201cThat was a bit of a reality check. Everything that we’re doing from this point forward is different, so we just have to put our heads down and do the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMemento Mori World Tour 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\tMarch 23 \u2013 Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
March 25 \u2013 San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
March 28 \u2013 Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
March 30 \u2013 Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
April 2 \u2013 San Antonio, TX -@ AT&T Center
April 5 \u2013 Chicago, IL @ United Center
April 7 \u2013 Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
April 9 \u2013 Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Center
April 12 \u2013 Montreal, QC @ Center Bell
April 14 \u2013 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
May 16 \u2013 Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
May 20 \u2013 Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis Antwerpen
May 23 \u2013 Stockholm, SE @ Friends Arena
May 26 \u2013 Leipzig, DE @ Leipziger Festwiese
May 28 \u2013 Bratislava, SK @ N\u00e1rodn\u00fd Futbalov\u00fd \u0160tadi\u00f3n
May 31 \u2013 Bordeaux, FR @ Matmut Atlantique
June 2 \u2013 Barcelona, \u200b\u200bES @ Primavera Sound Festival
June 4 \u2013 Dusseldorf, DE @ Merkur Spiel-Arena
June 6 \u2013 Dusseldorf, DE @ Merkur Spiel-Arena
June 9 \u2013 Madrid, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival
June 11 \u2013 Bern, CH @ Stadion Wankdorf
June 14 \u2013 Dublin, IE @ Malahide Castle
June 17 \u2013 London, UK @ Twickenham Stadium
June 20 \u2013 Munich, DE @ Olympiastadion
June 22 \u2013 Lille, FR @ Stade Pierre Mauroy
June 24 \u2013 Paris, FR @ Stade de France
June 27 \u2013 Copenhagen, DK @ Parken
June 29 \u2013 Frankfurt, DE @ Deutsche Bank Park
July 4 \u2013 Lyon, FR @ Groupama Stadium
July 7 \u2013 Berlin, DE @ Olympiastadion
July 12 \u2013 Rome, IT @ Stadio Olympico
July 14 \u2013 Milan, IT @ San Siro
July 16 \u2013 Bologna, IT @ Stadio Renato Dall’Ara
July 21 \u2013 Klagenfurt, AT @ W\u00f6rthersee Stadion
July 23 \u2013 Zagreb, HR @ Arena Zagreb
July 26 \u2013 Bucharest, RO @ Arena Na\u021bional\u0103
July 28 \u2013 Budapest, HU @ Pusk\u00e1s Arena
July 30 \u2013 Prague, CZ @ Let\u0148any Airport
August 2 \u2013 Warsaw, PL @ PGE Narodowy
August 6 \u2013 Tallinn, EE @ Tallinna Lauluv\u00e4ljak
August 8 \u2013 Helsinki, FI @ Kaisaniemen Puisto
August 11 \u2013 Oslo, NO @ Telenor Arena<\/p>\n<\/div>\n