Depeche Mode ©Anton Corbijn
Expected for this Friday, March 24, “Memento Mori” (“Remember that you are going to die”) is Depeche Mode’s fifteenth studio album since its debut in 1980 in Basildon, England. It is also the first disc recorded without Andrew Fletcher, keyboardist and co-founder of the group, who died on May 26, 2022 at the age of 60.
“All the songs on this album were written before Andy passed away. Even the idea of the title “Memento Mori” was there before his death. But of course everything takes on another meaning after his death. “, specifies Martin Gore, author, composer and guitarist of Depeche Mode in an exclusive interview granted to Moustique. This interview will be published in our magazine this Wednesday, March 22. The opportunity also for Moustique to explore in a nine-page file this link that connects us to the music of our youth. Produced in London, in the offices of their record company, this interview will also be broadcast on the LN24 news channel in the program The Evening Visitors, this Friday, March 24 at 9 p.m. Last but not least, Moustique will also give you physical copies (CDs and vinyls) of “Memento Mori”.
Dark and dystopian
Rich in twelve songs, “Memento Mori” explores the themes of paranoia, death, but also those of the quest for innocence and redemption. Martin Gore and Dave Gahan favor electronics over organics, even if the guitars are present. There are titles whose melancholic melodies go directly into the ear (Ghosts Again, Wagging Tongue, Never Let Me Go) and other darker ones that surprise with their audacious sound texture (My Favorite Stranger, Soul With Me). Not necessarily pop songs “ at the Personal Jesus » cut for the radios, but always big pieces that question, like the opening track My Cosmos Is Minea dystopian world made even more anxiety-provoking by the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
“My Cosmos Is Mine is the last song I wrote for “Memento Mori”, explains to Mosquito Martin Gore. “It’s from March 2022. Dave and I thought it would be the perfect starting point. After the pandemic, after the political upheaval and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I felt like the whole planet revolved around the notion of control. I felt that I couldn’t take it anymore and that I had to create a shell around me. This song is a way of saying: “What is happening here? Leave me alone. It’s my universe. “
As a reminder, the Memento Mori tour starts on March 23 in Sacramento (California) and will stop on May 20 at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp. Everything is complete.
Depeche Mode, Mement Mori, Sony Music. Released 3/24.
Exclusive interview with Martin Gore and Depeche Mode competition in the Mosquito on March 22.
Evening visitors: Moustique Depeche Mode interview, Friday March 24, LN24, 9 p.m.
Special Depeche Mode, LN Radio, Friday 24, La Matinale with Mosquito, 8:30 am.
