As the release date of Depeche Mode‘s newest album approaches, band members continue working on its promotion. In a recent interview with Virgin Radio Italy, Dave Gahan talked about the album’s production and its relation to Andy Fletcher‘s death.
The band’s keyboardist Andy Fletcher passed away last year while working on their fifteenth studio album, which will be released in late March. Following his passing, the remaining band members considered disbanding or putting a halt on the project but ultimately decided to finish the project to overcome the shock and sorrow of the incident.
Moreover, after they announced the album’s name as ‘Memento Mori,’ fans speculated that the new album would be in the memory of the late musician. However, according to Martin Gore’s explanation of the matter, this was a misconception.
In a recent interview, Dave Gahan confirmed Gore’s statement and provided more detail on the production process. He expressed that the name and the songs were chosen with Fletcher before his death, but he did not get to join the recording sessions. The Depeche Mode vocalist also explained that although the album was not named in his memory, the keyboardist was in their thoughts during production, and they deeply felt his absence.
Gahan recalled the time as follows:
“All the songs were written before losing Fletch. We even had the title before as well. Fletch was going to join us in the studio when we’d already been recording and maybe had five or six or seven songs or something. So, Fletch was going to join us to listen, and then he passed away, so everything kind of changed. We had to sort of rethink, first of all, if we wanted to continue. Martin and I both agreed that we wanted to finish making the record.
You know, like I said earlier, [I had] been asked about it. It was strange after that because it often felt like there was an absence in the room, of course, that being Fletch. But at the same time, he was in our conscience all the time. A lot of people would, of course, immediately think that the title and the ‘Ghosts Again’ and all these things were written in memoriam of Fletch, but they were there before he passed.”
The album’s name, ‘Memento Mori,’ was not planned to memorialize Andy Fletcher as the keyboardist was present in the initial part of the creation process. According to Dave Gahan, the late musician was with them in their conscience during the recording sessions, indicating that the album partly carries his memory.
