As a member of Depeche Mode, heralded as the most successful electronic band in music history, Andy Fletcher has sold over 100 million records and singles worldwide. Taking a break from the band, Andy has been making waves of his own as a DJ and will be hitting our shores in February as a part of the Playground Weekender. I spoke to him about his influences, DJing versus playing live, and whether he’ll return with the rest Depeche Mode for an Australian tour.
Many people know you as a member of Depeche Mode but recently, know you as a DJ. What prompted the shift from playing live music to the decks?
When we as Depeche Mode do a project, they generally are two year projects, so then after it’s finished we take a year or so off. In the first six months we’ll go on a holiday, see the kids, and then me and Martin [Gore] especially will do our side projects until we start again. I started [DJing] about six or seven years ago and started to really enjoy it. I’ll actually be using some new equipment this time, so I’m quite nervous!
How would you describe your sound? What artists can be expected to make an appearance in your set?
I try and throw in a lot of different aspects. I’m not a DJ who plays one particular style. I play a bit of electro, a bit of techno, a bit of rock, and try and mix it all around. We’re releasing a remix album in March, so I’ve got some brand new Depeche Mode mixes I’m going to be playing, which will be heard for the first time by the Aussie fans, so that’ll be exciting.
How do find DJing differs from playing live?
Well it’s a completely different feel. You’ve got a completely different time schedule, some sets I won’t play until 3am but with the band we’d go onstage at 9pm. And when I’m playing with the band I’ve got all my mates around me but here you’re on your own. Sometimes it’s nice, because there’s less organising to do. I can meet more people and see the city a lot easier.
As a part of Depeche Mode you’ve influenced bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and The Crystal Method. Who inspires you?
I think it’s a collection of music from when we were very young, with T-Rex, early Bowie. When we were about 16, punk happened. That really was a big influence. From punk, early Human League was very influential, as was Kraftwerk, of course. We were very lucky to have had that growing up. I always think that today there isn’t really too much that’s exciting, that could blow the industry away the way those bands did. We’re very lucky.
On that note, are there any new artists that excite you?
I quite like MGMT and I’ve just recently discovered Robyn. I think she’s unbelievable.
Your career spans an impressive 30 years. What has been the stand-out moments?
To be honest, the whole of our career has been a dream. It’s funny because when we formed the band we thought we’d only have a few years and we’re still going. You really have to pinch yourself.
Given your experience behind the scenes as well as onstage, what’s your take on the state of the music industry today?
It’s not good! I think that it’s very hard for young artists to break through at the moment, record companies are shrinking and not signing many new artists and record sales are in a slump. When we released our second single, we sold 600 thousand units in the UK alone but now, to get into the top 10 charts you’d only be selling a quarter of that. I think the excitement now has shifted underground, to the unsigned artists, so it’s now about getting them noticed and through to people. I really hope that this will change.
You’ll be here as part of the Playground Weekender, are there any sets your planning on catching?
I’d like to see as much as I can. Did you say Kool and The Gang were playing? They were one of my favourites when I was younger. I’ll definitely see them!
And finally, are there any plans to return with the rest of the band for a tour down under?
It’s always been a bit of a blight on our career that we haven’t been to Australia that many times. We know a lot of Australian people so that makes it even worse. We tried to get over on our last tour, but Dave [Gahan] had a bit of a bad time and we couldn’t make it, but we’re definitely going to try and get across in future.
(Source: intermix)
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