22 listopada 2011
Just can’t get enough Depeche Mode
Sun Feb 13th, 2011, Lynsey Hughes
Aussie fans may have felt gypped in 2009 when synth-angst masters Depeche Mode announced their Tour of the Universe sans an Australian visit. But the time for crying is over, people.
Founding member, Andy Fletcher is back and he’s bringing the love — and his decks — with him.
Sounding suprisingly chipper for a man who’s recovering from sleepless nights in the Ukraine where he reacquainted himself with Depeche Mode audiences at some energetic and “very tiring” warm-up gigs, Fletcher spoke to the Star Observer from London just days before his first Australian DJ shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
“So far, the audiences have been great. Fan reaction has been great,” Fletcher said.
“The good thing about Depeche Mode fans is they’re not standard rock fans — they’re open to all kinds of music — so I’m hoping I’ll get that when I play in Australia.”
Thirty years worth of singles and an ever-growing cache of dance remixes — including a soon-to-be-released remix album — surely makes for hell in whittling down the perfect DJ set to pay homage to the world’s most successful electronic band, but that hasn’t kept the synth maestro from the studio where he’s spent the last couple of months working on secret new DM remixes.
“No, I can’t tell you what, you’re just going to have to wait,” he laughed.
What this former restaurant owner and founder of record label Hawaii Toast (named after his favourite dish at a German canteen) can tell us is that his two-hour DJ set “is loosely based on my heritage with Depeche Mode — electro, both old and new, from the Human League to Alex Metric”.
New mixes from respected producers Eric Prydz and Vince Clarke will also feature alongside old-school classics like Personal Jesus by Francois K.
“I don’t pigeonhole myself. I play pretty much what I think is the best dance music of the last year,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to revisiting Australia. It’s been a long time since I was last there.”
Indeed it has — 1994 was the year and the tour, titled Devotion, is an apt description of how audiences reacted to seeing these kings of electro-pop on stage.
This time around, Fletcher admits that while it seems a natural progression for a musician wielding his 30-year pedigree in progressive electronic music to take up DJing, there are a few key performance differences.
“When you’ve got the band, you’ve got a bit of room because you’ve got your mates around you, you know? With DJing, if you make a mistake everybody knows whose fault it is,” he said.
“I’m better than most celebrity DJs but I don’t put myself up there with the superstar DJs like Paul Van Dyke. Martin Gore [DM songwriter], he DJs as well, but his is a very different style from mine — minimal techno. It’s a great sideline.”
Fletcher agreed that rare, up close and personal gigs like that at Sydney’s City Hotel are highly regarded by hardcore music fans. He chuckled when asked how he feels about performing what is touted as ‘one of the most intimate gigs of his career’.
Sure, he’s played to stadium crowds in their tens of thousands and influenced artists from The Pet Shop Boys and DJ Shadow to Marilyn Manson, but like any musician who cracks it the hard way, he’s no stranger to half-packed pubs.
“To be fair, we’ve been going for about 30 years and certainly for the first third of our career we played clubs and pubs — we came up the traditional way of breaking a band.
“These days an artist can become a superstar overnight. So, we’ve played gigs where there’ve only been 50 people in a room. “
Three decades on, there’s little chance Fletcher will be playing to a mid-strength audience as fans and musicians alike continue to discover the
peerless quality of Depeche Mode’s 12 studio albums. Their last effort, Sounds of the Universe, catapulted to Number 1 in 21 countries.
But Fletcher remains quietly philosophical about his success.
“Initially we always managed ourselves. We were on a very small label so we were able to do what we wanted, not what we were forced to do. We’ve been very lucky.
“When we first started we thought we’d only last a couple of years — to be still going strong after 30 years, it’s a dream come true.”
Five things you didn’t know about Andy Fletcher
1. When I’m away from home I miss… “My family. We’ve all got children”
2. If I wasn’t a musician… “I think I’m stuck in this”
3. Vinyl vs iPod… “Obviously vinyl, if you’re going for quality”
4. Favourite album… “Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. I get a bit sentmental”
5. Best new music… “So much good stuff it’s hard to pin down”
Source: starobserver.com.au
Andy Fletcher: Depeche Mode and beyond
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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