2009-02-17 Børsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Notes
On (most likely) the 17th of February 2009, Niels 'Fez' Pedersen interviewed Andrew Fletcher in room 318 of the Brown's Hotel in London, for Danish newspaper Børsen. The article was published on 2009-04-14. We have copied Andy's quotes from that article below. On 2017-05-31, Niels Pedersen uploaded an excerpt of his interview on his SoundCloud account, namely Andy's reply to Niels' question: "What does Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode actually do onstage?"
- Duration: 1:14 minutes
Audio
Transcript
"Det er meget underligt. Vi er mere populære som liveband nu, end da vi udgav hitplader som 'Violator' omkring 1990. Ikke kun i Danmark, men over det meste af verden. Den generation, der vok-sede op med os, vil stadig høre musikken, og samtidig kom-mer der hele tiden nye fans til. Vi er også et godt band på sce-nen. Dave er en stærk frontmand, og der er mange sange at synge med på."
"[Der er tre sange, der altid skal spilles]: 'Enjoy the Silence', 'Personal Jesus' og 'Never Let Me Down Again', som virkelig er en live-favorit, selv om den ikke var et stort hit."
"Vi er i en unik situation som band. Vi er ret beset stjerner, men vi kan leve helt almindelige liv. Vi er musikstjerner, ikke berømtheder, og far lov til at være i fred."
"Det er længe siden, at vi selv har betragtet Depeche Mode som et britisk band. Vi er europæiske. Musikken lyder europæisk, og mange englændere har stadig ikke taget elektronisk musik til sig i samme grad som europæerne. Nordeuropa med Danmark, Sverige og Tyskland er virkelig kerneområdet for Depeche Mode."
"Vi regnede ikke med at have en chance i USA, men da vi skulle turnere derovre for første gang i 1985, blev koncerterne hurtigt udsolgt, og der var Beatles-agtige scener med skrigende fans. Det var faktisk ret underligt. De unge amerikanere var trætte af pæn rock og bands som REO Speedwagon, og de var begyndt at lytte til radiostationer, der spillede alternativ pop og rock. Vi blev hovedbandet i den bevægelse. Amerikanerne havde ikke set et synthband spille live før og fandt os eksotiske."
"Ha, ha. Jeg ved, at folk diskuterer det, men det er ikke særlig indviklet. Jeg spiller faktisk keyboard. Oprindelig var jeg bassist. Martin og Dave laver fantastiske ting på. scenen, men man kan ikke have et band, hvor alle laver fantastiske ting. Der skal være nogen i baggrunden, der laver det kedelige arbejde. Det er så mig."
"Dengang vi indspillede i Berlin eller Danmark, handlede det meget om at slippe væk fra vores familie og være sammen i et slæng. Nu har vi børn og er blevet voksne."
"Vi kommer ikke til at lave et album uden elektronik. Der er da guitar på. flere numre, men vi bruger guita-ren som krydderi. Ikke noget med store riff. Tværtimod er vi denne gang vendt tilbage til ældre synthesizere, der har en varmere og grovere lyd end ny digital teknik. Det kan lyde lidt retro, men jeg synes stadig, at vi er moderne."
"Hvis vi skal have folk til at betale for musikken i stedet for at downloade den gratis, så skal de have indhold. Denne boks rummer ting, man har lyst til at købe."
"Vi ser ikke på [vores fans] som [en indtægtskilde]. Fanskaren giver os mulighed for at indspille den musik, som vi har lyst til. giver os frihed, og det er vi taknemmelige for. Men de er selvfølgelig også en indtægtskilde. Om du kan lide det eller ej, så er Depeche Mode et brand. Ligesom Kellogg's. Vi er ikke ude på at snyde vores fans. Vi ved, at de godt kan lide at købe forskellige remiks og særudgaver, og der er jo ingen, der tvinger dem til at bruge penge på Depeche Mode."
"Vi kan lide Trentemøllers egen musik og de miks, han før har lavet til Pet Shop Boys og Ryksopp. Det er især Martin Gore, der er stor fan af Trentemøller, og han har virkelig leveret varen."
English translation
Credit to Jacob Rosenhoff for providing this English translation.
"It's very strange. We're more popular as a live band now than when we released hits like 'Violator' around 1990. Not only in Denmark, but all over the world. The generation that grew up with us will still hear the music and at the same time new fans are constantly coming in. We are also a good band on the stage. Dave is a strong frontman and there are many songs to sing along to."
"[There are three songs to always be played]: 'Enjoy the Silence', 'Personal Jesus' and 'Never Let Me Down Again', which is truly a live favorite, even though it was not a big hit."
"We're in a unique situation as a band. We are “stars”, but we can live completely ordinary lives. We're music stars, not celebrities, and people generally leave us in peace."
"It's been a long time since we have considered Depeche Mode as a British band. We are European. The music sounds European, and many English people still have not embraced electronic music to the same degree as the Europeans. Northern Europe with Denmark, Sweden and Germany is truly the core area of Depeche Mode."
"We did not expect to have a chance in the United States, but when we were to tour over there for the first time in 1985, the concerts were quickly sold out and there were Beatles-like scenes with screaming fans. It was actually quite strange. The young Americans were "tired of nice rock and bands like REO Speedwagon, and they had started listening to radio stations playing alternative pop and rock. We became the main band in that movement. The Americans had not seen a synth band play live before and found us exotic."
Ha, ha. I know people discuss it, but it's not very complicated. I actually do play the keyboard. I was originally a bassist. Martin and Dave do great things on stage, but you can’t have a band where everyone doing amazing things. There must be someone in the background doing the tedious work. It's so me."
"When we recorded in Berlin or Denmark, it was very much about getting away from our family and being together in the group. Now we have children and have become adults."
"We are not going to make an album without electronics. There is a guitar on. Several tracks, but we use the guitar as a spice. Nothing with big riffs. On the contrary, this time we have returned to older synthesizers who have a "Warmer and rougher sound than new digital technology. It may sound a bit retro, but I still think we're modern."
"If we want people to pay for the music instead of downloading it for free, then they need content. This box contains things you want to buy."
"We do not look at our fans as a source of income. The fan base allows us to record the music we want. Gives us freedom, and we are grateful for that. But of course, they are also a source of income. Like it or not, Depeche Mode is a brand. Like Kellogg's. We are not out to cheat our fans. We know they like to buy different remixes and special editions and there is no one there forces them to spend money on Depeche Mode."
"We like Trentemøller's own music and the mixes he has made for Pet Shop Boys and Röyksopp before. Martin Gore in particular is a big fan of Trentemøller, and he has really delivered the goods."
