From DM To DJ

By Christopher Toh ~

Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher is excited to return to Singapore – as a club DJ

You know him as one-third of Brit synth band Depeche Mode, but Andy Fletcher now has a second occupation: Club DJ.

But before we could ask how he went from being in one of the biggest bands from Britain to spinning in a club, Fletcher was quick to point out that Depeche Mode and dance music have always gone hand-in-hand.

“We’ve always commissioned lots of remixes. We have 14 Billboard Dance No 1s and, both myself and Martin Gore, we do enjoy DJ-ing,” he said over the phone from London. “(But) we have very little time to do that. When we finish a tour, we usually have time off because obviously we need to see our family, and we usually get a window of about four months to do what we want.”

So for these four months, Fletcher will be playing “some interesting markets, rather than do the standard DJ thing around Europe”.

One of these places is Ku De Ta at Marina Bay Sands, where he will be spinning as part of the Blue Velveteen Sessions on Feb 25. “I prefer to DJ to a mixed audience, not just Depeche Mode fans. But I’d like a few Depeche Mode fans there as well!” he laughed. “That’s why I’m doing this interview before my breakfast. I just wanted to make sure that people know I’m going to be in town. You know, anyone who might be interested!”

The last time Fletcher was in Singapore was during Depeche Mode’s gruelling Devotional tour – the longest tour they undertook and what the group jokingly called their “tour from hell”.

“I remember that I was feeling not very well in Singapore, and I remember the other guys having a really heavy night!” he said. “I remember that during the day, everyone was in bed – apart from me. It was that sort of a tour.

“It was a miserable time for me,” he added, “and I think I really learnt what my weaknesses were and how to combat them. But I think that happens to everyone at some point in their lives.”

And if fans are hankering after new Depeche Mode material, Fletcher said it might happen sooner than later. “I think Martin and Dave (Gahan) seem to be ready to write. At the moment, Martin is finishing a dance album with Vince Clarke, which is minimal techno, very, very dancey. And when that’s finished – I think it’s going to be done in a month – I think he’s going to be going in, and Dave will go into the studio to start writing. And normally when that happens, that’s the signal that a new album will come out.

“To be honest, we’re getting on a bit, but I think we have a couple of albums left in us.”

As for the Ku De Ta gig, Fletcher teased that he will be spinning some previously unheard music from Depeche Mode. “They’re going to be included in our second remix album which will be out in April. Two (are from) our former colleagues – Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder. And there’s a great remix of Personal Jesus that’s really exciting.”

Source: Today

Andrew Fletcher

DJ, Press Interview, Remix Album, Singapore Ku De Ta