To start with, as always, our “making of” from the print product advertised here:
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
“I’m taking a ride with my best friend” … are there any lines from Depeche Mode songs that don’t immediately seem to magically resonate with Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher? The keyboarder died last year, and work on the new album was already well advanced at that point. The name of the record was already decided: MEMENTO MORI. How overly prophetic that seems after the surprising news of his death … this album will certainly not get rid of it. why?
May the new songs spread the melancholy of the worldwide DM family and its lifetime companions Martin Gore and Dave Gahan to the four winds. We and – for the first time together with our colleagues from “Rolling Stone” – are happy to be there. Both magazines are accompanied by an exclusive Depeche Mode single this month. In addition, this ME also contains the biggest story line about the band ever – the Guinness Book of Records will be informed. You won’t find more Depeche Mode anywhere. Reach out, touch faith.
The Music Express 04/2023 – the topics at a glance:
Depeche Mode: Martin and I had one mission: to become friends”
In the six years since SPIRIT, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore have traveled the world, releasing solo records and writing new songs. Business as usual. But then Andrew Fletcher died. And thus not only her third husband, but also the mediator between the two brawlers. So everything back to zero. From there there was only one direction: forward. The result is one of their best albums. We honor it with the longest DM story ever. A black and white celebration with many nuances.
Fever Ray – All girls want Kandy
As a pioneer in our woken world, Fever Ray fits in perfectly with the new album RADICAL ROMANTICS. On the surface, crazy staging continues, monstrous make-up standards are set. But beneath that lie deeply human issues and interests: most notably, love in the prime of life, sexual identities… and even zodiac signs.
Dirk von Lowtzow: “An incredible amount of what I do is based on the absolute will to communicate”
What he does is appreciated. His autofictional encyclopedia “Aus dem Dachsbau” (Aus dem Dachsbau) has only just been awarded the Literature Prize of the State Capital of Wiesbaden when his next book is already out. For “I dive up” Dirk von Lowtzow (Tocotronic) wrote down his everyday life and blurred it at the crucial points so that he opened a back door: Everything could have happened exactly like that, or not.
Caroline Polacheck – an expert with a sense of humour
Caroline Polachek has had an impressive career. She was part of the synth-pop duo Chairlift, producing for Solange and Travis Scott. Even Beyoncé sang one of her songs. In her mid-thirties, the American decided to pursue a second career path. The math works: Her offbeat avant-garde pop is loved by both music critics and the TikTok generation.
Steve Reich – Maximum Humanist
If the description of a living legend fits, it’s Steve Reich. With his work, the US composer gave meaning to the avant-garde. However, it is at least as important to him that his work has left a huge mark on pop music. On the occasion of a new recording of his string quartets, the opportunity arose to talk at length with the grand master of minimalism – about the apocalypse and radiohead, different types of trains and the music of chance.
Also in the issue:
- Self-timer: chip shop
- Topic interview: Adam Lambert on cover versions
- 9 facts about pop acts in radio plays
- Record cabinet: Hendrik Otremba
- Radar: Lucinda Chua, Pskar Haag, Pavelo & Schnell, Debby Friday & Blondshell
- CD insert for subscribers with Fever Ray, Yves Tumor, Wild Child, Frittenbude, Downpilot & Oskar Haag
- Digital playlist with Fever Ray, Yves Tumor, Wild Child, Frittenbude, Downpilot, Oskar Haag, Tristan Brusch, Boygenius, Debby Friday, Slowthai, Yaeji, J-Vague, Ben Gregory, The Lathums & Lucinda Chua
>>> to the music express playlist for everyone!
Read more? You can subscribe to the Musikexpress here.
The new music express – available from March 9, 2023 at kiosks and from home as an e-paper. Subscribers sometimes have it in the mail earlier.
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