Martin Gore
Martin Gore
Martin Lee Gore is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, producer, remixer, and DJ. He is a founding member of Depeche Mode and has written the majority of their songs. His work now spans over four decades. Gore's best-known compositions include hits such as "Personal Jesus", "Enjoy the Silence", "Stripped", "It's No Good", "In Your Room", "Strangelove", "I Feel You", "People Are People", "Precious", "A Question of Time", "Policy of Truth", "Everything Counts", "Behind the Wheel", "Shake the Disease", "Never Let...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth23 July 1961
Kids today don't know that much about vinyl.
Songwriting is a mysterious art. When I sit down to write a song, the end result should be mysterious and have this dark quality.
There's something insane about this business - about the cycle of making albums and going on tour to promote them.
You make one solo album, and some people swear you're about to leave the band or there are creative differences.
There are Depeche Mode parties around the world where people listen to our music all night long. The more remixes we can give them, the more interesting those nights have got to be.
I started getting back into buying old analog gear while we were recording. Lots of old drum machines and synths. It wasn't a conscious thing. I didn't consider myself a collector, but boxes of vintage gear would turn up virtually every day.
I wanted to keep the music very electronic, very filmic, and give it an almost sci-fi like quality. Music is a necessity for me. I go into the studio at least five days a week, every week, so once I had the idea and the template, the process was quick and fun.
Music is really all about experimentation and lots of trial and error. It's just mind-numbingly boring until you hit on something that works well.
As part of Depeche Mode, I don't think it's right for me to be using my own songs for a solo project. I'm not a very prolific songwriter, so I keep those for Depeche Mode.
I will be the focal point for however long I decide to play. Half of me likes that idea and half of me doesn't, but once the adrenaline kicks in, I'll probably really enjoy it.
I studied German at school. I lived in Berlin for two years and had a German girlfriend for five years, so I don't find speaking German particularly difficult. Singing was slightly more difficult.
I didn't write songs for a very long time.
I try to get a degree of realism in my music.
I think being in a band is probably the only job when you're actively encouraged to be out of it most of the time.