"I LOVE HOW THE BAND GOT ITS NAME – FROM DAVE GAHAN’S COLLECTION OF THE FRENCH FASHION MAGAZINE ‘DÉPÊCHE MODE’ WHILE STUDYING WINDOW DISPLAY AND FASHION DESIGN IN COLLEGE. DEPECHE MODE CAPTIVATES ME NOT ONLY WITH THEIR SOUND BUT WITH HOW THEY’VE EVOLVED OVER 43 YEARS. TRUE PIONEERS OF EARLY SYNTH, THEY EMBRACED CHANGE, WEAVING IN BASS, GLITCH, AND MELODIC TECH IN LATER ALBUMS. DESPITE INTERNAL STRUGGLES AND THE DEPARTURE OF KEY MEMBERS, THEY ENDURED. JUST WHEN I THOUGHT THEY COULDN’T SURPRISE ME, THEY RELEASED MEMENTO MORI, WITH GORE’S TRIBUTE TO FLETCH IN ‘GHOSTS AGAIN’. IT’S HAUNTING, EMOTIONAL, AND ALWAYS ON LOOP IN MY PLAYLIST. DEPECHE MODE CONTINUES TO INSPIRE WITH THEIR RESILIENCE AND INNOVATION."