posted by Ben Hogwood text from press release Photo by Travis Shinn

Martin Gore (songwriter, electronic composer and founding member of Depeche Mode) and artist and lyricist Cliff Damavandi have shared two remixes of their haunting new track Cross Whisper, which features vocals from Gore’s daughter, Johnnie Lee.

The first comes from Lisbon-based Brazilian artist ANNA, who has previously remixed Depeche Mode and Martin Gore. Talking about her remix, which resonates with playful positivity, she said, “This remix came together after I had just spent five days at Ozora Festival, dancing, connecting with people and getting so inspired by the music, powerful grooves and energy there. I came back really excited to get into the studio and create something on that psychedelic vibe. And then Martin’s stems arrived, fitting perfectly with what I had in mind!

I made the remix so quickly and had so much fun doing it! I was dancing and jumping around the studio while creating it.”

Dutch DJ and modular synthesist Vera Grace brings different depths to the track. She explains, “I enjoy a challenge, especially when it pushes me outside my comfort zone. This was definitely one of those moments. The vocals and the different elements in the original track gave me a lot of room to experiment and play around with different ideas. I built several distinct parts, eventually bringing them together into one piece: a section driven by chords, and another where atmospheric bleeps drift through the drums, taking me in a different direction from what I usually explore in my techno productions.”

The track itself has an unusual genesis: while deep in conversation with some friends, the subject came around to unexplainable phenomenon. Explaining that “he wouldn’t be surprised by anything”, Gore went on to say that on several occasions birds had appeared when someone close to him died. In one instance, he was visited by an insistent bird, tapping ferociously at the window of his studio. Two days later he found out a close friend had passed, and he wondered about the symbolism and mythology that has surrounded birds since ancient times, and whether these birds could be a harbinger or messenger.

He goes on, “I was out with some friends and we started talking about death so I shared that whenever someone close to me has died, birds start appearing, sometimes arriving every day for a year outside my window. When my mother died, a bird came, and again when my dog passed. When my cat died, a bird came into the house and flew downstairs into the room where it slept!”

Cliff Damavandi was so moved by the story that he wrote lyrics that Gore then put to music. Damavandi expands, “When Martin was sharing his story, he was so alive, and I could feel the story as well as hear it. There was an otherness that compelled me to write the words.”

‘Cross Whispers’ opens with evocative whispered voices, that gradually give way to Gore’s synths. Undulating between melodic passages, the whisper comes in waves, alongside an insistent hammering, that mirrors the bird that visited Gore’s studio.

The track, released today on Mute, has been remixed by a whole host of artists, including Brazilian techno DJ and producer, ANNA; techno artist, DJ and label head Regis, Dutch techno artist Vera Grace, Boothnavy, and British hauntologist Pye Corner Audio, aka Martin Jenkins.

Cross Whisper 12” will be released on Mute on vinyl on 4 December 2026

Published post no.3,076 – Thursday 12 November 2026