The band has been highly influential in the electronic dance music scene, especially synthpop, techno, and trance, partly due to their innovative work, recording techniques, and use of sampling. Their most successful album is arguably 1990's Violator, which reached the #2 position in the UK, #7 in the US, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The band has released a long series of high-charting singles over their three-decades long career. Enjoy the Silence is their most recognized song and one of history's most covered songs.
The original line-up was Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke. In December 1981, Clarke left the band and later formed Yazoo, The Assembly, and Erasure. Alan Wilder joined the group initially in January 1982 as a live keyboardist but became an official member in December 1982. He left in mid-1995 to fully concentrate on his Recoil project, and the band continued as a trio. In 2010 Wilder re-joined Depeche Mode on stage after 16 years for a performance of Somebody during a show at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Depeche Mode's origins date back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore, and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards, and Fletcher on bass. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke, and Fletcher switched to synthesizers. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes" and Depeche Mode was born.
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records, approached the band, who proposed a verbal contract. The result was their first single, Dreaming of Me, recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981, reaching number 57 in the UK charts and followed soon by a real contract with Mute.
To date, Depeche Mode have released:
15 studio albums: Speak & Spell (1981), A Broken Frame (1982), Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1986), Music For the Masses (1987), Violator (1990), Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993), Ultra (1997), Exciter (2001), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), Delta Machine (2013), Spirit (2017), and Memento Mori (2023);
8 compilations: People Are People (1984), The Singles 81-85 (1985), Catching Up with Depeche Mode (1985), Greatest Hits (1987), The Singles 86>98 (1998), Remixes 81-04 (2004), The Best Of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006), The Complete Depeche Mode (2006);
5 live albums: 101 (1989), Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993), Recording the Angel (a series of live recordings; 2006), Tour Of The Universe: Barcelona 20/21:11:09 (2009) and Live In Berlin (Soundtrack) (2014) ;
Over 50 singles: including Just Can't Get Enough, Everything Counts, People Are People, Master and Servant, Shake the Disease, Stripped, A Question of Time, Strangelove, Never Let Me Down Again, Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, World in My Eyes, Policy of Truth, I Feel You, Walking in My Shoes, In Your Room, Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good, Home, Dream On, Freelove, Precious, Wrong and Heaven ;
14 live / video collections (VHS/DVD/Blu-ray): The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985), Some Great Videos (1985), Strange (1988), 101 (1989), Strange Too (1990), Devotional (1993), The Videos 86>98 (1998), One Night in Paris (2002), The Videos 86>98 (2002), Touring the Angel: Live in Milan (2006), The Best of - Volume 1 (2006), Tour of the Universe : Barcelona 20/21.11.09 (2009), Live in Berlin (2014) and Video Singles Collection (2016)
Freestate
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listen to your spirit sighing
I can feel your desperation
Emotional deprivation
Let yourself go
Let yourself go
Let your feelings show
Picking up the conversations
Deep in your imagination
Tune into the lonely voices
Talking of their only choices
Let yourself go
Let yourself go
Let your spirit grow
Step out of your cage
And onto the stage
It's time to start
Playing your part
Freedom awaits
Open the gates
Open your mind
Freedom's a state
I can taste the tears falling
The bitterness inside you calling
Yearning for a liberation
Emotional emancipation
Let yourself go
Let yourself go
Let your senses overflow
Step out of your cage
And onto the stage
It's time to start
Playing your part
Freedom awaits
Open the gates
Open your mind
Freedom's a state
In "Freestate" by Depeche Mode, the singer is urging the listener to break free from emotional and psychological restraints that are holding them back. The lyrics "Let yourself go" and "Step out of your cage/And onto the stage" suggest that the listener needs to take a risk, be vulnerable and embrace their emotions. The song puts emphasis on the importance of being true to oneself and letting one's feelings show. The line "Freedom's a state" offers a sense of hope and the realization that the journey towards personal liberty is a process that requires perseverance and mindfulness.
The words "I can hear your soul crying" and "I can taste the tears falling" encapsulate the emotions of despair and sadness that come with being unfulfilled or suppressed. The lyrics "Listen to your spirit sighing" and "Let your spirit grow" remind the listener that they have the ability to reach their full potential and that it starts with acknowledging their own desires and hopes. The line "Freedom awaits/Open the gates/Open your mind" reinforces the idea that self-discovery and liberation are possible if one opens themselves up to new experiences and perspectives.
Line by Line Meaning
I can hear your soul crying
I sense that your inner being is in turmoil and distress.
Listen to your spirit sighing
Pay attention to the deep sorrow that your soul feels.
I can feel your desperation
I sense that you are in a state of hopelessness and despair.
Emotional deprivation
You feel like an inner part of yourself is starved of emotional nourishment.
Let yourself go
Allow yourself to be free from the constraints holding you back.
Let your feelings show
Open up and express your emotional truth freely.
Picking up the conversations
Tuning in to your mind's inner dialogue.
Deep in your imagination
Within the depths of your mind's imaginative capacity.
Tune into the lonely voices
Concentrate on those parts of yourself that are isolated and alone.
Talking of their only choices
These parts express that they feel they have a limited amount of options.
Let your spirit grow
Allow the innermost parts of yourself to flourish.
Step out of your cage
Escape from the limiting confines of your mind and self.
And onto the stage
Expose the full extent of yourself and your emotions.
It's time to start
This is the moment to embark upon a new direction in life.
Playing your part
Doing what you feel called to do and that feels authentic and true.
Freedom awaits
True liberation is within your reach.
Open the gates
Remove the barriers that are obstructing your path.
Open your mind
Allow for new perspectives, feelings and perceptions to enter.
Freedom's a state
Freedon is a place you can reach within yourself and 'become' rather than attain.
I can taste the tears falling
I can discern the deep sadness and sorrow within you.
The bitterness inside you calling
There is a part of you that feels resentful and acrimonious.
Yearning for a liberation
You crave the feeling of freedom of thought and expression.
Emotional emancipation
You desire to liberate yourself from the shackles of oppressive emotional states.
Let your senses overflow
Allow yourself to be flooded with emotions and sensations.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind