Martin Gore and Cliff Damavandi Unveil Haunting New Collaboration, ‘Cross Whisper’
Martin Gore, songwriter, electronic composer and founding member of Depeche Mode, has collaborated with artist and lyricist Cliff Damavandi on a haunting new track, ‘Cross Whisper’, featuring vocals from Gore’s daughter.
The track 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 ferociouslyat 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!”
, “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.
Watch the visualiser for ‘Cross Whisper’ by MG x CD + JL = HERE
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
Pre-order HERE
Credit Image Travis Shinn