Born on July 29: Stella Rose Gahan—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

Stella Rose Gahan was born in 1999 in New York. She is the only daughter of Dave Gahan, the lead singer of Depeche Mode, but she is reluctant to make a big deal out of it.

Stella Rose Gahan grew up in a family where art—and music in particular—played a central role. Her mother instilled in her a daily discipline of writing, while her father’s fame provided a unique artistic environment. But her parents insisted that she have as normal a childhood as possible in a New York City that was largely indifferent to fame from elsewhere. Even today, without hiding her heritage, Stella Rose prefers not to highlight her famous surname. Even though it’s obviously an open secret, the singer-songwriter intends to build a career on her own merits. And she certainly has what it takes to succeed…

She readily cites Patti Smith and Nick Cave among her major influences but also draws inspiration from everyday life in New York and observing people, and she doesn’t mind being labeled “goth” from time to time. In 2020, the pandemic gave her the time to immerse herself completely in songwriting. She pieced together fragments she’d collected over the past few years to craft her debut album, Eyes of Glass, produced in collaboration with Yves Rothman. This debut album was released in 2023.

A eclectic mix of postmodern folk, lo-fi rock—sometimes industrial ,sometimes indie—sheformed her first band, The Dead Language, playing regularly in clubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan. But she also doesn’t hesitate to perform solo on stage, without losing any of her charm. In 2024, the EP“Hollybaby” allowed her to expand and refine her repertoire.

Rejecting the excesses of the star system, Stella Rose emphasizes the importance of staying true to her principles, despite the weight of her surname: “My mother taught me that my father’s profession isn’t my identity. In New York, nobody cares about that, and that’s a blessing.” She did not, however, turn down the opportunity to open for Depeche Mode at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2023. The opportunity was obviously too good not to grasp!

Photo: Stella Rose on stage at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels (Belgium) on June 10, 2024