TheLongoodBye Represents The Echoes of a Mysterious Soul
TheLongoodBye is a phantom, a spectral figure haunting the Parisian and Tel Aviv underworlds. With a mind as vast as the cosmos and a heart that's a tempestuous sea, he's a riddle wrapped in a mystery. His debut EP, "Tomorrow Never Came Was," is a stark, self-produced odyssey that marked his introduction to the world. And though European stages, especially Paris, have felt his enigmatic presence, his true element is the solitude of his piano.
Currently, he has poured his soul into "The Best," a melancholic lullaby that's a window into his enigmatic world. A blend of drama and a devil-may-care attitude, his music is a heady cocktail of intellect and emotion, served with a side of existential blues. It's as if a film noir detective stumbled into a piano bar and started pouring his heart out. The beauty of it all? He's probably as lost in the music as we are.
In an exclusive interview with Rival, ThelongoodBye delves deeper into the depths of "The Best" and offers a glimpse into the EP of the same name. Prepare to be enchanted, perplexed, and utterly captivated.
Let’s get to know you a little bit better. Who is TheLongoodBye, and where does the name come from?
Well, TheLongoodBye is a band consisting of one person because no one else ever joined but me. Not for a lack of trying.
But the solitary situation is perhaps not an accident, which corresponds quite nicely with the origin of the group’s name. It is based on the movie The Long Goodbye by Robert Altman (but not on the book, mind you). The film follows the solitary private eye Phillip Marlow as he drags his feet around town, quite unwillingly, as he needs to solve one problem or another.
What was your gateway into making music?
My parents renovated the living room when I was a kid and had nowhere to put the piano, so they stuck it in my room, against my will! But it all turned to the best. I hope.
Tell us about the artists that have informed your sound.
The artists I love funnily enough didn’t influence or help form my sound (if I have one), if I ever tried sounding like them, I never succeeded, honestly. But they did influence my writing. Do I really have to name names?
How do the distinct cultural landscapes of Paris and Tel Aviv manifest the music you make, if at all?
Who can tell, really? I can say this though, being a true escapist, I always want to go where I’m not. I think these places serve as a fantasy when you’re away. So Paris influences me more while I'm dreaming about it than when I’m actually there! So do other cities.
Tell us about your newest track, “The Best”. Where does it come from?
When I first started writing it, I thought it was heavy and dark—talking about lies, standing trial for honesty in a relationship, then declaring yourself worthy of pardon by being the best jerk because you articulate your nonsense beautifully. But then it felt funny, and maybe not so serious after all. Seems like a laughable idea, really. Singing with me is the wonderful Lea Petges, who sings the Greek chorus, narrating my own private tragedies.
Can you share any specific creative breakthroughs or challenges you experienced while developing the new EP "The Best"?
Every song is a mystery and a challenge. Sometimes it happens fast and sometimes it takes forever. But it shouldn’t take forever. The lesson here is, as it is always in life, to let go and move on without having certainty. Easier said than done, as my song wisely suggests!
What’s on the horizon for TheLongoodBye right now?
I want to do a lot! But I never succeed in that. But hopefully more and more music soon. It does take me a long time usually, as I’ve said. And also, I am kind of poor (relatively speaking), so who knows how one funds that next thing? But I don’t know how I paid for the previous. It’s quite a mystery, or magic. So I’m just pushing on, singing as I’m going along.
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