[Journal de Québec / Montréal] Standing Under Bright Lights: An Intense and Genuine Journey
As published in Le Journal de Québec / Montréal
Read the original article here
Standing Under
Bright Lights d’Alex
Henry Foster
When Alex Henry Foster found himself on the stage, in July 2019, to perform the songs of his solo album Windows in the Sky, it was for what he thought would be a first and a last. 21 months later, he releases the album and DVD Standing Under Bright Lights that tell the story of this concert.
On the phone, the singer from the Quebec band Your Favorite Enemies, is voluble. The interview, which should last 30 minutes, would stretch over 1 hour.
“When I released Windows in the Sky in November 2018, I didn’t have the ambition of bringing this venture any further. It was personal and introspective. I didn’t mean to go on stage with this project”, says the singer of Your Favorite Enemies in a discussion.
Windows in the Sky is an internal journey in which he celebrates his father, taken by cancer in 2011.
“It was very personal, and I didn’t think it would reach people. I even thought I had done everything in my power for it not to work”, he remarks.
And suddenly, the album, far from the sound of Your Favorite Enemies, knowns an unexpected success. Laurent Saulnier, vice-president of the programming for the Montreal Jazz Festival, offers Foster carte blanche for a concert at the Club Soda.
The concert takes place on July 5, 2019, accompanied by 11 musicians, a scenic setup, a light show, and projected images to provide an immersive experience.
“It took me a lot of time before saying yes. I wondered if people would want to listen to someone complain for 2 hours”, he says.
A book
Alex Henry Foster wanted to be surrounded by a mini-orchestra, noise, feedback, and stringed instruments. The guest musicians asked him if they’d get sheet music.
“There were none. I wanted this to be intuitive and for everyone to let go to the moment and the emotions. I didn’t want the concert to be a reproduction of the album. The album is around 60 minutes, while the concert was around 2 hours”, he explains.
The show, sold out, has been a real success and was made a second time at l’Astral, in Montreal.
Back in Quebec when the pandemic struck, Alex Henry Foster starts writing a book about the intimate journey that followed his father’s passing. The book will be published around the end of summer. Some fans wrote to him to ask if he’d release a DVD of the concert at Club Soda.
“I started asking questions, and I realized that the concert had been filmed and recorded. The sound was excellent, and the intensity of the show had been well captured. Almost no edits have been needed. It was genuine, and I wanted to share this moment”, he recounts.
The song “The Son of Hannah”, which opens Standing Under Bright Lights, has been composed during the rehearsals, a few days before the show. The idea was to offer some kind of introduction to the show and to give it a touch of the present.
After 50 minutes of interview, Alex Henry Foster confirms that Your Favorite Enemies isn’t over.
“Some things are coming up, and there will be, one day, a new album. And when we will come back, it will be in the right way” he tells, talking about a genuine and honest comeback.
YVES LECLERC
April 17, 2021