Edition #19
Rediscovering My First-Ever Concert Through Your Eyes and Perspectives
My dear friends,
I hope you are all doing great, that you and your loved ones are already welcoming or foreseeing some of the most inspiring promises the new year has to offer, regardless of the pandemic still shadowing over our lives. Every little piece of joy is enough of a reason to embrace a daily shine of happiness or at least to cultivate a greater sense of hope in better days to come our way… That’s how I’ve learned to approach my every morning shade now. I otherwise feel too gloomy to even see the spring light arising from the majestic mountains surrounding my home… I’m counting my blessings.
One of these blessings was for me to spend a truly meaningful moment discussing with you while watching the live broadcast of the concert that gave life to the album Standing Under Bright Lights. It was the first time I was watching the show since I have decided to release it, and it was incredibly moving for me to discover and rediscover its soulful nature through your eyes and perspectives. I usually hate to listen to myself back, let alone watch me, but sharing with you transcended it all, as it wasn’t about me, but about what those songs and the emotions they bloomed from are for all of us now. And that is the greatest possible sensation I could feel, knowing that the free and liberating nature of the songs gathered us all together…
It’s beautifully humbling for me to witness the supportive, inviting and respectful community we became. I have been told they were people from France, Germany, Austria, the UK, Iran, Italy, the USA, Canada, Belgium, Egypt, Hungary, Morocco, India, Switzerland, Thailand, Poland, Lebanon, Norway, Japan, Netherlands, Mexico… How fabulous and incredible is this kind of fellowship! It was quite an empowering gathering for me to be a part of, as it reminded me that no matter how divided the world might presently be, there is a profoundly vibrant and transformative desire to connect with others, to be a part, if only a tiny one, of something that’s inviting and non-judgmental. That’s how it felt to me in everyone’s interactions that day.
Therefore, since I was asked several questions during our collective screenings, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to publish some of them for the benefit of those who weren’t able to attend the live viewing sessions and also for everyone who wasn’t able to capture the subtleties of the different languages going on in my answers. I assembled as many questions and answers as I could and had them all translated to French, English, Japanese, and German for most of you to capture the essence of what had been shared. I unfortunately can’t offer any other translations at this point – at least for now. Many of my new friends have generously offered to help me translate in their own languages next time around, however, which is awesome, as anyone who attended any of the shows I held with the Long Shadows during my latest tour supporting The Pineapple Thief probably wants me to stop trying to speak Polish or Hungarian ever again…! So if you’d like to help me with translation, just send me a message.
Thank you again my dear friends for offering such a unique meaning to the songs, but even more for offering the most significant present there is, which is your kind and patient friendship.
Much love,
Your friend and brother,
Alex
PS: The Standing Under Bright Lights YouTube live viewing sessions are still available on my YouTube channel for everyone to discover and dwell on. Can’t wait to also see you on tour this summer in Europe and UK.
I hope you are all doing great, that you and your loved ones are already welcoming or foreseeing some of the most inspiring promises the new year has to offer, regardless of the pandemic still shadowing over our lives. Every little piece of joy is enough of a reason to embrace a daily shine of happiness or at least to cultivate a greater sense of hope in better days to come our way… That’s how I’ve learned to approach my every morning shade now. I otherwise feel too gloomy to even see the spring light arising from the majestic mountains surrounding my home… I’m counting my blessings.
One of these blessings was for me to spend a truly meaningful moment discussing with you while watching the live broadcast of the concert that gave life to the album Standing Under Bright Lights. It was the first time I was watching the show since I have decided to release it, and it was incredibly moving for me to discover and rediscover its soulful nature through your eyes and perspectives. I usually hate to listen to myself back, let alone watch me, but sharing with you transcended it all, as it wasn’t about me, but about what those songs and the emotions they bloomed from are for all of us now. And that is the greatest possible sensation I could feel, knowing that the free and liberating nature of the songs gathered us all together…
It’s beautifully humbling for me to witness the supportive, inviting and respectful community we became. I have been told they were people from France, Germany, Austria, the UK, Iran, Italy, the USA, Canada, Belgium, Egypt, Hungary, Morocco, India, Switzerland, Thailand, Poland, Lebanon, Norway, Japan, Netherlands, Mexico… How fabulous and incredible is this kind of fellowship! It was quite an empowering gathering for me to be a part of, as it reminded me that no matter how divided the world might presently be, there is a profoundly vibrant and transformative desire to connect with others, to be a part, if only a tiny one, of something that’s inviting and non-judgmental. That’s how it felt to me in everyone’s interactions that day.
Therefore, since I was asked several questions during our collective screenings, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to publish some of them for the benefit of those who weren’t able to attend the live viewing sessions and also for everyone who wasn’t able to capture the subtleties of the different languages going on in my answers. I assembled as many questions and answers as I could and had them all translated to French, English, Japanese, and German for most of you to capture the essence of what had been shared. I unfortunately can’t offer any other translations at this point – at least for now. Many of my new friends have generously offered to help me translate in their own languages next time around, however, which is awesome, as anyone who attended any of the shows I held with the Long Shadows during my latest tour supporting The Pineapple Thief probably wants me to stop trying to speak Polish or Hungarian ever again…! So if you’d like to help me with translation, just send me a message.
Thank you again my dear friends for offering such a unique meaning to the songs, but even more for offering the most significant present there is, which is your kind and patient friendship.
Much love,
Your friend and brother,
Alex
PS: The Standing Under Bright Lights YouTube live viewing sessions are still available on my YouTube channel for everyone to discover and dwell on. Can’t wait to also see you on tour this summer in Europe and UK.
your questions, my answers
Why write the song The Son of Hannah specifically for this concert? – Cynthia, USA
It felt to me like I needed to introduce the cornerstone of Windows in the Sky to the people, which was my father, and a reflection of myself as well.
How many musicians were you that night? – A lot of you from all over the world!
We were 11 at some point. We were supposed to have a violin player as well… to keep all the songs in their simplest forms… or so. I also wanted a small choir for Shadows of Our Evening Tides. They had to explain to me a few technical details.
How did the idea of adding more musicians come to mind? – Aurélie, France
I needed to free myself from my fears and doubts, to follow my instinct, and trust myself. I’ve been toying with the idea of setting up a mini-orchestra for quite some time.
Have you planned more moments like this that would involve all those musicians? – Emilie, France
The concept of The Long Shadows is for me a living organism that evolves according to the nature of my projects, so yes I would absolutely like to work with them again.
In the intro of the song Winter Is Coming In, I hear some voices in many languages. In Japanese, I hear the weather forecast news. It also feels like tuning the radio or something. Why did you want to add such a sound at the beginning? – Tsugumi, Japan
The sequences you can hear are the emotional pulsations we are all experiencing when we are in a state of confusion. The languages are different, but those feelings resonate through us all.
What was the vocal sample “The Weight of the World” in the song Shadows of Our Evening Tides? – A few people from different countries
It’s actually the lecture Allen Ginsberg did from his poem Song at the Columbia University in New York.
I can only imagine how many rehearsals this took. Regardless of how extremely talented you all are. Chapeau. How many rehearsals Alex? – Justin, UK
We didn’t rehearse, we are that good… I would only say a “few” to keep the myth alive.
Why haven’t you played Snowflakes in July live that often? – Michael, Switzerland
It’s a very personal song. It’s about hopelessness and desperation… it’s a deep journey towards the light… therefore it’s difficult to live that kind of profound emotional let go.
The lavender color sky… I wonder what such intermediate color represents? – Yuushi, Japan
It represents the color I saw every evening when I was standing on the rooftop terrace in Tangier. I spent those moments grieving my father, as if it was him offering me comfort in my desperation.
Why consider cutting the song Lavender Sky out of the album? – Lots of you, worldwide
I needed to come to peace with the emotions it carried, I didn’t know if I would have enough courage to share that song with others.
That’s amazing that you’re using a MOOG. Is there a reason why you’re so into synthesizers? – Anakasi, Japan
I like to explore whatever instrument serves the emotions of the songs. That’s why there are so many different instruments around me when I’m writing songs or rehearsing with the band.
Alex, normally what comes first? music or the words? – Shona, UK
Images come first.
About the song The Hunter, I might have asked before but what is the relationship / connection between English and Japanese spoken words? – Tsugumi, Japan
The Japanese element in the song represents the emotional turmoil that stands between solace and desperation.
Were there any unforeseen moments that only you know about? – Isabelle, Canada
Yes, I was making signs throughout the entire concert to the other musicians.
Why are you not more well-known in France after all those musical releases? – Cyrille, France
I believe there is a combination of factors. The central point was the difficulty it has been for me to compose with my anxiety to expose myself for who I am during my years with Your Favorite Enemies.
Do you play any Your Favorite Enemies tracks when you headline a tour? – Duncan, UK
There are some songs that would make sense as they are very personal, but I still need to keep both universes free from one another at this point. Maybe From the City to the Ocean would be one of those songs.
Are you going to join the next tour with The Pineapple Thief? – Jean-Maurice, Canada
Unfortunately, we will not be part of the next adventure of The Pineapple Thief. I’m going back to the studio to start the pre-production of a new project… oops, that was a secret.
Hearing this song for the first time in London was surreal. Alex Henry Foster, will there be any recordings available of your last tour with The Pineapple Thief? – Alim, UK
I’m presently entertaining the idea of doing a special and limited-edition project about the last tour, but it’s always a little more complicated to do so when you are the support act and when the tour production isn’t too comfortable with the prospect of seeing a post-tour project being released by the opening band… Everyone has a different perspective about that type of outcome depending on the scene you are from, the degree of trust you have been able to establish with the people in charge, or the level of closeness you were able to get with the main act… So I’ll see what can be done, but I would absolutely like to do some sort of project to celebrate that tour made that much more significant as it took place between COVID and its variants…
Apart from the short set times, what was the best thing about touring with The Pineapple Thief? – genius149
The blessing to meet fantastic people night after night.
Will you come back to Poland and Hungary with The Long Shadows this year on your European tour? – Many of you, mostly from Poland and Hungary…!
Yes! We will play in Kraków and Budapest… It’s still a secret. More info to come soon!