Premiere • Goodbye Tomorrow: "Virtual DJ Set V. 5.0"
The music world’s spotlight is permeating Chicago's every nook and cranny right now, but there’s one group going out of their way to avoid sun blindness. Goodbye Tomorrow doesn’t want a lack of accolades, by any means, but they are very aware of the celebrity persona hype machine, preferring their music to speak for itself. And speak it does; Goodbye Tomorrow’s music offers both in depth lyricism tackling all sorts of life’s complications, and a next-level approach to production that you’re not hearing anywhere else. Combining these two strengths, you get a rap duo unlike anyone else in the city.
Today we’ve been blessed with a premier of their new mix, Virtual DJ Set V. 5.0, and it's overflowing with a futuristic glance at some of Goodbye Tomorrow's music, some golden oldies, current bangers and a whole lot of wild production. Even if you've heard a song 50 times, you probably haven't heard it as presented by this mix. There's great balance here, with Goodbye Tomorrow taking tracks from the likes of Frank Ocean, Thugger, Kodak Black (along with a whole lotta Wayne and salutes to the late, great, Shawty Lo) then sandwiching in local Chicago artists such as G. Herbo, Lud Foe, Goodbye Tomorrow themselves and more. And it's worth mentioning again, because we can't emphasize this enough, fans of niche electronic music need to spend some time with this mix. Consider it an hour extremely well spent.
We had a chance to chop it up with Goodbye Tomorrow - read below for more insight on the collective's process!
Goodbye Tomorrow is a collective, but we only really know about the MC / Production side of the group. What can you tell us about the other members of, and sides to, Goodbye Tomorrow?
I think it's easier to understand Goodbye Tomorrow as a concept moreso than a collective. I wouldn't describe anyone as a member of Goodbye Tomorrow, but rather I'd say that Goodbye Tomorrow is expressed through them and their work. I say that because I, the MC, also do the bulk of the visuals. At the same time, one of my best friends is opening a concept retail space in Chicago called Congruent Space. I do the creative direction and some of the visuals for that too, so you can't call it a "Goodbye Tomorrow store" but the ideas and concepts I put into our music will manifest through that platform as well. And he in turn, has been a contributing "member" of Goodbye Tomorrow since day 1, from designing merch to styling videos. The main producer, Stan Sono, got his own music outside of GT, but I help write for that, ya feel me? Vince takes photos, but he's a part of the store too. Bouvy manages but he contributes all across the board. It's just an endless collaboration that's too intricate to describe unless you experience it in real life. Because if we are members, then everyone we worked with is too, cuz them niggas is a part. Lil homie that played Q'Seem in The Way is still around. Rick Wayne did all the first album videos. The newest one we did is a collab with a French Animator, and I know we finna do way more work together. How can a member of Goodbye Tomorrow really be quantified?
What have the biggest changes been for Goodbye Tomorrow following your decision as a group to go independent?
Definitely having the final word. I think too often dealing with a 3rd party, it's hard for them to translate an artist's message in the exact way it's gotta be said. And in addition, I think not being subscribed to the rules and red tape of the current system allows for bigger ideas and faster growth.
In today’s music world, persona can be as important as the music itself. As a group that performs in relative anonymity, is this a statement against that trend, and what extra measures do you take as artists to ensure that your personality as individuals and as a collective reach the audience?
Not a statement against personas by any means, but more so a challenge to the current way we think about artists. We aren't out here with classified folders and masks on and shit, I just don't say more than I think I need to, and that usually ends with the song or visual or whatever content I make. The media, in practice, makes us anonymous because they aren't given any information to run with in a traditional bio format. That decision is moreso to put the art, ideas, and energy at the forefront, but because the status quo is to provide headshots and a corny bio, and we don't follow that route, we're kind of put into that anonymity as much as we put ourselves there. That's just a statement on how rigidly structured industries can't properly communicate really out there thinking. I think that extra measure we take to connect with the audience is another big piece of what has changed since being signed. Now we can operate on the channels we want and have a better understanding and connection.
Regarding past VDJ sets, you had mentioned that you wanted to create a mix that shows dark and light as two sides of the same coin (to me, your inclusion of Wayne’s “I Feel Like Dying is the perfect example of this). Is that still your intention, and if not, what is your current motivation behind the Virtual DJ series?
Yeah, there's always a story or theme or that pervades each one we do. This one starts out in this dark place musically, and you hear Uncle Iroh from Avatar tell you to keep moving forward, then you gradually move through the darker sounding songs into more uptempo stuff.
Chicago is undoubtedly a rap city, but you’ve incorporated a lot of unique electronic production here, leading to some truly dope blends. What do you look for when choosing production for a mix like this?
It's music we live with to be honest, and we just try to put it together and curate it in a way that makes sense musically and thematically. How we blend the songs always has a meaning of some sort, whether it's lyrically or sonically or something else, there's a lot of detail put into everything we do, including these mixes... And of course a lot of it is just excitement for amazing music.
What can we expect from Goodbye Tomorrow going forward?
New shit, you feel me? This legit crazy website that kind of delves deeper into how we got to where we are and what I stand for. It started as a site to sell some merch shirts when we drop new music, but I got obsessed with making it more and more complex and crazy. New music and new visuals will always be a constant, but look for us to push past screens and speakers. The live show we designed and beta tested at the end of last year is going to debut properly, and Congruent Space, as a platform, will give Goodbye Tomorrow a more physical and real connection for people to grab onto.
I hope you all found that as interesting as I did. See Goodbye Tomorrow's website, Soundcloud and Twitter page for all updates!
