goodbye X Rankd
Greetings, goodbye
Goodbye (stylised as ‘goodbye’) – Brighton’s freshest offering comprised of a hand-picked bunch of Brighton’s grassroots masterminds, effortlessly progressing up the rungs of the ladder to secure their spot in the conversations and watch-lists of eager-eyed music lovers across Brighton. While caught under the wings of their local music scene, the infectious buzz of ‘goodbye’ has moved across the country – with appearances in London and Colchester alongside ‘Flip Top Head’ – a captivating orchestral sextet that also reflect a new era of experimentalism and adventurousness sweeping across the city.
Delving into the ongoing rise of Megan, Alfie, Jake, Sarah, and Elik’s latest project, we nestled in the corner of Brighton’s newest hangout – ‘Alphabet’ – priding itself on setting a new standard for sound quality and atmosphere, ahead of their opening set later that evening. Shrouded in a low-lit ambience, we reflected and reminisced on all the highlights during their short lifespan, and looked ahead towards a flourishing future.
"It's just been unbelievably heartwarming and flattering. It's been really sweet. We come from very different walks of life within the Brighton scene, and all have welcomed us with open arms."
On their local reception, Sarah comments – ‘everyone’s kind of come together through the project. I’ve been in Brighton pretty much my whole life, I played my first ever like headline show at Green Door Store – it’s just like always been part of my life. I think showing up and meeting people through that scene, through grassroots venues is giving us all the platforms to come together. I wouldn’t have met you guys if I wasn’t working in Green Door:
Green Door Store is an integral cog to the inner workings or Brighton’s grassroots music scene, and a sentimental hangout nestled under Brighton train station. As a social hive, many local creatives use the space to network, support, discover and work! Alike many other bands, these spaces create the frameworks for talent to blend, and bands to emerge – and ‘goodbye’ is the latest product of this. While Jake, Elik, Alfie and Sarah had established their previous projects in Brighton’s creative melting pot – this is Megan’s first taste of musicianship in the city.
While Green Door played a huge part in the five of you crossing paths – was there a recruitment process when selecting the final line-up?
Elik: It felt very natural. As soon as we all got in a room together, things just clicked. The sound sort of was born on its own, we didn’t really have to try too hard, I think.
Sarah: I remember the little text that I got.
Alfie: I was so scared about it. I think I drafted it. I did one of them when I was on the bog, I do my best thinking on the toilet. I did the draft in my notes page, reading it over, like asking you out on the first date or something – then I just had to copy and paste it into Instagram. I was shittin’ it man, because I thought if this goes well, this is our future sorted here.
Sarah in the team – it’s the dream!
With ‘goodbye’ surfacing unexpectedly on a random Wednesday in August, announcing a debut show at Brighton’s self-proclaimed sweatbox ‘Rossi Bar’ the following month, many flocked to secure a spot and speculated the sound that the quintet had nurtured backstage. The mystery and uncertainty surrounding ‘goodbye’ rippled instantaneously, and the show was a shoulder-to-shoulder sell-out. Crammed in the corner of a plastic-clad stage, the band struck their first note and captivated the room as they revealed a refreshing, unfamiliar sound. Intertwining guitar melodies blended with silky vocal harmonies, dancing playfully around a rigid guitar and bass backbone – a sound fluctuating from gentle whispers to cascading pinnacles of chorus filled bliss.
‘goodbye’ will be welcoming the new year at Brighton’s Hope and Ruin alongside ‘Sad Dads’ and ‘School Disco’, alongside the aforementioned ‘Green Door Store’ for it’s widely celebrated birthday party.
Watch the full interview on rankd.uk