Letting Go of the Long Game with Tyler Lyle

(Photo Credit - Andrew Thomas Lee, @andrewthomaslee)

Tyler Lyle, co-founder of the synthwave duo The Midnight is back with his first solo record since 2019 in Trascendalist. The record continues Lyle’s tradition of dynamic songwriting rooted in folk traditions. We had an opportunity to chat again with the Atlanta-based artist on the record and how it came about.

Transcendalist is a record that’s rooted in turmoil, joy, growth, and hardship. You experience a move back to Georgia (your home state), fatherhood, and your wife’s triumph over cancer. You’re one that always puts a great deal of deep meaning into your songwriting. Can you touch on how these highs and lows impacted your process for making this latest solo effort?

“There were two things at play. The first was my switch from confessional singer songwriter style to writing inside a descriptive world for The Midnight starting around the time Endless Summer was being written. I was getting tired of my story as the narrator of my songs and started building The Midnight’s lyrical environments from more symbolic and archetypal ground that was less centered around me as a character.”

“The second was a missed deadline for a Midnight project. Tim was having creative blocks, and I had a child to care for, so I felt like I finally needed to get good enough at production to help keep us from that situation in the future. I set about to make a follow up to my solo album The Floating Years as a large 40 song project about crossing boundaries. I wanted to call it The Transcendentalists. After getting the news about my wife’s cancer, I stopped production and took a break on the project. When I re-approached the 40 song mega-project, I realized that my productions weren’t as good as I wanted them to be, and I also realized that I needed to cut down the big story to simply my story. I had to re-approach the role of confessional songwriter again after almost a decade away. Instead of my productions, I hired my friend Dan Gleason (bassist from Grouplove) and TJ Elias (front of house for Manchester Orchestra) to help record a band (adding Rhett Shull on Guitar and Ben Homola on drums) and we tracked the songs I deemed to be “my story” from the larger batch. We tracked most of the songs live with no click, and it was such a magical few weeks and everything came together really fast. This record began as a broad statement about The self, and ended as a direct confession from myself.”

Most people know you as one half of the fantastic synthwave duo, The Midnight. I'm always interested in process when it comes to how artists write and record their music. Can you share how your experiences in solo efforts differ from how you and your songwriting partner Tim McEwan in that project?

“I’m so grateful for Tim. He’s meticulous and obsessive about things that I am utterly blind to. My superpower is that I’m always curious to follow any inspiration down any rabbit hole. This means that my blind spots sonically are consistency and quality. I can write a lot of varied material quickly, and have had to devote myself to the process of writing on a schedule. Tim is project oriented. He’ll obsess over a kick drum for months. He perfectly mirrors me creatively and has been our quality control. With my solo work in the past, it’s always been a process of trying to gain independence from a producer. Their “sound” becomes your “sound.” Which, in the case of The Midnight, has been a good thing. But on this record I had 20 years of playing shows and making records behind me (as did most everyone who played on it), so it was very collaborative, very spontaneous, and had the sonic imprint of everyone on the record, rather than just one single producer’s narrow vision (though Dan Gleason did a masterful job of directing the chaos and I’m overwhelmingly grateful for his leadership).”

I think this record sonically really reflects some of the diversity of the experiences you went through when shaping it (both highs and low). Some songs are a bit more paired back such as “Letting Go of the Long Game”. Whereas, others like “Nagano” are bit more upbeat tempo wise. I know I asked about the thematic piece related to your experience songwriting for this one. How do these experiences also impact the tracks from a musical perspective?

“The whole record is about living in death’s shadow. You have to find a way to find the upbeat moments. There’s a generosity there that is also a kind of self preservation in subverting some of the heaviness. It has to move beyond its theme, and for that to happen, it needs levity and uplift and caprice. Starting with “Letting Go of The Long Game” and ending with “Rainbow Eyes” means there’s a lot of strange territory to explore, and sticking to one tone traps you from some of the more strange way stations (“Violet Priest”, “Pondicherry”, “The “Strategist”).”

In our previous chats you have shared you originally played in more folk themed acts at the beginning of your career. I know that there as some of that on this record, such as “Violet Preacher”. However, there are some more power driven aspects, and even some aspects of keys and notes you’d hear on a record you might make with Tim. I was wondering how you’re able to capture such a diverse array of sounds and influences in a way that seems seamless from a listenability standpoint?

“I’ve been doing this for a long enough time to know when the song wants me to break its own rules. We employ all the tricks (“Letting Go of The Long Game’s” chords are so asymmetrical and unintuitive, “The Strategist” changes time signatures, “Pondicherry” has a key change and uses parallel keys) because that’s what needed to happen. There’s a time for simplicity and a time to adventure out. Whatever my taste is as a musician making a record, it has been honed by the records I love and the people I’ve worked with.”

There is a lot of guitar work, especially acoustic stuff on the record. We have quite a few gear heads that follow us. So I have to ask, what are some of your favorite guitars you like to utilize, especially on this record?

“I used an Alvarez baritone, a rubber bridge, a six string ukulele, and of course my Martin D-28 Clarence White and my Gibson Hummingbird. I recently picked up a Colling’s after going to the factory in Austin last month though, and it sounds so good, I think I need to make a new record. The electric stuff was all Rhett’s dark wizardry.”

What are your plans on sharing this record with the masses? Also, how would a Tyler Lyle show vary or be different than a show with Tim and The Midnight? Additionally, how do you feel your role differs in a solo live show, versus one where you’re part of an act with multiple contributors?

“I view the two roles as one and the same: sing the songs you wrote to this audience who is here tonight. I’m the singer and the lyricist in both projects. I’ve been playing my solo songs publicly since 2004. Usually that means me and an acoustic guitar sharing my story in smaller rooms, but this time around, I know too many stellar musicians I want to play with live. The Midnight is a blast of a live show, but it will always sonically be Tim’s baby. My sonic baby is from the south. It loves synthesizers and pink noise and big indie rock drums and samplers and fretless banjos and fuzz guitar. I haven’t had the opportunity to push that limit yet, but I’m very much looking forward to that opportunity.”