It is with great pleasure that I can be the first one to find out what past Time, the Valuator vocalist Philipp Bayer has been up to since his departure from the band in 2018. Phil is known for his incredible highs, which he delivered with flair in the band’s underrated album How Fleeting, How Fragile. Today, I get to catch up with the talented singer and see what he has in store for the world:
The New Fury: Time, the Valuator’s “How Fleeting, How Fragile” was a sleeper hit – what have you been up to since your departure?
Philipp Bayer: I was mostly focused on myself at first, tried to reset my mind to a certain degree, which worked out good at first. Then I slowly started losing myself again, because music is the thing I love the most in this world, I just couldn’t take being away from it anymore. Close to a year after my departure, I lost two family members. My grandma to old age, my uncle to cancer, those events hit me very hard and I wouldn’t let myself grief over them too, because I was afraid to break down completely if I would let those feelings come through. In addition to that my long term relationship also fell to pieces shortly after. What a rough patch. I had to start over again if I wanted to make it out of that dark place I was trapped in, so I started a new job, moved to a different city and tried to cope with my grief through music.
New Fury: I saw you in the studio with Galleons – I absolutely loved Metropolis. What was it like collaborating with them?
Phil: It was great actually! Tom (Byrne) is just an overall great guy and super easy to work with. We got in touch because of my interest in Australia, but we somehow clicked along the way and wanted to create something together. I can’t wait for you all to hear it, proud of how it all came to be!
New Fury: You’re characterized by your impressive high register – how did you learn to hit such high notes with ease?
Phil: By accident! It’s a simple and short story actually, I was singing along to ‘Masamune’ by Periphery in the car and when that ‘cast away’ part came on, I was suddenly able to hit those notes. I tried recreating that a couple of times shortly after until it became a natural thing to me! I can’t explain the technique to anyone if I needed to, it just kind of happened and now it’s an integral part of my capabilities. It’s not always easy though!
New Fury: What brought you to make the decision to leave at the high point with TTV?
Phil: Well first and foremost I desperately needed to take care of myself, physically and mentally. I was exhausted from trying everything I could to make all components of my life work. I was juggling the band, a full time job and my then relationship all at once, trying to make everyone happy. That definitely took a toll on me, my fire just burned out, I needed to leave in order to find my priorities and myself again I guess. When I look back on that decision I have no regrets, it was the healthiest decision for everyone involved, including myself.
New Fury: It’s in the early stages still, but what can you reveal to me about your new image/sound?
Phil: Well I started writing new music with Alessandro Zilio for the project moniker ‘Spihra’. We’re aiming for a very calm, but still energetic kind of sound ranging from piano driven music, to electronic and rock. ‘Spihra’ is going to see the light of day by the end of this year with our first piece of work, very excited about that! I’m also working with different artists in the form of writing sessions for fun. Who knows, maybe there’ll be something else created in the process as well! Generally I’m trying to distance myself from the heavier spheres of music, kind of more interested in what else I can do besides that. Despite that, everything that I’m gonna do will still have lots of emotion and energy to it, that’s just how I like to work.
New Fury: What is your dream band to tour with currently?
Phil: Having to pick one band or artist to tour with is very tough… I’ve been listening to a lot of different types of music in the past years and if I had to name a few that I’d love to tour with that would probably be Don Broco, Jordan Rakei and The Band Camino.
The New Fury extends a huge thanks to Phil for taking the time to talk to us and reveal so much, as well as Famined Records for making this happen! We’re very excited to see what comes of Spihra later this year and will surely be reporting on it when the time comes!
