David Longstreth

When I first heard the Dirty Projectors some time in 2012 I was blown away. (I think it was either “Two Doves” from the “Bitte Orca” record or “Maybe That Was It” from “Swing Lo Magellan”… don’t remember it exactly). I fell in love with this music right away.  The creativity and the searching quality of Dave Longstreth’s songwriting and production style simply amazed me. Also the way he leads the band was a big inspiration for me. Actually, it feels strange to single out specific things that I admire about him and this music, it’s the whole package… !

I then made an effort to check out as many Dirty Projectors records (and bootlegs) as I could.  Among my favorite albums are “Mount Wittenberg Orca” “Bitte Orca” & “Swing Lo Magellan”. I remember a tour through South America with my trio where I exclusively listened to Dirty Projectors (and Maria Callas singing Puccini’s “Tosca”!) for the whole tour. I love this band and I keep finding new things in those recordings all the time.

My composition “Longstreth Blues” (as heard on my album “GLOW II“) is my tribute to his music. In it I tried to channel a couple of things I learned through listening to Dirty Projectors.

I went to Berlin to see them live in August of 2018 and I got the opportunity to interview Dave Longstreth in the afternoon before the concert. I was super excited to talk to him and ask him a few questions. Hope you enjoy our conversation!