History of the band

The band LongPlay was created in 2013 in Dnipro (former Dnepropetrovsk), Ukraine.
At that time, participants have had deep common interest in free improvisation
and composing the electronic music.
Yury experimented with the existing multi-effect processors of different generations, and methods of guitar sound production,
while Yevgueny worked on mathematical synthesis of samples and direct programming the real-time sound processing.

The musicians have been inspired by success of locally conducted joint concerts,
and striven, inside the band, for embodying dense, multiform sounding,
allowing for expressing philosophic thoughts on "eternal themes",
beyond the reach of mass culture and its inherent flaws.
The flaws, in opinion of the band, are the following:
1. Concert sound power exceeding the pain threshold of human hearing.
2. Domination of drums-based musical arrangement of rhythmic pieces.
3. Prevailing of song-based music over the instrumental music, together with conventionally low quality and spirit of poetry as such.

LongPlay's music is based on the melody, with rich electronic background.
No percussion.
Rhythmic pattern, where it exists, is held by means of composition, taking into account specifics of instruments used.
Musical dynamics is analogous to classical music, varying in tempo and volume across the piece.

During jams and open rehearsals with a number of amateur and professional musicians, in 2013-2014,
the band drafted a list of compositions for the first album.
(Some of recordings of that time can be interesting even today, because many unique sounds and musical ideas,
introduced by guest musicians, could not be reproduced in the studio album. Open >>>)
Between late 2014 - early 2016, the work has been paused due to Yury's movement from Dnipro to St. Petersburg.

In June 2016, by initiative of Yevgueny, the band joined in Siversky (Leningrad obl.),
and, living in quiet natural environment, half-surrounded by wildlife, recorded four compositions.
In July, the musicians moved to St. Petersburg, and recorded three more compositions, completing the album.
While whole work took two months only, it concentrates the best ideas from the material of several past years.


      Chronology

2022-12-04 - official release of the album "With love to the home planet" (streaming & physical)
2021-05-22 - the album "With love to the home planet", together with solo recordings of band members,
  serves as background track in the cultural event "A night at the museum" (House of Arts, Dnipro).
2021-05-08 - Yevgueny played solo "Crazy life", in one-day joint arts exhibition/festival (House of Arts, Dnipro).
2015-present - technical development of
  1. On-stage live performance control and audio/video FX processing system.
  2. Distributed multi-user low-latency p2p jam session system.
  3. Electronic vargan (original software synthesizer).
2019-04-21 - guitar concert in Teletheater (Dnipro). The program included several compositions of LongPlay.
2019-04 - this web-page has been created.
2017-2019 - pause due to solo projects.
2016-06..07 - recording and mixing the album "With love to the home planet".
2014-01-08 - concert in Russian cultural center (Central scientific library, Dnepropetrovsk)
2013-02..12 - the initial rehearsals
2012-12 - background samples for "Sea" have been recorded
1998-2012 - collecting musical themes and ideas for the future compositions


      Present and future

Aside of "pure art" (composition, concerts, studio work),
members of LongPlay are conducting a number of activities.

Yury teaches guitar in St. Petersburg.

Yevgueny develops fully automated audio-video-FX system for live performances.
Another role is record-producer of author's music and songs, working with musicians, bands,
and clubs locally in Dnipro.

The new development

The band develops direct real-time computer-based visualization of playing musical tones (notes).
This is a prototype of the future hybrid form of art -
live creation/playing/showing the united flow of music and visual images, -
described independently by science fiction authors, in the middle of 20th century:

Ivan Yefremov, "The Andromeda Nebula", 1958
Isaac Asimov, "Foundation", 1951