MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere Of Josh Joplin Group’s “Goodbye Berlin”

Berlin is one of those places Josh Joplin dreamed about as a young man.

“It’s about a time, a moment, an aspiration—like New York City or Tokyo, Los Angeles or Singapore,” says Joplin. “When I left it, I had an out-of-body experience, and I felt a force pushing me back from entering the jetway.”

Such was the inspiration for “Goodbye Berlin,” the latest single from GpYr, set for release April 4. The rootsy modern rocker’s first album in 20 years under his own name follows a pivotal point in his life, when he left music to be a full-time dad. His hiatus was not without its moments of productivity. There were three albums from Among The Oak & Ash, a collaboration with Garrison Starr, Bryan Owings and Brian Harrison, and his NarrowMoat production company is behind a handful of award-winning independent films.

The Josh Joplin Group made its official comeback in 2022 with a 20th-anniversary reunion show in Atlanta, and the band’s uncanny chemistry is a key factor in GpYr, which was co-produced Grammy-winner Lorenzo Wolff (Taylor Swift). In a full-circle familial moment, Joplin’s 20-year-old daughter, Lomie, adds guitar and vocals to “Before The Light Takes Us.”

Now based in Chicago, Joplin introduced “Goodbye Berlin” to Wolff just a few days before recording began on GpYr. “It’s old,” says Joplin. “My friend and I recorded it in a band we invented where we could both be British and broody. We kept listening to the original recording and considered recording it exactly like that. Then we tried doing it a few different ways—slowing it down, speeding it up; drums, then no drums.”

At some point, Wolff suggested they bring in the band, press record and go from there. “And that’s what we did,” says Joplin.

We’re proud to premiere Josh Joplin’s “Goodbye Berlin” video.

—Hobart Rowland