The self-produced music collective’s latest song is about saying goodbye… but PTMRS isn’t going anywhere.
When I think of breakup songs, my mind usually wanders first to the sad ones (Adele’s Someone Like You), then the vengeful ones (Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know), and finally the liberating ones. Who hasn’t cranked Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive to maximum volume while purging everything that reminds you of your ex? Bye Bye, the latest release from PTMRS, lands squarely in the third category — a song about realizing after letting someone go that you’re truly happier without them. The track pairs punchy percussion with bright synths, giving it a distinctly 80s sheen. I asked PTMRS producer Jay P.D. to share a bit more about how the song came together.
Jay explained that PTMRS wanted a song that was “energetic, melodic, and immediately fun to listen to,” and that Bye Bye originated with the sound and the beat first, with the theme and lyrics coming second. “I liked that contrast between a breakup song and music that feels upbeat and freeing.” And that sonic buoyancy does real work — the production doesn’t sound heartbroken, even when the bridge briefly acknowledges the pain underneath all the swagger:
I cut the thread connecting us
We can’t go back to where we used to be
My heart hurts
But we gotta say bye bye
(English translation by the author, with clarification by PTMRS)
The hurt is real, but it doesn’t get veto power.
Once the music and lyrics took shape, vocalists Minnie and Uki each brought their own unique styles to the track, the interplay of their voices “giving Bye Bye more color and energy than it would have had with just one vocalist,” according to Jay.
But he was quick to emphasize that for PTMRS, “the song comes first. I don’t want to start a record thinking, ‘This is what a PTMRS song is supposed to sound like.’ We make something we like, and then figure out what that particular song needs and who makes sense to bring into it. With Bye Bye, that happened to lead us to Minnie and Uki and to a brighter, more energetic record. I’d rather have people recognize PTMRS by the choices we make than by having the same sound every time.”
I asked Jay if anything surprised him about the finished track. “Every finished song is a bit of a surprise,” he shared. “I think that’s one of the things I enjoy about making music. I can start with a pretty clear idea of where something is going and still never know exactly what I’m going to hear when it’s finished.” With Bye Bye, Jay described imagining Minnie singing her parts a particular way, “but she delivered it a different way and it sounds much better.” Likewise, the idea for the dramatic spoken section during the bridge came from Uki, even though it was initially written to be sung.
As for what PTMRS hopes listeners will take from Bye Bye, Jay’s answer was straightforward: “More than anything, I hope people have fun with it. The message is pretty simple: sometimes saying goodbye isn’t sad; it’s a release, and you can be genuinely happier afterward. I like making music that has enough personality and emotion to connect with people without overcomplicating the message.”
Finally, Jay confirmed that Bye Bye is the beginning of more frequent releases and additional collaborations. “Consider this track the beginning of PTMRS Season 2.”
Bye Bye celebrates discovering that an ending can feel remarkably like a beginning. And for PTMRS, that’s apparently true too.
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