Upcoming Single - ‘Drifting’ - June 2024
“Drifting is both a call back to my concept album ‘The Meadow’ and a planting-of-the-seeds for what is to come. As the journey beyond the meadow unfolds I want to let people in on the process of creation and exploration. Quite opposite to ‘The Meadow,’ it feels like letting people in early-on is how my next project will best blossom. It’s a risk considering I don’t have a full second album ready to go, but it feels right…” ~ Bay
\\\ The Meadow 2023 ///
“It's nothing short of a breathtaking debut album…”
- Piccadilly Records
The Meadow, released April 7th 2023, is Bay’s debut studio album. Alternative/folk/theatrical in nature, this concept album consists of 10 tracks and follows a central character who is stuck in an endless daydream of their own making —a summer-sun-soaked meadow— safe, warm and washed in golden light. Underneath the “golden” rays of comfort however lies a discord: a niggling call to go beyond the meadow. The songs, both directly and indirectly, explore an ongoing push-and-pull —to stay where we are safe or to risk the unknown. As we approach the final track on the album, “Beyond The Meadow,” our hero has become resolute in their intentions and stands at the threshold between where they have been and where they might be capable of going…
recent highlights…
DJ Luke Una with Bay’s LP of “The Meadow”
“One of the best things I’ve heard in a very long time… It feels like you’re listening to Nick Drake for the first time or John Martyn or Labi Siffre. It’s remarkable. I was weeping listening to this. Mind-blowing… F&%K ME. ” - Luke Una (video on instagram)
“The Meadow” on full window display at Piccadilly Records in Manchester (UK). Friday 7th April, 2023
“Beautifully phrased and swimming with surprising melodic turns, 'The Meadow' is a wonderfully written, highly evocative work. Influenced by folk but with wisps of modern classical and orchestral arrangements, providing a perfect backdrop for Bay's stunning vocals without overpowering them.” - Piccadilly Records
ALBUM LAUNCH GIG (SOLD OUT)
APRIL 6th - Deaf Institute - Manchester, UK
Bay celebrated the “The Meadow” with a very special album launch gig on April 6th, 2023 at The Lodge at Deaf Institute in Manchester, UK. Bay’s band performed the full album, accompanied by personal stories told throughout making it feel more like a piece of gig-theatre than your average gig. Notable DJ James Holroyd opened the night with a DJ set to set the tone for the evening. The gig was promoted by Sticky Heat.
Photo Credit : Andrew Aitch
THOUGHTS FROM BAY ON THE ALBUM:
“In ‘The Meadow’ album, I’m inviting you into my day-dream —a comfortably enclosed safe space, soaked by the golden sun of a perfect summer day that will never end. It’s the honest joy that I find in my ongoing reverie. It’s my melancholy and feelings of isolation. It’s my acknowledgment that I no longer belong here and the inner-turmoil that that brings. And it’s my biggest hurdle to overcome —am I even capable of leaving?”
“I hope that the album gives people a chance to get lost in their own current metamorphosis, however big or small it may be, and that it might help them find the courage or catharsis they need to go beyond their own meadow.”
“for me, It’s been a long and truly painful struggle at times fighting against that critical inner voice that says “who do you think you are? you’re nothing special. you’ll never be as good as (insert some name here)…” Stepping beyond the meadow for me means breaking away from my self-limiting world and into the world as we know it, as my full self (all the dark and light shades included), present and wanting to rise to the challenges ahead.
PRODUCTION: The album, self-produced and arranged by Bay (with further arrangement by Fraser Langton) features an incredible list of top-shelf musicians based in the north of England; Fraser Langton (clarinet, bass clarinet; plays in the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra), Sarah Bennett (flute, alto flute; plays in the Hallé Orchestra), Roisin Ni Dhuill (viola; plays in the BBC Philharmonic), Pete Mitchell (percussion), Sam Vicary (double bass), Claire O’Connor (trumpet), Tom Bennett (live field recordings), Mat Peters (synth textures); It was captured by Seadna McPhail at Airtight Studios in Chorlton, Manchester and mixed/mastered by Zach Kornhauser in NYC. MUSICAL STYLE / SOUND:Musically it feels influenced by folk but with wisps of modern classical and orchestral arrangements, utilising mostly acoustic instruments with added elements of synth textures/drones and field recordings to create its natural-yet-dreamy sound world. “Complex songwriting sees arrangements rise and fall with all the drama of the Rockies from whence he came; containing a wealthy palette of instrumentation - woodwind, bells, strings, and a faithfully plucked acoustic guitar which [Bryan] wields with a deft, fairylike elegance.” - Piccadilly Records
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:- Bay is planning UK tour for the Fall 2023. - R&D of “The Meadow” as a gig-theatre piece.Who is the Meadow for?The Meadow is for anyone who feels stuck in some aspect of their life and are longing to move forward. We are all being called to grow and to evolve. The question is whether we can overcome our reservations and just go for it.
“It’s not about one moment in particular, but the recurrent nature of life offering us adventures that pull us beyond our comforts. I’m hoping this album and the live show can bring us together, and make us feel we aren’t alone in our struggles…” ~ Bay x
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Press Contact - Jo Lowes presspufferfish@gmail.com
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