Photo credit: Matt Snelling

Bailey’s background is already pretty impressive with her single “Bright Red” hitting the #1 spot on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts for criticising a local hotel in Cornwall who destroyed coastal headland for G7 meeting space. 

“Bright Red” also saw Bailey featured in The Times, The Daily Mail, The Financial Times, The Independent, Cornwall Live and BBC Radio 4. Plus, she’s already been compared to Taylor Swift by country music legend Brad Paisley, been supported by BBC Introducing and BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris and supported both Nick Mulvey and KT Tunstall on tour dates.

Now, returning with wisdom and lyrical intrigue, she’s ready to share what she’s been working on over the past year with the release of her new single “Can’t Lose”.

Rooted in sepia-toned americana, the new single’s guitar plucks and sleek instrumentation cushions its listeners with a blanket of warmth. Underscored with her soft vocals, which emit a maturity from an artist with bold ambitions, the single’s driving rhythms and glowing sax addition from Michael Underwood (Rex Orange County), entices you into the hazy world of Bailey’s intimate yet expressive folk sounds.

Tell us about your story as an artist

I’m an unsigned, unmanaged 22-year-old singer/songwriter from St Ives in Cornwall. From the age of about 9, making music is pretty much all I’ve ever wanted to do, so I’d play every chance I got. I guess my artistic development was pretty unusual in that at 13/14 years old I’d just wander into local pubs on a winter’s evening and sit around in guitar circles with a bunch of much older men just kind of learning my trade really. They’d be teaching me Eagles and Led Zep tunes. That education has very much informed the sound I make – I want to fill stadiums so I write pop hooks but my songwriting heroes are musically authentic too like Carole King and Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. I’ve had a couple of really cool things happen professionally, I’ve been in the national press a few times – The Daily Mail called me “Britain’s answer to Taylor Swift!”, I was in Hello magazine and got signed by Select Models to their talent roster. And I’ve had a few setbacks too – like when I was asked to play a showcase for some major labels and then Boris shut down the entire country! I’ve got a lot of exciting things happening this year and I feel like I’m just starting to write the story!

What do you think is the most important aspect of your life right now?

The thing I’ve been working on for the past year was my sound. All my favourite artists have a unique sound to them and that’s something I wanted to achieve, I really feel that this new EP has done this for us, the band and I have worked so hard on it and we just can’t wait for everyone to hear it. This year we’ll be touring the material and it’s incredible how all the time and energy you put into something is just out in the world like that!

The EP is a real assembly of my favourite kind of music, the way I’d describe it is surf-rock meets Americana/folk, it’s a sound we’ve grown into and developed to make our own.

What makes this song special in your opinion?

I think a big thing about this song particularly was the quality of people we had work on it. So, “Can’t Lose” was written by myself and Scott Fleming and then I worked on the arrangement with my awesome band for quite a long time before we took it into the studio. 

Michael Underwood who performs with Rex Orange County performs saxophone on the song, which I think really elevates it. The final mix was done by the legendary John Cornfield who worked on Definitely Maybe with Oasis and with Muse. It’s still my vision for the song but having people around me of that calibre really added levels.

What inspired this track?

There’s a line in the movie “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days” that was “Well, you can’t lose something you never had” and it really stuck with me. I was listening to a lot of ’80s east coast rock when I wrote ‘Can’t Lose’ — Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen that kind of thing, I had in mind a real homage to the New York sound of that era, and adding Michael Underwood’s (Rex Orange County) incredible sax to the band really helped bring that energy. I even managed to sneak a nod to Carly Simon in the lyrics too.

What are some of the core messages here?

The song came from an idea of same city, different world. Being close to someone yet feeling so far away from them. When you break up with someone you shared a lot of the same interests with, that doesn’t disappear.

How do you think tik tok and social media are contributing to change an artist’s career?

I’m pretty conflicted about it to be honest. Obviously, I see the professional benefits around being able to find and connect with an audience but there’s also this part of social media that’s just so toxic and deliberately throwaway – I think it can create art that mirrors that. I want to make music that appeals to somebody’s ears and soul not some algorithm.

What excites you about your life?

I earn a living doing what I love, I consider myself exceptional blessed by the people I have in it. My band are awesome and I feel like there’s a lot of runway ahead of us.

What are some of your core values as a human being?

I doubt I’ve got any new blinding insight to impart here, I guess honesty, integrity, sustainability and authenticity mean a lot to me.

What are your projects for this year?

It’s a busy year. I’m right in the middle of a UK tour, playing places I’ve never played before which has been really exciting. I’ve got an EP ready to release in the Spring called “California Fire” that I worked with the band on so I’m super proud of it. Beyond that, I’m writing pretty much all the time and I’m actually doing some co-writes with some insanely talented people. There’s a couple of really cool summer festivals lined up too, then in Autumn I want to take the band on the road if I can.