BEATING A PATH TO GRAMMYS
Nick makes ballot in three categories, including ‘Record of the Year’
AN album produced by Wexfordman Nick Bailey of Extreme Rhythm has made it onto the official ballot for three potential Grammy nominations in the 59th Grammy Awards which will take place in Los Angeles, California next February.
The album ‘Saturn’s Shadow’ has been shortlisted in the categories of Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Record of the Year for the track ‘Leyanda’ and Best Arrangement Musical or A Capella for the track ‘Enter the Dragon’.
The album was recorded in Dublin late last year with an electric band and small orchestra consisting of some of Ireland’s top session musicians. Frontman Nick produced it himself and did all the musical arrangements.
‘It’s a huge honour and a great thrill to make it into the prestigious Record of the Year category which is the top category at the Grammy Awards,’ he said.
Last year’s final nominations in this category included Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson and was eventually won by ‘Uptown Funk’.
‘I’m delighted and humbled to make it onto the official ballot. Seeing your own album in the company of such incredible artists is an amazing feeling - the standard is unbelievably high this year and it’s a privilege to be part of it,’ he said.
The final Grammy nominations will be announced on December 6 and Extreme Rhythm will have to wait until then to find out if they are on the awards list.
The Grammys are presented annually by the Recording Academy to recognise outstanding achievement in the music industry for best recordings, compositions and artists during the past year. The CBS network will broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 12.
In the meantime, the band will be busy with gigs in Ireland, England and Cyprus, with their first home performance in three years due to take place at the National Opera House on Saturday, November 26. ‘Battle - The Show’ is a collaboration with the New York violin duo Sephira and successfully toured Europe in 2015. This is the first time it will be performed in Ireland and tickets are currently on sale. Extreme Rhythm will also appear as special guests in ‘Sing Out Loud’ in the National Opera House in November.
Founded by Nick almost 15 years ago, Extreme Rhythm have enjoyed memorable experiences, performing on the X-Factor and at Wembley Arena.
‘We’ve had some truly incredible experiences but even compared to the X-Factor of Wembley , this one is off the scale. I’m still trying to get my head around it,’ said Nick of the Grammy ballot.
Extreme Rhythm have recently been performing in Latvia, Sweden and around Ireland.
Nick plans to attend the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles if the album gets a nomination.
‘How often would you get to attend the Grammy Awards as a participant,’ he said.
‘Saturn’s Shadow’ is available on itunes, Apple Music, and Spotify
Physical copies of the album are available at Nick’s official website:www.nickbaileyofficial.com