From Nashville with love – James Bay’s latest passion project
The British singer’s new album is inspired by his girlfriend, he tells Alex Green
James Bay remembers standing in Nashville’s hallowed RCA Studio A as his producer, Dave Cobb, recalled the parade of eradefining artists who had recorded there before him.
Tony Bennett, The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Leon Russell and more recently Paramore – the list goes on.
The Hitchin singer-songwriter, 30, also remembers feeling a sense of calm during that moment back in spring 2020. “Some time in the late 70s they had Dolly Parton in there,” he explains. “She sang Jolene and I Will Always Love You one three hour session – and that was the rest of her life made. I thought, ‘Right, no pressure then’.”
Despite his protestations, Bay has had ample experience dealing with highpressure situations. He was discovered at an open mic night in London and signed a record deal off the back of a Youtube video. In 2015, he received the critics’ choice award at the Brits and the year after he was named best male solo artist.
Armed with a bluesy voice and compelling ballads like Hold Back The River and Let It Go, Bay has been on an upwards, globe-trotting trajectory ever since.
At least, until coronavirus hit, though he managed to complete recording of his third album in Nashville, Tennessee before returning to the UK in March.
With his debut, 2015’s Chaos And The Calm, Bay established himself as a bluesy pop maestro and topped the charts. Album number two, 2018’s Electric Light, saw him throw away his trademark fedora, cut his hair and adopt a funkier R&B sound.
It sold less well but marked a significant step forward, incorporating spoken word and hip hop influences.
What then to expect of his third outing?
Written in quiet moments during his pre-pandemic tour schedule, this coming record is really about one thing: his girlfriend of 13 years, Lucy Smith.
The pair have been together since they were teenagers doing their GCSES in Hertfordshire. “We have been together for 13 years. We live together and we have been through this mad journey together. She is my best mate.”
There have also been early suggestions of what to expect from the album musically.
The first single, Chew On My Heart, arrived last year with a blissed-out pop chorus to rival that of George Michael in his pomp.
Despite being produced in Nashville, this is definitely not country music.
Bay knew early on that Cobb was the man he wanted to produce the record. A six-time Grammy Awardwinner, Cobb has worked with the cream of country music – the recently departed John Prine, Brandi Carlile and was recruited by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper to help produce the soundtrack for A Star Is Born.
“He’s a brilliant producer in his own right,” Bay offers.
“He has done a lot of Americana and country in the past but really wanted to step out of that bracket and move into something more global – more pop maybe.”
● Chew On My Heart is out now. James Bay’s third album is expected later this year.