Large chats to Liam Bailey on the eve of gig at the Apollo opening for Plan B

You’re in Manchester over the next month on tour. Do you know the city well?

 Yeah I’ve spent quite a lot of time up here, so know the place and people. I played Night and Day Cafe last year, and a night my friend runs at Band on the Wall called Hedge which I played in January, plus I already knew mates living up here, so I’m no stranger.

How do you find Manchester audiences?

The folk audiences are always really cool and open to my music, but sometimes I find that indie scene a little bit intimidating because a lot of the kids seem a bit too cool for school, like they don’t like to dance. But in general, yeah, there’s an energy up here I enjoy. If  I was going to move anywhere outside of London, it would be Manchester.

Are you excited to be supporting Plan B and Jessie J?

I am, but at the same time I like to get the first gig out the way because I feel like a dog searching for a lamp-post. Finishing the first show is like a relief, after that i can be excited but until i step off the stage, I’m just a bit restless and on edge.  Both artists are really cool though, and Jessie J is the opposite of what you’d expect, really down to earth and easy to talk to.  It’ll be interesting to see the type of crowd Plan B attracts though with his new stuff, as it’s such a change from his debut. Fans from the early work can turn a bit nuts when success comes, claiming you’ve sold out or whatever.

Since the release of  first two EP’s 2am Rough Tracks and So Down, Cold last year, you’ve garnered a lot of attention- has it all been good?

No matter what you do, along the way you’re always going to get haters who judge everything you say or do, so I don’t pay much attention to be honest. It’s nice to not be the black sheep of the family anymore. There are certain things in life you have to have to prove you’re not a failure, like paying rent on time and not having any debt, and being a musician it was pretty hard to achieve them, but my mum’s happy now. I always said i was going to make it, i’d get a record deal, and just proves i was right!

Not many people know you were the vocalist on Chase & Status’s Blind Faith single, released last month. How did that partnership come about?

Well they’d put the record out to a few vocalists, but nothing was working, and through mutual contacts they approached me. It came at the perfect time, as i received a copy after I’d just come back from the LED Festival in London, which is a dance music focused event, and on first listen i loved it, it made sense with all the stuff I’d been listening to the previous few days. At the time it was just the ‘sweet sensation’ chorus vocal, which took me back to hearing the original when i was about 12, hanging around Nottingham getting into trouble. We eventually added more lyrics, and here we are today.  

Sam Cooke and Bob Marley are just two of the comparisons which have been made to you music, are there any that you’ve heard and disagreed with?

Not really disagreed, but the Amy Winehouse link comes up time and time again, which frankly is a bit lazy. For one, her music has jazz roots, a genre totally different to what I play. She didn’t discover me, I was already signed to Polydor and in the process of recording my stuff, and she heard a few tracks which were just spontaneously put together. I put the first EP out on her Lioness label, and we just decided to make a second. Don’t get me wrong, she’s great, but being asked about this one detail repeatedly gets a bit annoying.

The upcoming album, due for  release in May, was produced was Salaam Remi, who has worked with Nas and The Fugees. That must have been an experience.

Yeah it was amazing. I went to Miami to record with him, and the journey there was a bit nerve wracking because obviously he’s worked with these big names, and is a total pro. All the way there songs of his kept coming into my mind and I was getting more intimidated. But I got there and he was just incredible. I’m going back out to see him in April to jam for a bit, so he’s become a mate.

 http://www.liambaileymusic.co.uk/

 

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