Welcome to the first in a series of 30 articles intended to build hype for The Bays first USA appearance at Camp Bisco in August. If you are not familiar with The Bays, they are a four piece band based out of the UK. The Bays have a mantra that says “The Performance is the Product,” and as such they will not try to sell you anything other than a ticket to the show. The lineup is Andy Gangadeen on drums, Chris Taylor on bass, Simon Richmond on keys/synths and Jamie Odell on samplers, pads and effects.
While The Bays do not write any music or release records, there is a wealth of material available if you are willing to do some digging. I’ve spent a long time tracking down as much material as possible, and now it’s time to put it to good use.
2002-10-30 Boat Club, Nottingham UK
Originally recorded for John Peel’s seminal radio show, this set is a great showcase of the dynamic range The Bays are capable of. I wanted to start this series off with a banger, and this set certainly fits the bill. While the Bays are well known for their drawn out ambient/downtempo intros that slowly build energy, this set skips all that and jumps right into a quick drum & bass groove. After about twenty minutes of chopped up drum & bass madness Andy drops into a downtempo beat to set up a smooth interlude into the next dance party segment.
As the beat changes again, we hear the beginning of an ominous synth line that will take us into some the darker material The Bays are capable of. As they build layers of sound into a house jam liberal use of vocal samples add an eerie touch.
The set is drawing into the final third and as such the band decides to kick things into high gear once again. A new glitchy drum beat comes in heavy on the e-kick and more sampler madness sets up the next jam. The techy beat quickly jumps back into full breakbeat mode to lead into the exciting finale.
The Bays Homepage
The Bays Myspace
Camp Bisco
The Disco Biscuits
Disco Biscuits Recordings