Interview: Liam Bailey

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Liam Bailey: Music to savour from this years soul saviour?

When Amy Winehouse founded Lioness records at the height of her tabloid nadir in late-2009 as a medium through which to promote the precocious talents of her 15-year old goddaughter, eyebrows were raised. Dionne Bromfield’s record of soul and Motown covers duly stumbled into the charts at 33. The vultures sniggered. But they were premature. Mercurial as ever Ms Winehouse is, last year she began touting a little-known Nottingham-born singer-songwriter called Liam Bailey, and this time she was onto a winner.

Anyone who had the fortune to catch Bailey’s debut EP 2am Rough Tracks may have thought they had been sent back in time by some benevolent musical Gods, where the marriage of gospel and rhythm and blues consolidated into the blissful sound of 1960s American soul. Recorded into a laptop with just a guitar for company, the stripped-back arrangement showcased a voice of raucous beauty – soulful yet incendiary, and entirely uncharacteristic of the slew of feted modern vocalists. With another fine EP, So Down,Cold, and a soaring cameo on Chase and Status’ top-5 stadium drum ‘n’ bass anthem ‘Blind Faith’ under his belt, Bailey appears primed for a starring role in a feel-good summer 2011. He talks about cornrows, insulting X Factor also-rans, and his debut long-player Out of the Shadows. 

So, the word on the wind is that you’re going to be this summer’s soul smash, à la Amy Winehouse, Plan B or, er, Duffy. What do you reckon? 

[Laughing] Really? I don’t know about that. But this summer should be good. I’ve got some festivals to do with Chase and Status and I’ll be doing some on my own. Summers are all about that feeling of being about 15 and watching Glastonbury on TV and thinking “I could do that”. Imagine that, but this time you’ve got a nice shower instead of horrible portaloos. To be fair, I just can’t wait for a summer when I feel really positive, because last year was difficult… 

This interview was conducted for The Line Of Best Fit. Go here to continue reading the full interview.

Under the Radar Indie Labels

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Guest blog on 'Under the Radar Indie Labels' for Virgin.com/music...

As another week of the X Factor bites the soporific dust, in its wake 21st century music aficionados could be forgiven for feeling a little left out.

Simon Cowell owns the airwaves; High Fidelity-esque niche independent record stores continue to close at an alarming rate. Oh, and Phil Collins is back in the top five of the charts. These are dark days, are they not?

Well, actually no. The charts may seem like a watered down recreation of a Friday night playlist at a cheap club, but that hasn’t stopped independent record labels springing up left, right and centre to get great underground music out into the public domain.

Some of our best loved bands of the past decade – from British Sea Power to Best Coast – have been housed by efficiently run and artistically fertile ‘indies’. Beyond these, however, there exist scores of tiny labels who put out records purely as a labour of love. Here are a few of the best under-the-radar UK independent labels you might never have heard of...

Read the rest of this blog at Virgin.com/music