Elles Bailey - Shining In The Half Light

Size: 91.0 MB
Time: 38:50
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front & Back

01. Cheats And Liars (3:48)
02. The Game (3:04)
03. Stones (3:25)
04. Colours Start To Run (3:28)
05. Different Kind Of Love (3:59)
06. Who's That (3:41)
07. Sunshine City (4:17)
08. Halfway House (4:48)
09. Riding Out The Storm (4:38)
10. Shining In The Half Light (3:38)

Bristol-based singer, songwriter and bandleader, who has powered her way to the forefront of the British blues and roots scene in recent years, unveils her eagerly-awaited third album Shining in the Half Light. Crammed with vibrant originals brought to life with her A-list touring band, it's yet another significant step forward in a career already feted with awards and acclaim. Shining in the Half Light is Bailey's first full length album recorded in the UK & features Joe Wilkins on guitar, Jonny Henderson on ivories, Matthew Waer on bass duties and Matthew Jones on drums. It was recorded in deepest Devon in December 2020 at Middle Farm Studios and produced by Dan Weller, best known for his long working relationship with Enter Shikari.

Elles wanted this record to feature 'gospel style vocals' so in steps Izo Fitzroy, an incredible artist in her own right, who arranged the stunning background vocals on the album, and performed them alongside Jade Elliot and Andrusilla Mosley. An exciting team of co-writers feature with three credits for Ashton Tucker & Will Edmunds, who both wrote with Elles for 'Road I Call Home', plus she teamed up with longtime guitarist Joe Wilkins to write the slow-flowing, philosophical 'Riding Out The Storm'. Other kindred spirits include guitar maestro Martin Harley, for the gentle and romantic 'Different Kind Of Love' and Matt Owens, co-founder of the hugely successful indie-folk outfit Noah and the Whale, on the aforementioned 'Sunshine City'. The album comes to a striking conclusion with its title track, co-written with Nashville's Craig Lackey, written over Zoom in May 2020.

Shining In The Half Light MP3
Shining In The Half Light FLAC

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Elles Bailey - Sunshine City EP

Size: 103 MB
Time: 15:23
File: FLAC
Released: 2021
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Sunshine City (4:17)
02. Woman Like Me (4:04)
03. Walk Away (3:15)
04. Love Is Gonna Win (3:46)

Elles Baley is issuing a special, limited-edition, 4-track CD: ‘The Sunshine City EP’. This includes ‘Sunshine City’, ‘Woman Like Me’, ‘Walk Away’ & ‘Love is Gonna Win’.

Elles Baley is a smoky-voiced dynamo, who straddles the worlds of Americana and the blues, garnering accolades in both. She recently worked with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys in Nashville, writing the song “Little Piece Of Heaven” with him and Bobby Wood. It won UK Americana Awards Song Of The Year. Also in 2020 she scooped Artist Of The Year from the UK Blues Awards for the second time in succession.

Her singing and songwriting skills are equally stratospheric as evidenced on albums Wildfire and the UK Blues Awards winner of Album Of The Year, Road I Call Home. She has powered through the pandemic, releasing both a live album, Ain’t Nothin’ But, and her first child. She hopes to further her reputation as a road warrior as COVID restrictions lift.

Previously she has toured with Grammy Award winner Mike Farris, The Kris Barras Band and King King. She also shared the stage with Beth Hart at Ramblin’ Man, The Temperance Movement at Swing Wespelaar Festival and appeared at Nashville’s Americana Fest as part of the ‘House of Songs’ collaboration. There is much more to come from this hard-working chanteuse.

Sunshine City EP

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Elles Bailey - Road I Call Home

Size: 90,2 MB
Time: 38:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues Rock, Americana
Art: Front

01. Hell Or High Water (3:47)
02. Wild Wild West (3:16)
03. Deeper (3:15)
04. What's The Matter With You (3:52)
05. Medicine Man (3:40)
06. Road I Call Home (3:00)
07. Foolish Hearts (3:40)
08. Help Somebody (3:39)
09. Little Piece Of Heaven (3:03)
10. Miss Me When I'm Gone (3:34)
11. Light In The Distance (3:46)

After spending a year touring Europe and North America promoting her first album, ‘Wildfire’, it seems appropriate that ELLES BAILEY’s second album should be called ‘Road I Call Home’, as that’s where the majority of this latest album was conceived. Once again heavily promoted by a UK tour, this is your chance to catch the ascendance of Bristol’s finest Americana vocalist in some of the country’s more intimate venues.

Partially recorded in Nashville, and featuring collaborations with the likes of Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, and veteran songwriter from the Nashville Hall of Fame, Roger Cook (another Bristol prodigy), it’s no big surprise there is a country feel to this album. But there’s still a strong backbone of blues and a touch of soul mixed in there too, as evidenced by the Ramblin’ Man announcement of an appearance on their blues stage.

This album starts with the slow burner ‘Hell or High Water’ which gradually builds up from a moody country song into a bluesy power guitar ballad. Which sets the tone for the rest of the album, as it unfolds in a similar vein to the likes of Joanne Shaw Taylor. Both are blues-rooted but have collaborated and recorded in the home of country and western, so it’s no great surprise to find the lines are blurred between country and blues, and the cross over works well for both artists in their own way. And just to emphasize this, the second track, ‘Wild Wild West’ is straight out of Nashville, with a little rocking blues thrown in.

Adding a bit of Hammond organ, and a couple of horns, ‘Deeper’ is a much more soulful track, perfect for Elles husky smoking vocals, allowing her to stretch her repertoire to show she’s not about to be tagged as a country artist. Then we’re straight into a classic blues number for ‘What’s the Matter With You?’ ~ALLY CUTHBERT

The first single from the album, ‘Medicine Man’ charted in the Amazon Blues Chart, and got airplay on Radio 2, and a well-deserved number 1 on iTunes Blues Chart, despite having a strong southern country sound to it, and lyrics straight out of the wild west, the sound is tempered with a slide guitar, and that Hammond organ, that still manages to keep that bluesy feel in the background.

The albums’ title track ‘Road I Call Home’ opens with a catchy drum beat and a quick slide up the keyboard, then bursts into the story of life on the road for a travelling band. Constant touring and playing festivals these days is the way of life for artists who want to establish themselves in a very competitive and cruel market. But this track is upbeat, full of hooks and the joys of living your dream.

There’s another change in style for following track ‘Foolish Hearts’, slowing the pace right down to a moody soul stripping love song, allowing Bailey to ride the range of her vocals. But we know this is a blues album when ‘Help Somebody’ opens with a harmonica sounding like a steam train whistle, and has the full support of the brass section, all the staple ingredients of a classic blues band.

‘Little Piece of Heaven’ is a cheery, feel good, Americana love song, nothing too bluesy or country about this one, just an easy, laid back piece of music. Whereas ‘Miss Me When I’m Gone’ goes back to that country blues that is prominent throughout this album. The vocals are the main thing here as always, but the band are more than able to support whatever genre they are asked to produce and work well together to make the music flow seamlessly in the background.

Final track ‘Light in the Distance’ brings a Gospel sound to the album, which fits in well with the Americana mixture already played previously. Stripped back to just the keyboard and vocals, gives Bailey a final showcase of her vocal talents.

Road I Call Home

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Elles Bailey - Wildfire

Size: 112,8 MB
Time: 48:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Blues, Country, Soul
Art: Front

01. Wildfire (4:33)
02. Same Flame (3:22)
03. What If I (3:33)
04. Barrel Of Your Gun (3:10)
05. Perfect Storm (3:41)
06. Let Me Hear You Scream (3:25)
07. Shake It Off (4:40)
08. Shackles Of Love (3:42)
09. Believed In You (4:17)
10. Howlin' Wolf (3:42)
11. Girl Who Owned The Blues (5:47)
12. Time's A Healer (4:22)

Wildfire, perfectly captures in a word the burning power of Elles Bailey’s vocals and stage presence as she sings blues that have captured in its blue flame, country, roots and soul. The voice is smoky with textures and tones that pulls out lyrics and coats them in Elles special brand of Bristol fanned Wildfire.

Often the word unique is used when talking about an artist especially on a debut album. In the case of Elles Bailey it is most definitely true. Her blues fuelled sound is lived-in, and is the fortuitous result of a childhood illness. Having recovered from both viral and bacterial pneumonia; her voice at the age of three had changed, leading to her ENT specialist prophetically observing, “If she ever wants to sing, she’ll be a natural blues vocalist!”

Wildfire started out as a demo that she had arranged to cut in Nashville whilst on a family road trip as Elles explained, “You know, ‘when in Rome’ and all that? But what was meant to be just one solitary track took on a life of its own. Before I knew it, boom, we had a whole album!”

Elles has surrounded herself with musicians chosen so that your ears mine through rich veins of blues tones and textures. Using musicians from both sides of the Atlantic, from USA guitarist Brent Mason and Chris Leuzinger, pianist Bobby Wood; and the rhythm combo of bassist Mike Brignardello on bass and Wes Little on drums. We always love some more glitz so joining the Wildfire party legendary Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter Roger Cook came on board. Once back in the UK adding their depths of musical talents and blending the music into a continuous perfectly woven tapestry are Jonny Henderson on Hammond organ and Joe Wilkins on blistering guitar. Without the skills, oversight and direction from producer Brad Nowell this could have been a fire burning out of control instead we have music that is balanced and sumptuous.

Opening with a howl of guitar conjuring up wilderness, Wild West the scene is set with the title track as blues meets country coming back down the road. What really captures your musical ear is the voice; Elles has an understanding of the lyric taking it slowly, giving the words space and building the tension. The music and lyrics paint a visual picture in your minds-eye creating cinematic music. The winning combination of Bobby’s piano and Jonny’s Hammond soothes the soul as her vocals drop with smoothness of whipped rich cream sharpened with a jolt of citric. The song is wistful and you empathise with the pain she is feeling as the drums beat out the road she has to travel as the perennial question What If I is asked again and again through the track. Leaving you wondering about your past asking your own What If I question.

Half way through the album and the delta slide guitar blues has an outing with Let Me Hear You Scream, again the shaping of the vocals gets the story told and we just want to hear her vocals growl with intent when she sings the title. The tempo rises as if the wind is fanning the fire with Shackles of Love her soulful modulation and backing vocals curl around the instrumentation that she has under total control.

Again, the tones are full of interest country with added values as we check in to Barrel Of Your Gun, starting smooth the vocals harden and the mesmeric qualities of music that is rooted in the blues and flowers free using the qualities of lyrics vocals and musicians she has surrounded herself with. With a tribute to the blues man on Howlin’ Wolf we hear her howl and celebrate the blues in her own way that will become a trademark as her career further establishes itself. The music slows, her vocals sung softly as we have a true blues number with Girl Who Owned The Blues; Elles Bailey already owns her style of blues in her hands, Wildfire is going to win her more. Closing the album out with Time’s A Healer; leaving us with a quiet gentle number reflective and the voice shimmering like a reflection in a pool of silver water. Another picture painted and we want to listen to the album all over again.

The only slight dampening of the flames in the music is that the tempo across the track is fairly similar, perhaps rather than blending the styles as she has in the majority of tracks. Some celebration of soul country and blues so listeners can see the variation and the power of the blending. This minor irritant did nothing to stop me enjoying the dozen tracks. Elles Bailey, has created a debut album that is sassy blues, modern using the rich treasure chest of roots, soul and country to create an album that burns hot and is fresh whilst being hot. This is music that crosses genres because it is excellent. The future of blues in UK is hot and strong with the fiery breath of Elles Bailey singing out to entertain and keep the blues alive. Wildfire, Elles Bailey What a Stunning Voice! Elles Bailey Scorching Debut Album Wildfire is hot with husky vocals blending roots sounds from Blues, country & soul set to be Voice of The Blues.

Wildfire

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