The Bays are an English group of musicians who only play live

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

Electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. They have never rehearsed nor recorded in a studio as they do not release music commercially and are independent of record labels. Their slogan is "Performance is the Product".

Performances

The Bays gig regularly and are known for their live shows. Sets are improvised, with the band playing off the mood of the audience and the atmosphere. Performances vary from an ambient set to one that is predominantly

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

, typically including several genres melded into a continuous piece of music, similar to a DJ set. Electro,

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

Techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

, Hip-hop,

Trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

, Ambient,

Drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

, Dub,

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

and

Breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

, are all styles mixed into their sets. They have headlined The Big Chill Festival and the dance tent at the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

and have played at events including the Sri Lankan

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...

festival, the Hotaka Mountain Festival in Japan, Dour Festival and

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...

festival in Belgium and the Skol Beats festival in Brazil. They appeared at the Glastonbury Festival in 2009 on The Glade stage with beatboxer

Beardyman Darren Alexander Foreman (born 14 May 1982), better known as Beardyman, is a British multivocalist, musician and comedian from London known for his beatboxing skills and use of live looping. Early life After studying at Queen Elizabeth's Gramm ...

. Another project saw The Bays performing their improvisations to Tom Tykwer's "Run Lola Run" film. The idea being that the original soundtrack is removed and The Bays improvise a new soundtrack in real time. They have performed this format most notably at Darling Harbour in Sydney (2009), Australia and at the Brighton Festival (2007). The most recent performance of Run Lola Run saw the current three piece line-up closing the Ilkley Film Festival in 2016.

Line up

The current members of the band are Andy Gangadeen (drums, also of Chase and Status) Chris Taylor (bass), Jamie Odell (keys), and Simon Richmond (keys). The Bays have largely operated as a collective with key personnel including: Chris Taylor (bass), Jamie Odell, Ski Oakenfull or Tom Szirtes (keyboards) and Simon Richmond (effects and samples). Previous members include Simon Smugg,

Tom Middleton Tom Middleton (born 18 August 1971) is a British electronic recording artist, sound designer, composer, music producer, remixer and DJ. His solo albums include '' Lifetracks'' (2007), ''Glasstracks'' (2011) and ''Sleep Better'' (2018). Middleto ...

and Nick Cohen. The Bays have performed with other artists including

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), more recently he is known as the keyboard ...

, Matt White, Mark Pritchard, Bluey,

Stamina MC Stamina MC is a stage name of drum & bass MC and vocalist Linden Reeves. Stamina MC used both rapping and vocalizing. Biography His earliest experiences of MCing were on pirate radio in 1996; first Pressure FM (inactive), then on to currently a ...

, The Stereo MCs Ty,

Hexstatic Hexstatic are an English electronic music duo, consisting of Stuart Warren Hill and Robin Brunson, that specializes in creating "quirky audio visual electro." Formed in 1997 after Hill and Brunson met while producing visuals at the Channel 5 ...

, and the

Heritage Orchestra The Heritage Orchestra is a British orchestra founded by Chris Wheeler and Jules Buckley. They perform mainstream, cult, experimental and popular music. The orchestra, which ranges between 25 and 65 members, has performed internationally in ve ...

. The Bays have done two British Council tours in Mexico (2003) and Germany (2004) to run music workshops with young musicians.

References

External links

Official websiteAn interview with The Bays2002 Peel session (RealPlayer)2002 Amsterdam & Big Chill festivals (RealPlayer)Discography of released live recordingsYush">Video of sessions with roots and d'n'b MCs (David Boomah, Yush
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