As you can probably imagine being a site that does reviews, Indie Midlands gets a lot of music submitted to it. Far more than we can actually handle. Whilst we get a lot of songs we really like, and if we’re honest a lot that we don’t, every now and then a song will come along that makes your brain start dancing about in excitement. A song you consider to be special and an actual gem. That was the case when I (Morph) heard ‘The Silence’, the debut single from an artist out of Atlanta called Bathe. Or to go by her proper name Bailey Crone.
As a big fan of dream pop, I’m actually listening to Men I Trust as I write this, I instantly fell in love with ‘The Silence’ and needed to know more about the artist behind it. So I contacted Bathe and she has kindly agreed to do an interview with Indie Midlands which you can read below. Also be sure to check out the song at the bottom of the page.
Indie Midlands: Can you tell us a little bit about how you got in to music? Who you listened to growing up, your inspirations and what made you want to be a musician?
Bathe: I was involved in band growing up as a lot of kids were, but as far as creating music outside of school I started when I was about 16. I remember getting an electric guitar for Christmas and tinkering around with that. But the music writing didn’t start until I got my first drumset. I learned how to play drums from playing the video game Rock Band. The drum skills from that game actually transfer onto any real drumset pretty realistically.
So when I got a real drumset I hit the ground running and it was super exciting. I practiced the drums by playing a whole lot of Paramore songs and their songs taught me that drums don’t just keep a beat, but they have their own voice and talk to the song. The songs I was writing at first sounded very much like Paramore, and as I got older and started listening to different genres (with less and less distortion on the guitars) my music started to morph into this softer, smoother, more reverb based thing.
Growing up I actually didn’t have any specific thing I liked listening to. I was mainly listening to my parents’ music while trapped in the car and buying the latest top pop singles on my iPod like the Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani and just that mid 2000’s pop stuff. I didn’t really care to have an opinion on music for some reason and would just listen to what was on. But now as an adult I’m quite the opposite. I definitely do have favorite bands and I do have opinions on what I listen to. As an adult I seem to just have a few select bands/artists that I pretty much know every song in their discography for. Like Bombay Bicycle Club, Beach House, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, and Paramore of course. These artists are huge inspirations for me and my sound these days.
As far as what made me want to become a musician, pinpointing one single thing is too hard. It’s not something I ever actively decided on, it’s just something I’ve always gravitated towards. It’s only when you look back in hindsight that you can see the path you’ve been on and go, “Oh. Music is my thing.”
Indie Midlands: The Silence is a beautiful dream pop song. Did you set out wanting to write a song in that genre or did it just kind of happen as things came together?
Bathe: I write a lot of music. It’s what I use my spare time for and it’s definitely not work to me. Sometimes I’ll sit down and work on a brand new song from scratch even though I have the song from yesterday that I started from scratch I could work on. I have so many half finished songs because I have a habit of wanting to create more and see what else I can make.
I had been going to Standard Electric Recorders Co. to work on some songs with my producer Damon Moon, and about a week before I had to go into the studio, I created a new file at home to start on a new song instead of finishing my old ones haha. And this song was The Silence. It came as they usually come to me. I’ll write an 8 bar loop and just jam on it with different instruments until I have an entire piece of the pie finished. I definitely don’t write with an intention going in. Sometimes I’ll write a bass line that has like 3 or 4 random notes and I’ll just keep it. Whether I like it or not. Because if I write on top if it, that means I’d be writing a song I never would think to write before. I think when you think too hard you stifle possibilities.
Indie Midlands: Your new project is called Bathe, is there any specific reason you went with that name?
Bathe: Yes, there is! I struggled with coming up with a band name for the longest time. One day back in 2017 I tried putting together the first initials of some of my loved ones and Bathe was a word you could make out of their initials. B – Booker my cat. A – Alex my soon to be husband. T – Theon Greyjoy my other cat. H – Harry my best friend and dog who has since passed. E – Elliott my other other cat. When I thought about using Bathe for the first time it felt like I was hit in the face with how perfect it was. Besides the acronym meaning, I really like the idea that my project is called Bathe because the amount of reverb I use on my guitar is so wet you could bathe in it.
Indie Midlands: You played all the instruments on The Silence. How many instruments can you actually play. Are there any you can’t play that you would love to learn?
Bathe: Well being in a band, I’d borrow my friends’ instruments and would buy the Essential Elements books that went with them and would just teach myself new instruments. I played so many instruments there was this one high school concert where all 3 levels of bands would play and I’d get up to switch instruments to play in the next band.
The first serious instrument I played was trombone in middle school and my first year of high school. I played trombone my first year of high school marching band and got these massive shoulder muscles haha. But after I switched high schools, the new school didn’t have trombone for marching band, they had euphonium. And I was not wanting to go through anymore arm lifting than I had to so I switched to trumpet. I was actually really good at trumpet and was 1st chair in our wind ensemble. I even was a trumpet soloist that played with a choir one time at Gwinnett Arena. That was the scariest performance I’ve ever had in my life.
I was also an alto sax player in our symphonic band and was involved in indoor drumline. These days I play drums, guitar, bass, and some synth. Nothing too crazy sounding about these instruments. But I’d actually love to learn how to play a theremin and slap some reverb all over that for my music.
Indie Midlands: Three acts you would love Bathe to share a live lineup with?
Bathe: Bands that would totally fit my sound are Beach House, Washed Out, and Tycho. But ya know what, I would just die if I shared a lineup with Cyndi Lauper.
Indie Midlands: Bathe’s debut album is scheduled for release in 2020, do you have an actual release date set and what can we expect from the album musically? Are all the songs written?
Bathe: I don’t have a set release date yet. But I plan on releasing a bunch of singles and even covers in my own aesthetic leading up to the album release. My producer, Damon Moon, says my songs end up having this huge arena feel to them. Like you can imagine them being played in this big, open, large environment. There’s going to be a mixture on this album for sure. Some of the songs are fast and driving and some are slow and groovy. But really this album and my sound as a whole to me is about the moods. Each song is a mood and has it’s own colors and I’m hoping people get lost in the mood as much as I do when I create it.
I have so many songs that could go on the album. Most of them are fully written, but for things like The Silence that pop up a week before going to the studio, who knows what else I’m going to come up with between now and then. The Silence wasn’t even supposed to be my debut single. We were supposed to be working on another song that weekend in the studio when I brought it in but we ended up finishing The Silence instead!
Indie Midlands: A year from now where would you like to see the progression of Bathe at. Have you set any specific goals you would like to try and reach by the end of 2020?
Bathe: I’ve actually talked to my fiance Alex about this. I’ve made music for so many years now for nobody but myself. Before, I didn’t know how to get my music out there in a professional way. But now that I’ve met Damon and have connections in the music industry, I have the complete process figured out from the beginning to end which for me is starting a new file (when I probably shouldn’t and should finish an old song instead) all the way to putting it on Spotify. But what if I don’t see any success or nobody “gets” my music? What do I do once I put out an album that I’ve worked so hard on? Alex had a great point and told me that music is my passion yes, but it’s also a hobby. And like any hobby, people do it regardless of if they get rewards at the end of the day. For me, the enjoyment comes out of creating and experiencing new colors and moods for the first time. So a year from now I will still be creating. Only then I will have more experience in sharing what I create too.
Indie Midlands: How do you relax away from music?
Bathe: Other than sleeping, and watching documentaries with my cats, I play some video games. I used to play a lot more than I do now. I work at a video game studio and it’s kinda a thing where if you’re around games all day you don’t really wanna go home and play games. But if I do I’m probably replaying an old game to get all the achievements for it. I’ve been told I need to find a way to enjoy down-time though haha. But music is definitely a big part of my down-time anyways and I consider that to be by far the most cathartic thing I do.
Interview by Morph