Introducing #244 - Slaney Bay
Let us introduce you to South West London based trio Slaney Bay - who make their arrival on the indie scene with new single ‘Take Your Time’.
Fusing soft, introspective lyricism with effervescent, ear-worm riffage, the group’s huge potential is laid bare on their infectious new reveal, as they look to cement their place within the alt-indie landscape.
Detailing their upcoming release, frontwoman Cait Whitley explained: “‘Take Your Time’ holds power within its vulnerability, it’s about losing contact with a close friend of mine, and wishing that they’d come back”.
“It’s a song written about a friendship break-up. We wanted to condense that feeling of loss but not in the typical romantic sense. Friendship break-ups almost feel harder, because you don’t sign up thinking it could end”.
With several shows in the capital already under their belts, the band are readying themselves for a full live run in the autumn, with further releases earmarked throughout the coming months.
The band took a moment to talk to us about their music.
Hey there Slaney Bay - how are you? So your track ‘Take Your Time’ is out now - can you tell us what it is about?
Hey, we’re great thanks! Very happy and touched with the response to ‘Take Your Time’. It’s a song about a friendship break-up. I (Cait) randomly lost contact with one of my best friends. ‘Take Your Time’ is about missing them, and the self-reflection of trying to figure out if I had done something wrong that had made them leave. I think friendship break-ups are rarely spoken about. You don’t go into a friendship expecting for it to have a dramatic or sudden end like romantic relationships, so it can hurt a lot more. We’ve had people reach out to us after the song came out saying they can really relate to that. That’s quite special!
Where are you from and what are your favourite things to do there?
We’re all from Kingston in South-West London. The boys and I all went to school together so actually grew up as best friends way before the band was formed. I’d say our favourite thing about Kingston is the live music scene. Banquet Records throw great small in-store artist sets and bigger capacity shows at Pryzm. It’s pretty cool being able to see some of your favourite artists so close to home. Then afterwards, we can go straight across the road to the pub!
What are the key influences when it comes to your music?
There’s an amalgamation of pretty much every genre in our influences! Our playlists on the way to rehearsals will go from country to indie-rock to hyper-pop within a few songs. I think that’s important too- every genre has something you can learn and gather inspiration from. For me, I love huge emotional outro choruses. Empire of the Sun and The Naked and Famous are big influences for me in creating that nostalgic, slow-motion running feeling. Will grew up listening to a lot of Radiohead and that’s definitely shaped his writing style in finding really interesting, distinctive and dissonant chord structures. And Joey loves a punchy, ear-worm bass riff- influenced by the indie alt pop Gods- The Wombats and Black Honey.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to your music before?
Our music is very happy-sad. Lots of soaring guitar and introspective lyrics. We love creating an emotional storyline within our songs. Developing the character and the song concept through the early verses, and unleashing all that emotion and power with big outros. I’d say our music is like a soundtrack for a coming-of-age film about moving away and growing up.
Now the track is out there - what’s next for you?
We've been in the studio for a good couple months laying down new songs that we’re very proud of. We can really see our progression as a band in these songs. They’re an honest reflection of everything that’s happened in our lives over the last year or two. We’re itching for everyone to hear them! We’re also playing our first festival soon, Wild Paths Fest in Norwich which is so exciting. We love playing live! There’s a lot of screaming and jumping around so come along for some chaotic Slaney Bay energy.
