Music / News
Elles Bailey on the road to chart success
It was announced earlier this week that the new album from Bristol’s Elles Bailey, Shining in Half the Light, is gaining traction in the top-20 mid-week album charts.
It’s incredible news for the singer who made the album throughout lockdown and then self-released it, saying that she feels “very humbled as a grass roots musician to be in this situation”.
With the album produced during the pandemic, it was the connection found between other musicians and her friends while recording that made the experience extra special.
is needed now More than ever
“After isolating for two weeks and then spending two week in the studio, the band were the only other people I hugged other than my husband in 18 months!” she tells Bristol24/7.
This idea of connection permeates the album and Bailey was “inspired seeing other artists, musicians and entertainers doing whatever they could to still try and connect with people on a meaningful level, be it via a screen in the dystopian existence world we were all living.”
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Bailey was in the middle of a sound check at Rough Trade on Nelson Street when news broke that Shining in Half the Light was set for a top-40 hit.
It was surprising news for the musician who was just about to perform a show and it wasn’t until after she came off stage that it truly became a reality.
The country music artist has been juggling tour dates, the distribution of CDs, vinyls and tapes and late nights all while being a new mother to her son, Jasper, who she was pregnant with while producing this album.
So why did she decided to take on the task of self-releasing the album on top of everything else? “This record was my rain after a long drought; my oasis in the desert, made in lockdown whilst I was pregnant with my first child. I put every part of me into it and I just wasn’t ready to let it go yet.”
With the release of the charts only a couple of days away, Bailey says that her plans to celebrate are in keeping with her grassroots story.
“There ain’t no limos or fancy parties but I’m just looking forward to catching up with close friends over a pint at the pub, being a new mum I don’t often get a chance to do that!”
Read more: My Bristol Favourites: Elles Bailey
Main Photo: Blackham Images
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