Songwriting Magazine Podcast: ‘Style’

Aaron and Duncan are back with the third episode of Songwriting’s members-only podcast, featuring our chat with the award-winning and genre-busting Elles Bailey.

After a quick catch-up about what’s happening in Songwriting world, the pair turn their attention to this episode’s theme: genre. Aaron ponders whether that’s something a songwriter should keep in mind at the genesis of a new song, before exploring the benefits of attaching yourself firmly to a musical scene.

Duncan then takes us down a genre rabbit hole, exploring some of the more esoteric styles of music out there and coming up with a few new ones of his own. All of which, leads up to his interview with Elles Bailey, a roots artist who seamlessly navigates between genres such as soul, blues, country, jazz, and rock.

With a beautifully raspy voice that will appeal to fans of Janis Joplin, the Bristol artist is a multiple winner at both the Americana Awards UK and the UK Blues Awards. Bailey also gets to flex her rockier side with her weekly radio show on Planet Rock. We’d thoroughly recommend that you listen to her new EP, The Night Owl And The Lark – the latest showcase for her talents as both a songwriter and performer – and encourage you to try and catch her live this year.

Speaking with Duncan, Elles discusses the advantages of belonging to different scenes, while always remembering that the song comes first. She also reveals the almost unbelievable story of how she first got to write in Nashville with legends such as Dan Auerbach and Roger Cook.

For this episode’s songwriting prompt, Elles shares three images from a scene that caught her attention during a walk along the beach (see below). If the photos inspire you to write a song or lyrics, please send them (Opens in a new window) our way…

Thanks as always for listening. Do get in touch if you have any questions or feedback. We’d love to hear from you.

See you next time!

Members can listen to this episode of the podcast using the audio player below, or using Spotify (Opens in a new window)