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Photo: Xavier Luggage

We’ve been day-one fans of NYC songstress BAYLI and last year's stories from new york made that fandom all the more enjoyable. Having dropped the sequel, stories 2, filled with infectious songs and terribly relatable lyrics, and hopping on tour this week, we reached out to this rising artist to hear more about post-pandemic NYC, her Halloween look, and more.

Ones To Watch: Who is BAYLI?    

BAYLI: I think that I am an artist who is still on a journey. I’m a queer femme-identifying artist, and I hope that I am speaking to my community and bringing up conversations and stories that sometimes may be uncomfortable, but they’re necessary for us to evolve and move forward in the world. I’m definitely an artist who wants to help push conversations forward and help people feel like they’re formulating new ideas just through hearing music.  

Other than the obvious, what is stories 2 all about?   

stories 2 is a continuation from my first EP, stories from new york, which is a sonic landscape of New York City and some of my experiences and stories there. On stories 2, I’m taking the concept and the sonic scenery into new territories; I recorded the songs in different cities and places, but I also tried exploring new sounds and tapping into different pieces of my artistry. I think it’s really about exploration. I did write a lot of it during quarantine, so it's also unintentionally about yearning for connectivity after being isolated. 

Lots of feelings bottled up on this EP. How’d you settle on the sound for the project?   

I've really tried to take a looser approach with this and just say when the songs feel right. I just kind of radically accept it—like please speak to me! Normally, I'm kind of really regimented. And I do love concepting things, and this one is still concepted but it's just a bit looser. So, these just felt right. They just felt like a reflection of where I am and kind of where we're at as a society. 

Any collaborations? Who produced the EP?   

I worked with the same producer, Brody Miles, who is a good friend of mine. He is originally from Canada, but lives in LA and so when I was in LA we worked on the project at his studio there and we had really cool musicians come in and join us. James Young, who's a really fire artist himself, came in and did some production, and Simon Says, who’s an awesome producer that’s worked with Khalid and Selena Gomez, helped elevate some of the songs, mainly “Pressure.” My little brother also came in; he's a multi-instrumentalist and we’ve been working together forever—he was actually the drummer for my first band ever! He played some bass, drums, and guitar on the record. The whole experience of recording the EP was very family and close friends oriented. That's just the way that I like to work.  

How have you evolved as an artist since stories from new york?  

I think I’m loosening up. The EP feels like a continuation of my exploration, almost like a stepping stone to new sounds I want to try and where I want to go next, which I think may be really different for a longer-form project. I really wanted to try sounds like “act up,” because I don't have any super bubbly, dance songs like that. I'm very deep intrinsically and a little bit more intense with the music and the lyrics. So, with “act up,” it was just important for me to tap into that side of my artistry to see if I can do it. And I love it too. So, I feel stories 2 really helped me open up a new side of my artistry. 

Can we expect a continuation of these stories in the future?   

That is a great question! I really don’t know, but I will tell you that whatever the next project is, I want it to be something super different. Will I continue the stories concept? It’s possible, but right now I think it would be cool to open up the concepts and start exploring some different avenues. I grew up loving so many different styles of music, like classic rock like Led Zeppelin and, in my angsty youth, I was into Fiona Apple and Cat Power. Lately, more organic, acoustic sounds have really been on my mind. Now, I am loving Dev Hynes and thinking about having orchestral, really acoustic, classical sounds. I would love to do some work with him. I'm a pop girl and I wonder how I could blend some of my super pop arrangements, concepts, and lyrics with something that feels more traditional, almost classical. Like no trap drums, no pop production, but like a pop vocal over something that feels more unexpected. 

Besides this excellent EP, what else should we be on the lookout for?   

I’m about to be on tour opening for Magdalena Bay, who I’m obsessed with, across the US and Canada this fall, and I am so excited. I’ve done some promo runs and one-off shows, but I haven’t done a tour since I’ve been making solo music because I started putting music out in March of 2020, when COVID lockdown first started. I'm genuinely so excited to finally get to share my music and see how people react in person. I’m going to make the New York City show really special. I’m just really excited to get on the road and feel the energy of people again. You should also stay tuned to my social media and website for more announcements coming soon. I have a lot of exciting stuff planned for this year and next! 

What's inspiring you right now outside of music?   

Always a ton of things but mainly New York City where I live. It really encourages me to be an individual and it’s the foundation of my inspiration. You can find inspiration anywhere here, from seeing art all over the city, hearing new music, or even just people-watching; it really motivates me to keep pushing the envelope. It makes you want to stay on top of your game! You have to level up. New York is alive as hell—it might as well still be the 1920s here! Living here is so integral for my artistry and just my development as a human being. 

Any ghoulish looks planned for Halloween? 

I need to plan my look! The first show of tour is in San Francisco on October 28th, so it’s a Halloween show, and I’ve been so busy preparing for tour that I haven’t figured out my costume yet! That being said, we will all be surprised with what I pull out of my hat for Halloween. 

Who are your Ones To Watch? 

There are a ton of people. I just started following Deto Black, who I think is really cool. There’s also a drill artist from New York named DD Osama, and it’s a totally different style than what I do but I love it! There are a ton of really great artists right now. PinkPantheress is just like boom, a stamp on the culture. There are a ton of really cool artists. I think we’re really in a transformational time, with a lot of people trying different things in art, music, and culture, kind of like Jackson Pollock throwing paint at the wall. It’s a very experimental and free time and I’m a big fan of it.