Supporting the likes of the Sex Pistols and The Rolling Stones, it was about time Baytrees were bestowed with their very own spotlight. And, unveiling their new single “Stitches”, they have whole-heartedly earned it. Raw in tone and hard-hitting in lyricism, “Stitches” begins as a matter-of-fact monologue which feels akin to a conversation with a friend. Introspective and soulful, the track laments the lead singer’s upbringing. Yet, quickly dropping us into a groove-laden melody peppered with twinkling synthesisers, the track emanates a refreshingly positive perspective — making it perfectly suited for anyone’s playlists.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the track, lead singer and songwriter Mensah Hart says, “Life is a massive inspiration for me to write songs. I could be singing about racial injustice, about a broken heart or having a fight, but the same rules apply – firstly, it has to have feeling, emotion and meaning. Writing and producing music is a form of therapy for me. The studio is my happy place. ‘Stitches’ is a song dedicated to my mother who sadly lost her battle with cancer last year. The songs are about my life, sneaking into clubs, selling pills as a teenager, navigating through adulthood, going to work drunk without any sleep and ultimately about never giving up on yourself and your dreams. The message has to be a positive one for me, there’s enough negativity out there and I don’t want to add to it.”
To celebrate the release of “Stitches”, we sat with the four-piece band to discuss their beginnings, their creative process and what the future holds. To stream “Stitches” and for the full interview, head below now…
Heya guys! How are you?
We’re good, happy and blessed to be here releasing new music.
How has everything been?
Currently, we have just finished our new EP and wrapping up a new album, we’re sitting on a lot of great music we can’t wait to share. We are always making new music and feeling blessed for this opportunity. Life is good.
How did you guys all first meet?
Kwame is my brother, we met Marcus when we were teenagers through the graffiti scene and Cudjoe our brother from another joined the band in 2018.
What sparked the interest?
Music has always been in my life. Kwame and Mensah’s parents had a huge record collection and would play the likes of Booker T, The Mgs, Jimmy Hendrix, Prince, Marvin Gay, Earth Wind and Fire and Cameo to name a few. As teenagers, we had a huge love for hip hop as well as rock. Marcus would come round and we would listen to Biggie, Eminem, Jadakiss, Styles P, Nirvana and Foo Fighters for hours in our room while our mum would be playing her records in the living room. I think that’s what created our fusion of sounds. We all love listening to music, love making it, producing it, and discovering new music. There is no other medium that can evoke so much emotion in three and a half minutes.
And you all have different creative inspirations, how do you go about merging them to create your sound?
Mensah sometimes has a Skelton of the song then the band will add their individual flair in the studio most times. We just get together and jam, just sharing our ideas. Kwame might start with a sick bass line, then Marcus will jump on with a beat then Cudjoe will start playing something spicy on the guitar I’ll jump on the keys or guitar add some chords lyrics and vibes then boom. We record our jams on logic then make tracks from there. That way all of our creativity gets time to organically gel.
And now you’ve just dropped your new single “Stitches” talk us through it, what was the creative process like?
Mensah produced “Stitches” with the help of the band. The song was firstly written on the ukulele or piano. We wanted the song to have a classic feel, almost like a sample (but not). After the piano, Marcus and Kwame added the drum and bass – we wanted to take the listener somewhere unexpected and I think we achieved that. This came from many jam sessions, experimenting with different sounds. We wanted the lyrics to be really honest and relatable. If it ain’t the truth we can’t write it.
And it’s dedicated to Mensah and Kwame’s mother, tapping into these emotions to create a song, what was that like?
It was very hard but a necessary process. Some of our best songs have been written in hard times. Hopefully, the song can give someone some solace who has gone through a similar situation of loss or feeling hopeless. The death of our mother hit us hard. She was our best friend and biggest fan and a huge source of inspiration. It’s really bitter-sweet that she never got to hear the song.
What do you hope people take away from your music?
It sounds cliche but we like to transport the listener to a space and spark some kind of emotion. All good music can do this. That’s the music we like to listen to and the music We have to create.
Who would you guys love to collaborate with?
We’re huge fans of Dave, he’s a great artist as well as a producer. J Huss is another great artist at the moment. It would be amazing to collaborate with The Foo Fighters – RIP Taylor Hawkins, and would love to collaborate with all of our musical heroes we mentioned before
What is next for you?
Next for the Baytrees is global domination! We just want as many people as possible to hear our music and feel its healing properties. Our music is made for people, not for ourselves, so we just want them to hear and enjoy it.
What are you most excited for?
We’re most excited for now, for tomorrow. We are excited to get back on the road doing what we love. We’ve spent a while perfecting it, made an amazing EP, with an album to follow and we think it’s dope and can’t wait to share it with the world.