Futuristic, blissful dream-pop…Pop, it’s been said, is a bit like bubble gum: you chew it up, savouring the sugary taste, and then spit it out once it’s lost its flavour.
“I’m obsessed with pop music,” urges *Bayou*. “I love *Katy Perry* and *Ariana Grande*, but I’m not gonna make music like that. I’d like to make a sort of broken version of it, if you see what I mean.”
“I’ve got really obsessed with reading about the Swedish producers,” the Londoner elaborates, “who’re responsible for all the hits you can think of over the last 10 years – Max Martin did all the Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys stuff, Dr. Luke’s done *Rihanna*.”
But Bayou – real name Hari Ashurst – is well versed in more than just production. He’s a gifted music scribe, having written for Pitchfork and the *BBC* – “It’s weird, I lose all ability to judge my own stuff. I’m my own worst critic, though” – and runs his own label, Double Denim. But aged seven was when he first began tinkling the piano keys.
“As I got older I went through genres and picked up each genre’s token instrument,” he explains. “I got really into rock music and started playing guitar, then hip-hop and I bought a sampler.” His sound now, he supposes, is the intersection of all those ideas – “hyperactive” being his tentative choice of description.
The first full showcase of the Bayou sound has been through his mixtape *‘Loopback’*, which comes stamped with the kind of artwork you’d be happy to view a whole gallery of.
“I believe in it as a format,” he remarks on his choice of mixtape over album. “If you try and sell yourself too soon as an artist you turn yourself into a product.” ‘Airlock’ gurgles with a ’90s R&B larynx, while on ‘Loopback Cotton’ Hari raps languidly over a white noise hum with the faintest traces of funk. Other tracks, meanwhile, catch him singing with cashmere-soft licks, lyrically exploring youth, nostalgia and disconnection.
This pop is for a generation where everyone’s an art, culture, or music critic. And just like the aforementioned chewy confection, it’s looking likely that Bayou’s gonna blow up.
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*WHERE:* London
*WHAT:* Futuristic, blissful dream-pop with themes of nostalgia
*GET 3 SONGS:* ‘Varsity Jacket’, ‘Cherry Cola’, ‘Thugs’
*FACT:* Hari’s mum used to go out with the guy who played the sax on ‘Careless Whisper’, and Lemmy from Motörhead used to be their family babysitter.
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Words: *Felicity Martin*
Photo: *Alastair Strong*
Fashion: *Ian Luka*
*Bayou online*
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