Getting to Know… Baytrees | Interview 🎤

On the 219^th interview on The Musical Hype, we get the inside scoop on the Brixton four-piece band, Baytrees.  

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n each interview on The Musical Hype, one question that never fails to be asked is what makes the respective musician distinct or unique.  For Brixton collective 🎙 Baytrees, they attribute both energy and – wait for it – their hair!  Checking out photos of the band comprised of 🎙 Menseh Hart (lead vocals / guitar), his brother, 🎙 Kwame Hart (bass), 🎙 Marcus Harris (drums /vocals), and 🎙 Coujoe Ryan (guitar), the hair is lit 🔥.  Ultimately, Baytrees proclaims it’s the funkiness of their music.  When questioned about their goals, the band desires to make music for a living – a dream of so many bands and musicians worldwide.  Rather than spoil anymore of the fine responses to our burning questions in the intro, why not simply dive into 🎤 Getting to Know… Baytrees: Interview No. 219.

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Starting things off, for those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Baytrees distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 It’s got to be our energy. Or maybe it’s the hair?? We’re all about getting people moving with the funk.

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Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Baytrees form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

🎤 Not much juice I’m afraid. My brother and I met at home. I got given a guitar for my 14^th birthday and persuaded him to buy a bass. Met Marcus (drummer vocals) at school. Coujoe at work the rest is history.

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Let’s talk more about goals. Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 When we first started, we just wanted to play a gig, once we did that, we wanted people to listen to our music, once that started happening, we thought we arrived. I think our goal now is just to make a living from our music.

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Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 Our musical influences are so varied. Marvin Gaye, Prince, John Holt, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, and Led Zeppelin to name a few. It mostly comes from what we would hear in our house growing up. There was music in our house non-stop.

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Ah, the fun stuff. What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance? Feel free to be creative.

🎤 The maddest thing to happen was when we played a gig in Staffordshire. The gig went great. It was what happened straight after that was nuts. As soon as we left the venue there was a massive spotlight shining down on us. Kwame (bass) and I noticed we had red dots on our chest, there were dogs barking police shouting get on the ground. We couldn’t believe what was happening. Apparently, a CCTV operator thought they saw us earlier in the day with what they believed to be a handgun. We spent the night in the cells and got a very smart navy-blue fruit of the loom tracksuit for our troubles.

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Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 One of my favourites now, as it changes quite regularly, is a new one we just recorded call 🎵 “Midnight Run.” It’s about my cousin Marcus who sadly took his own life. He was suffering from depression. I really think mental health should get just as much awareness as other illnesses, just because you can’t see someone is hurting doesn’t mean they’re not.

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Closing things out, what is Baytrees currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.

🎤 We’ve just wrapped up our latest EP called 💿 Stitches. This is the best thing we’ve created to date. We will be showcasing the EP @Off The Cuff bar in Herne Hill on the 20^th November. Ticket link: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=baytrees

Thanks so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.

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Follow Baytrees: IG • Site

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Getting to Know… Baytrees: Interview No. 219 🎤 [📷: Baytrees, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype]

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