Free Fall Sees Oh Bailey Rise To The Top

With waves of dreamy synth-pop coated in luscious bass keys and textured, layered vocals, Shorncliffe songstress Jess Elliott better known by her stage name Oh Bailey has found her feet in the music world at the strangest of times.

The 22-year-old music student was buoyed when her single Free Fall a stunning, surreal track that washes and swirls slow-wave synth and keys below Jess's indie-chanteuse vocals made it to number nine on Triple J's Unearthed charts, and made it all the way to number three on the Unearthed pop charts.

She said it was an incredible way to start her recording career.

So I released Free Fall to Triple J Unearthed in December 2019, before I had begun working with my now manager Ellie Vane-Tempest,� Jess said.

She really inspired and encouraged me to promote myself, who I am, and my music to the world. And it worked! �

I have been blown away by the support and love for the track. I'm super grateful for that.�

While Jess said she was yet to play a show in her native Sandgate community thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, she has kept busy by organising and playing festivals online.

I'm hoping once venues open up again, that I'll have the opportunity to perform at venues like Mr Henderson or Cardigan Bar,� she said.

While COVID-19 is around, I won't have any shows in venues but I've recently held an online music festival called Cabin Fever with several other artists from JMC Academy [where Jess studies], which was a big success. I'm currently in the planning stage of having a second online festival which you will be able to watch via my Instagram.�

When Jess does get the opportunity to get back on stage, you can expect a plethora of smooth, synth-heavy tracks that float close to the feel of her influences.

I'm influenced by a whole bunch of artists, such as The 1975, The Japanese House and Maggie Rogers, which has steered me into making music in the synth/dream pop genre,� she said.

I love making and listening to music with beautiful synth melodies, unique vocals and guitar, which is something I try to apply to my music when I'm creating.�

You can listen to Oh Bailey on all the major streaming platforms or search for Oh Bailey on Facebook and Instagram.