bloody/bath “I just want to represent my emotions in a real and interesting way"

bloody/bath were due to make a long-awaited live debut this month at the Roadmender supporting Sarpa Salpa.

However, this week’s announcement by the Government to extend coronavirus restrictions saw that gig, and another with Phantom Isle at the start of July, postponed.

For now, it means the latest project by singer songwriter Kailan Price will return to the bedroom where it was originally conceived during an earlier lockdown.

There’s been a steady build of hype around bloody/bath, following the release of a series of singles by the former Fox Chapel singer and guitarist throughout 2020.

The music melds minimalist cold wave, icy guitars, cinematic synths wells, pounding drums and krautrock and shoegaze influences with lyrics which explore the themes of depression and isolation – something Price has struggled with throughout his life.

The latest bloody/bath single, Unholy Cross, is due to be released next month.

Talking about the track, Kailan said; “I’ve found myself becoming more and more open within my lyricism and Unholy Cross is a perfect example of that.

“I think at this current period in my life, it would be difficult to write a happy song, I think it would just come across as inauthentic.

“I just want to represent my emotions in a real and interesting way, no matter how sad they can be.

“I just hope people who struggle with mental illness can read into my head through the song and realise that no matter how isolated one can feel, that they are never alone in this adversity.”

Unholy Cross was produced by Matt Peel (Eagulls, The Crookes) and is the first track from bloody/bath’s upcoming EP, Unholy Sonnets.

bloody/bath was born following the demise of Fox Chapel and the onset of lockdown in 2020.

Influenced by some of the 80s records his mum played to him as a teenager, he set about writing and recording tracks including Nothing, Sissy Spacek, Washed Out, Arp-87 and I Stood Bleeding.

“Lockdown was how this project was born,” explains Price. “I'm not too sure if I would have started it without having to be isolated to my bedroom because that's where the project and all the songs were created.

“Being bored and sad stuck in my bedroom, I was lucky to have some recording gear I bought with my student loan to help kill my boredom and I just put my emotions into it.”

Looking back at Fox Chapel, he explains the band’s demise wasn’t dramatic or sudden, rather adding “it just died out over time,”.

Prince adds bloody/bath isn’t that far detached from his previous work, explaining he’s become wiser as a songwriter.

“My song writing seems to carry a lot more emotional weight and I'm often a lot more open with my feelings and things I struggle with in my lyricism.”

As well The Cocteau Twins and Depeche Mode, Price also cites Northampton’s Jubilee Courts as a huge influence when he was around 16-years-old.

“It was the first local band I heard at that time that I thought, I actually would listen to at home,” he explains.

“It was something that seemed completely different to anything else in Northampton at that time and I loved it.”

Turning to the now postponed shows, Kailan admits he’s often more comfortable on stage, performing, than having conversations with strangers.

When bloody/bath’s live debut finally comes around, Kailan will be joined by four friends who have helped prepare the project for the live setting.

Until then, anyone interested in bloody/bath’s music can head to the usual streaming platforms where tens of thousands of people every month are already listening to the handful of singles on offer.

Reflecting on bloody/bath’s successes so far, Kailan concludes, “I am definitely someone full of self-doubt but I just sort of think even if a couple of people connect with it, then I'm pretty happy.”

bloody/bath’s gig at the Roadmender on Friday, June 25, with Sarpa Salpa and Maddox Jones and on Saturday, July 17, at the Garibaldi with Phantom Isle and Tragic are both expected to be rescheduled following the Government’s decision to extend coronavirus restrictions.

For more information, visit www.instagram.com/bloodybathh and www.facebook.com/bloodybath