The Bays

(Taken from BBC website) "The Bays came together for a one-off live gig in November 1999. Since then this 'improvisation band' project has grown from a pub gig hobby into a stadium festival phenomenon. They've played the Royal Festival Hall, Knebworth, Naxos, Drum Rhythm, Lowlands, Big Chill, Pukkelpop, Ministry of Sound, Eurosonic, Glastonbury, Roskilde, Dour and Live at Maida Vale for John Peel. Turning up to the venue, the Bays set up, line check and play... they never rehearse, have no 'set-list' because they don't have 'songs' to perform and hence could never do the same gig twice. Drawing energy from the audience, they enter into a creative partnership, receiving feedback from the dancefloor and reinterpreting that response. The band have no studio album and have no intention of releasing any material in the immediate future." Some of their performances have appeared on compilation albums and they used to make mp3s available to download (free!) on their website. The original line-up was Andy 'Tango' Gangadeen on drums, Nick 'Albi' Cohen on bass, Jamie 'Dalston' Odell on keyboards and synths and Simon 'Smugg' Wadmore dropping vocal samples and FX. Chris Taylor then replaced Nick Cohen on bass and Simon Richmond replaced Simon Wadmore on samples and FX. The lineup changed again in 2020, with only Andy Gangadeen remaining from the original lineup. The new band members were Oli Wiseman, Kaz Rodriguez and Aicha Djidjelli. However this incarnation was short-lived due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The lineup of Jamie Odell, Chris Taylor, Simon Richmond and Andy Gangadeen reformed for a gig at the Jazz Cafe in August 2021, and have since performed again at the Jazz Cafe in June 2023 and at the We Out Here festival in August 2023. Quoted on the The Bays website: "Our mission, if it has to be something specific, is trying to create music in the purest, least diluted form that is possible." "Performance is the product"