Baby Jey Explores the Cosmic Energy of the Prairies on New Album ‘Crop Circles’
Photo Credit: Laura La France
Alberta has a long history of folk festivals and singer-songwriters and Edmoton band Baby Jey are joining forces to breathe new life into the scene. Consisting of lead songwriter and vocalist Jeremy Witten and Aladean Kheroufi, their new album Crop Circles melds western influences with catchy pop hooks that leave us swinging and swaying with the whirling synths interweaved throughout. REVERIE sat down with Jeremy at CJSW 90.9 FM in Calgary to talk about the artistic process behind the album and his fascination with the extraterrestrial.
REVERIE: How would you describe the sound of Baby Jey?
Baby Jey: We started out as singer-songwriters with more of a folk background. But then we found interest in electronic music and experimenting with that genre of songwriting. There’s still songs that you could typically play on a living room couch for a friend, but in the studio they have been produced with a lot of synthesizers and we love vintage sounds.
R: The record is also described as cosmic with imagery of space cowboys - is this something that you’re still exploring?
BJ: We were into that for a little while because we had a friend in the band who played lap steel guitar, so it gave it this country cowboy feel. It’s also on our latest album Crop Circle as well. I’d say there was more of a cowboy influence on our last album Someday Cowboy, but I feel like we are moving away from that a bit. There’s still western inflections here and there.
R: Yes, it’s almost more psychedelic even. I was listening to the album with a friend the other day and they mentioned how much they love it and compared it to some of Tame Impala’s work. Do you think your sound is naturally influenced by living in Alberta?
BJ: Yeah, I feel like we’re trying to take the western influence of Alberta in a different direction with our music. It’s obviously not the way mainstream top 40 country music sounds at all. We’re inspired by more of the Townes Van Zandt western country heroes.
R: Were there any other artists you were inspired by when making Crop Circles?
BJ: Solange. Prince. I also saw Joni Mitchell live this year! Prince was also a Joni Mitchell fan. I listen to so much music, it’s difficult to say what comes from where.
R: It makes sense that you would listen to more soulful, RnB music because I hear traces of it in the album. There are many songs on Crop Circles that are very smooth and catchy. Also - why “Crop Circles”?
BJ: That’s a great question! I wrote three albums, the first being Someday Cowboy, and then the second is Crop Circles. The third one will be called Houston. They all muse on the space cowboy theme in different ways. Crop Circles specifically follows the cowboy out in the countryside and emphasizes an alien connection. Houston is the homebase for NASA, so you’ll have to see where the story goes when it’s released.
R: You also weaved in some audio clips from Alberta of extraterrestrial activity.
BJ: Yes! Specifically crop circle sightings. I was interested in this concept and it’s connection to Alberta, where I eventually found some clips on YouTube. They are very outdated - the way the radio host’s speak - so they’re funny to listen to.
R: The album is doing extremely well in community radio so far. #11 on the charts currently and continuing to climb. I’d love to hear more about your connection to community radio, as it’s something REVERIE is strongly connected to.
BJ: I love community radio. I listen to it all the time and hosted two shows on Edmoton’s CJSR. My first show was The Sounds of Folkways - it solely featured music from a record label called Folkways. They have over 3000 albums and it was originally in New York, but has since been purchased by the Smithsonian. It’s very interesting and fascinating. I did my own eclectic show after that which was called A Little Something Special.
R: I love that you have that connection because I’ve always felt that community radio lays an incredible foundation for artists to explore new things and make connections. At least that’s been my experience.
BJ: We truly appreciate the support from CJSW and community radio. This is my first time at the station and I loved getting a tour of the library.
R: Before we part - what are some of your plans for 2024?
BJ: More live dates - we’d like to play a show in Toronto soon. We’re also getting a bunch of our pals to make remixes of the songs from Crop Circles.
*This interview has been transcribed from CJSW 90.9 FM via Mint Condition. Listen to the full interview here.