by alex grainger
photo by slater goodson
In a genre all her own, Bailey Bryan’s Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 is an immersive experience acting as a lens where all sensitive bad bitches can “see themselves for exactly who they are.” It’s a work of sonic rebellion, moving beyond the traditional genre labels and concepts. Because for Bryan, the exploration of all her musical influences is incredibly important — from 90s R&B to the “highly refined country songwriting” she experienced upon her move to Nashville. Thus, the genre of sensitive bad bitch was born. Beyond the high-spirited and fiery pop beats “there’s always some more realness if you look deeper.” At its core, Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 is a chronicle of change, vulnerability, and openness to feeling all hard and heavy emotions. Read more about Bailey Bryan and Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 below!
Sensitive Bad Bitch Vol. 1 has given you the medium to speak your truth through your raw vulnerability and opening yourself up to feeling all the hard emotions. How have you grown through the process of sharing the story of this EP?
Bailey: “This EP helped me to process a lot of change happening in my life… I got to chronicle a lot of growth, but also have fun with it.”
With such a personal EP, can you take us through the writing and recording process?
Bailey: “The process of writing and recording this EP was pretty effortless, I had a lot inspiring me at the time, from moving to LA to Nashville, to parting ways with my label partners of six years, to navigating dating in a new city and as a sort of newer version of myself… I would just get into the studio almost every day for a few weeks with my friends and favorite producers Boston & Pat, and write about all of the things I was feeling!”
Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 is an ode to your genre-less approach to defining your sound. How did you land on this label for the distinct sound you’ve created as an artist?
Bailey: “I started calling my music SBB music as sort of my own little rebellion against putting myself in a traditional genre box. I think it’s important for artists to be able to explore all of their own different influences and ideas and evolution.. I love all kinds of music, and as I grow I love to play around with different sounds. The production of a song is important to me in the sense that it has to be done well and with attention to detail, but that can look and sound so many different ways. What has never changed about my music is that the subject matter always toes and blurs the line between vulnerability and confidence, because that’s part of my core as a person.”
Part of your foundation and story is rooted in Nashville. It’s where you discovered your voice as a songwriter and identity as a musician. Your move to LA allowed you to explore your identity further. I’m curious to know how LA has influenced your music and who you are at your core as a musician?
Bailey: “The creative process in LA is so different from Nashville! Nashville takes the craft of songwriting and lyricism, ‘storytelling’ as we call it, very seriously… and LA places a lot more importance on simply catching a vibe, sessions start later and focus more on hooks and melodies than specific lyrics and storytelling through a song. The LA creative process resonates with me a lot more as a person, but I’m really grateful that I was able to spend the better part of a decade in Nashville learning how to craft an intentional lyric. I feel like the storytelling aspect of a Nashville session is something second nature that I’m able to bring to the creative process in LA.”
How does Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 amplify and represent your true identity as an artist?
Bailey: “I think SBB vol. 1 can feel just like a really boppy pop project on first listen, but if you tune into the lyrics you can find vulnerability in the most upbeat tracks, and little sprinkles of confidence and baddassery in the ballads… and that’s the epitome of sensitive bad bitch music to me, there’s always some more realness if you look deeper.”
“Passion” was the lead single off Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1. What prompted you to release this track as the lead tease and opening into the sound and message of the overall EP?
Bailey: “Honestly I’d planned on releasing RIP followed by IYKYK in like May of 2022… and then when the label dropped me (graciously and amicably, no shade here) there was a lot of legal things to go through before I could release those songs because I wrote them while I was in my deal, and we had to push those releases waaaaay back. ‘Passion’ was one of the first songs I wrote as an independent artist and fit the vibe of what I wanted to be releasing so we just went ahead and lead with that!”
“Tragic” switches tones through its stripped back sound. What was the creative process behind stripping away the bold pop sound heard in the other tracks? How do you feel this specific sound drives the narrative of “Tragic?”
Bailey: “‘Tragic’ sort of represents the core of who I am as an artist, that song for me is all about the lyric, and the feeling of breaking your own heart… I do my best work just freestyling over a pretty guitar loop to start a song, and I didn’t want ‘Tragic’ to lose that stripped down element. We tried adding drums and they sounded really cool, but at the last minute I decided I didn’t want anything to distract from the vulnerability of the song at its core.”
Four songs have been released as singles ahead of the official drop of the EP. Why did you choose the other two tracks to debut within the overall story of Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 instead of letting them exist individually first?
Bailey: “Truthfully I just wanted to get the project out! I felt like it was enough singles and I wanted people to experience the project as a whole, and I’m not sure there would be as many people listening from top to bottom if they’d already heard each song as a single.”
I’ve noticed on other projects you’ve included other Interlude tracks — such as in Fresh Start, track 2 — “Hope’s Interlude,” track 6 “Kitchen Table Interlude,” and track 10 “Finally Interlude.” In Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1, there is a song entitled “Credits Outro.” What is the significance behind this track and its title? Is there a reoccurring theme within your projects of these interlude tracks?
Bailey: “I just love a good interlude. I love subtle concepts in projects. Small details like interludes and outros are a part of making an album or EP feel like a piece of art to me, rather than just a random collection of songs. I wanted to end the project with ‘Credits’ because it was sort of my break up letter to my old label, I’d never released music without them, I was signed with them longer than any relationship I’d ever been in and they did so much for me… moving into the next chapter of my career really felt like processing a break up, so it had to be the end of this EP.”
You aim to create a community through your music. How do you feel the release of Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 will strengthen and grow this community?
Bailey: “I just want my songs to be a lens through which my SBB’s can see themselves for exactly who they are! The beautiful and the confident the emotional and the messy. I hope that the more songs I release the more we all have to relate to!”
What can we expect from you in the coming months post Sensitive Bad Bitch Music Vol. 1 release?
Bailey: “I HOPE you can expect me to go on a very cool tour either headlining or opening for another dope artist, that’s what I’m manifesting at the moment.”