our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new single “Remembering” from Naomi Campbell! 🙌
we loved her previous single “Don’t You Mind“, having reviewed it when it came out in November of last year, and she’s had an incredible run of gigs since then – we were stoked for this new single! ☀️
“Remembering” takes influence from a variety of genres, including soul, r&b, 60’s and even 70’s rock – it’s a gorgeous tune, and she’s blended all of these genres expertly to create something she can truly call her own style. there’s so much atmosphere present within the track, with a range of instruments all working in perfect unison to form the basis, and Naomi’s vocal takes centre-stage with it’s power, commanding the listener’s attention, yet with raw and personal lyricism that truly conveys her emotions in a poetic manner. it’s a fantastic listen and a great first track of 2025 for her – we can’t wait for even more! 🎶
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the new album from the genre-bending artist Bonneville, “New Lady“! 🌙
having released a bunch of already great singles over the past year or so, she’s made a name for herself with intricate pop melodies, delicate and intrinsic lyricwork, and taking influence from the likes of country, rnb and jazz – all whilst maintaining a unique styling that she can call her own. the latest single “Chimpanzee” dropped on the 22nd March, along with the full album! 💿
there’s a real sense of a conversation in each of the tracks, an intimate opening up of feelings and emotions – feeling like an effortless conversing between friends set to a luscious backdrop, consisting of pianos, guitars and a delicate production process; with a perfect balance to each song, complimenting the nature of each track superbly to ensure that there’s a real meaning to each of them. 🎧
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the incredible new single from Hayden J Barlow “COZENAGE“! 💥
we’ve covered Hayden’s music a whole bunch recently and his album last year was bloody fantastic. a real unique artist with a sound that he’s done so well to define his own stamp on it and call it his own 🤘
this new tune “COZENAGE” only continues in his trend of quality releases, expanding out on his signature sound with the familiar aspects of his music, with his trip-hop influenced beats, hyperpop and soul elements throughout and gorgeous vocal synthesis. 🙌
it starts off lovely and mellow, only to build and build to a calm before the storm that progresses so well to create such a crazy wall of sound and atmosphere that really shows off the progress he’s made in production and beatmaking – a real testament to his talent. there’s such a groove behind this track too, with chopped and sliced drums throughout giving such an interesting backdrop for his vocal and lyricism to sit above. definitely one that’s gonna go far! 👊
in case you missed it, our last Knead to Know feature with Hayden J Barlow last week was beltin
it was great to chat with him about his new release “Stockholm Syndrome“, plus about his inspirations, creative processes and more! the new tune sounds incredible as well, another in a long list of bangers from the hyper-soul songwriter.
we’ve got our next Knead To Know interview for you all, with the supremely talented singer-songwriter Hayden J Barlow! 🥖
Hayden’s been making waves on the scene over the past year or so, putting out a slew of releases and singles like there’s no tomorrow, performing across the North and we’ve even had him play a bunch for us – his live performances are so well-honed and intricate, it’s a joy to catch him play. we’ve been massive fans of his music for a while now and his new single “Stockholm Syndrome” is yet another in a long line of incredible tunes from him!
find the full interview below! ⬇️
Hey mate, nice one for doing this interview here with us! Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hey bud! You’re absolutely welcome. I’m Hayden! I make video game boss music and then sing on it.
We’re massive fans of the new single “Stockholm Syndrome” – give us a bit more of a lowdown on the track!
‘Stockholm Syndrome’ is a tune I wrote a while ago about how much I both love and resent having a career in music. It takes a huge toll on me at times despite how much I love doing what I do. This song is an expression of that.
How did you start doing music?
I started singing and writing my own songs at about 10. It’s just something that has always existed simultaneously alongside my life. It’s only around 16 that I actually considered it to be a possible career. At about 22, I actually started actively chasing that. It’s had its ups and downs but it’s been pretty sick so far.
What are the processes involved in creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?
Everything I record is done all at home with a minimal home studio. It’s how I get that ‘D.I.Y’, glitchy sound that I’m starting to become known for.
We already know you produce your music yourself – what led you into self-production?
Honestly? Stubbornness. I am mad difficult to work with (trust me, I do it all the time) because of how unbelievably stubborn I can be when it comes to the sound of my music.
What are your main inspirations for your songs? What artists influence your sound?
It’s an eclectic bunch. James Blake is a big one production wise. In terms of writing, Kings of Leon are a big one as I grew up on them.
When you’re writing, do you focus on a melody first or is it lyrics, or some other way?
I don’t have a set approach, I tend to just go with my gut.
Over the past few years, how have you been spending your time musically? (recording, writing etc)
I’ve been heavily focused on recording these last few years. It’s become one of my biggest passions. Production is a whole other beast and I’ve learned a whole lot by using very little. I’ve had a lot of absolute beginners who have no idea what they’re talking about critique my recording methods. I’ve been honing it for years and these dudes with one set of cheap HS-5s and an ego think they can comment on it. One of my biggest motivations has been sticking it to them by proving you can make high quality, successful records with minimal equipment.
We’ve seen that you’ve been covered on radio a bunch of times now, how are you finding your music is being received?
It’s very validating. We’re slowly but surely getting there.
How are your gigs going? What kinda set up do you take to them nowadays?
To be honest, it’s not my biggest focus these days! I get the most dopamine from recording and making records. If I’m gigging, I want it to be a spectacle or a celebratory, wholesome event. Quality over quantity.
When you’re performing live, what do you enjoy the most about it?
I love translating my songs to a live setting. Whether that be to track, showing off my production skills or reinventing and rearranging my tracks for guitar.
Have you got anything else planned for the rest of the year?
I’ve a whole EP dropping in November! Then it’s onto planning the next batch of releases. Next year is going to be big.
it’s real lovely to put these interviews together and get a more personal and down-to-earth conversation with each artist, find out their motivations, inspirations and what their aims for the future are – seeing Hayden’s approach to music here is super uplifting, taking a much more DIY approach and focusing on the quality of his music is something that we can relate to here at the label. it’s well worth checking out his new tune, it sounds fantastic and if you enjoy it, his back catalogue is full of a bunch of gems as well! big love to him for participating in this and we hope you liked it as much as we did! 🍞
in case you missed it, our interview with Days Are Done for last week’s Knead To Know was fantastic
their new single “I’ve Tried” sounds sublime, with huge harmonies, uplifting production and their usual lovely songwriting that we’ve come to see with every single one of their releases. it was super lush to chat to them and get insights into their recording process, their influences and more!
here’s our next Knead To Know interview, with the amazing Days Are Done! 🤘
over the past year or so, they’ve been doing loads across Manchester, performing at various venues across the city and releasing tunes – we love their 80s-inspired feel with so many vocal harmonies lacing the soundscape and so much passion put into their music. ⚡️ their newest single “I’ve Tried” sounds absolutely gorgeous and we thought we’d get em for an interview! Find it in full below! 😎
Hey guys, thanks so much for doing the interview with us here. Tell us a bit more about yourselves!
Heya, we’re Emmy Kay – I’m a songwriter, singer, composer and actor originally from Manchester and Adam Lewis- singer, songwriter and BAFTA-winning composer originally from Wales.
The new single sounds superb, can you tell us a bit more about it?
Adam – It’s called “I’ve Tried” and it came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s a stream of consciousness really, thoughts about relationships and love. It’s half of a person’s conversation. Some things are hard to say but easier to say in a song. The last single ‘Say You Might’ was the other side of the conversation! It’s stuff one of us has really said for the most part. Musically it’s Pop- Classic Soul but with our own flavour. Influenced by a lot of our favourite artists like George Michael and Luther Vandross but it’s very much us. We’re creating our own sound and pushing it further every track we release.
What inspired you guys to start making music together?
Emmy – It sort of happened by accident. We knew each other through mutual friends and we just sat down with a “let’s see what happens” attitude which pretty much sums us up as a band. Adam was already in a band at that point and as that folded we just ran with this.
How do you go about creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?
We record everything at home – we have a very tiny home studio so we really are self-contained. We tend to slip into our own little world. But yeah everything’s done by us. We occasionally will get drums or a few other bits recorded remotely if we feel the track needs it but “I’ve Tried” is all us.
We’ve seen you take a little break from gigging – what have you been up to in the meantime?
We have! We’ve been writing, recording and much like everyone else, having the odd extentensial crisis. You know how it goes! We try and lean into remembering why we’re doing this now and again. So we don’t get caught on the music industry treadmill. Also living life, so we’ve got stuff to write about obviously.
Your previous singles sound absolutely brilliant, we love the harmonies and orchestral-sounding production on them. Who produces the music and what do you look for when producing?
Thankyou. We do is the short answer. It’s the both of us and it’s taken a long time to find a sound we were happy with and work out the journey we want to go on with the music. We started off doing acoustic stuff and we’re proud of those early singles but as our sounds developed and our writing has matured we wanted to move on. Embrace all our influences. For us it’s all about finding the right sounds so we do spend a decent amount of time on that. We love harmonies, like you said. Stacked vocals and making just the two of us sound like an entire choir is our jam. We’re lucky in that we have an amazing mix engineer – Steve Power ( Robbie Williams, Womack and Womack) and he really gets what we’re trying to do. We’ll send him the finished track and he’ll add this amazing shine to it. He really fills out the tracks and understands us.
What are your main inspirations for your songs?
Lyrically – life . We have the joke that all our songs are based on a true story but it’s really true. Whatever happens, whatever we experience or we see other people experience we write about. A lot of it is “ I’ve felt like this, have you?”. We try not to censor or edit in the sense that we try to be as honest as possible. Musically – a mash of a lot of our favourite artists. We both love D’Angelo and 90s r and b but we also love Hall and Oates, George Michael, Crosby, Stills and Nash. In terms of modern artists – we love H.E.R, Leon Bridges, Snoh Allegra, Marina Diamandis. We’re Pop, Classic Soul but in our own way. You can still hear our Americana influences if you listen carefully too. But we also take influences from other stuff – fashion, movies, architecture. We try an absorb vibes from as much stuff as possible.
How do you write? Do you write together, or do you bring lyrics and melodies to the table separately?
Emmy – Musically we always write together. Adam will come up with some chords or I’ll hum a melody. Then we’ll see where it goes. We usually decide fairly quickly if it’s going in the bin or not. Lyrically – it’s me. I’ll run lyric ideas by Adam now and again but I write them.
Over the past few years, how have you been spending your time musically? (recording, writing etc)
Lockdown had the biggest influence on us. We really went into a ‘burn it down and start again’ moment with the band. Adam lost his Dad during that period and just being inside, everything was very emotionally overwhelming. It made us stop and take stock. Why are we doing this? What do we want out of it? We wrote a crazy amount of songs while everything was shut and our sound started to evolve.
When you’re performing live, what do you each find best about it?
Emmy – We both love being on stage. In fact that’s where you really find the songs cause you can feel them evolving. It’s funny cause the old more acoustic version of the band we were gigging sometimes 5 times a week but with this version we’re still tryna navigate our way through how to best convey these songs as best we can to an audience cause at the moment there’s still just the two of us.
What music do you listen to? Which artists inspire you to make music?
Adam – that’s a complicated question because we both have different tastes but overlap in the middle somewhere. I love Leon Bridges, disco (I’m a big Donna Summer fan), but I’m also a huge Guns and Roses fan, I love Metallica. But also Crosby Stills and Nash, 90s r and b…
Emmy – I also love Guns and Roses! I maybe have a bit more of a pop lean than Adam- I’m a long term Marina Diamandis fan, I love Ariana Grande, I listen to a lot of Jorja Smith but we’re named after a Nick Drake song (Day Is Done) cause we both love him, I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan. I love Kate Bush. I love 90s r& b too. TLC is my jam and I think Babyface is one of our greatest living songwriters. It’s definitely complicated!
Have you got anything else planned for the rest of the year?
Writing and writing. We’re not sure if we’re gonna release anything else this year yet. But certainly, there’ll be new music soon and gigs. We may do a launch gig in Manchester next year for some new music. Stay tuned.
we love doing these interviews, it’s so great to have an insight into each act’s writing processes, their inspirations and the such – fantastic to see what makes each act unique! we also really enjoy the fact that they do the production themselves, being able to have that creative control is something we often enjoy here at the label so it’s nice to see artists taking a more personal approach! it’s well worth checking out their new tune as well, another incredible release under their belt! a big thank you to them for partaking in this interview, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 🍞
our feature for today’s Just The Crust is the brand new single from Hayden J Barlow “LCD” out this Friday 10th December!
we’ve known Hayden for a good while now and we’re still in awe at his sublime guitarwork, passionate and lovely vocals and lush songwriting ability. definitely one to catch live, such a fantastic talent.
we loved his latest singles “LONELINESS” and “DUPLICITY”, such top production on them creating such a unique sound for his music, and really blending so many genres to make super boss tunes. well worth checking out his previous releases!! https://open.spotify.com/artist/54QKgqIuwIximWz6A6ZQG2
the new single “LCD” carries on from his previous releases, with distortion and synths throughout, weaved together with heavy drum samples, basslines and gorgeous vocals that we’ve come to hear consistently from Hayden. we can’t wait to hear this once it’s out – go and give it a pre-save ahead of Friday’s release at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/haydenjbarlow/lcd
head on over to our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk to find all of our reviews, features, music and more!
this is tonight!! we’ll have the smooth sounds of Ayanam Udoma Music from 8pm for you!
it’s gonna be a super lovely one tonight with Ayanam playing a full set for us as part of our Fresh Batch feature – these have all been so great so far and we’re really looking forward to this one!
Ayanam will be live on his page from 8pm, but we’ll share it to our page – make sure you keep your evening free for this one!
our feature today for Just The Crust is the lovely tune ‘Front Row’ from Lucas Kane! 💥 this is off his brand new EP ‘Prom Queen’ which came out around a week or so ago!
blending acoustic and singer-songwriter guitarwork with rnb and soul influences, Lucas has made a huge impression on the Manchester music scene over the past few years, especially with the release of his debut EP ‘High School’ and this EP only continues to deliver! 🙂 you can really see his songwriting talent shine throughout the tracks and his production work really compliments his vocal ability and performance! definitely one to watch for the future ☀️
well worth checking out his previous releases!! 
we’ll have the smooth sounds of 
Bread Records 