“My Beloved Friend” by Single Audio Channel
As we lie in the grass, gazing up at the vast expanse of the sky, a wave of Indie-Brit-Pop melodies envelops us, transporting us back to the genre’s golden era. It’s a moment that teeters on the edge of sentimentality, where one could easily get lost in the longing to experience that groundbreaking sound for the very first time.
Amid the verdant tapestry of sound, a sanctuary emerges in the form of Single Audio Channel’s inaugural anthem, “My Beloved Friend.” This composition transcends mere auditory addition, it heralds the renaissance of Indie and BritPop’s core ethos. The track distinguishes itself immediately, adorned with guitar riffs that not only strike a chord of recognition but also exude a profound veracity. A sophisticated symphony, a nuanced nod to the past, yet boldly imprinted with the here and now. The riffs are not mere vibrations; they are the very essence of Indie spirit, timeless, yet refreshingly genuine.
The inspiration behind “My Beloved Friend” is as intriguing as its sound. Drawing from the notorious email scams of our digital age, the song narrates the story of a so-called wealthy prince promising untold riches in exchange for a small advance. Despite the obvious flaws and unrealistic nature of these emails, they have ensnared many, leading to devastating consequences. Through its lyrics, the song serves as a cautionary tale, urging listeners to steer clear of such deceitful traps.
Glynn Hayward, the creative force behind Single Audio Channel, has crafted a debut that resonates with a deep yearning for the raw, unfiltered spirit of the '90s. But the nostalgia doesn’t end there. As a bonus, Hayward presents “Keep Scrolling On,” a track that, in its own right, stands as a powerful testament to his musical prowess.
Single Audio Channel, with Glynn Hayward at its core, has managed to capture the essence of a bygone era while remaining firmly rooted in the present. As we look forward to what the future holds for this promising act, we echo the sentiment: “My Beloved Friend,” please continue on this remarkable musical journey.
Who is the artist or musician that forms Single Audio Channel, and how did you venture into music?
Single Audio Channel is a brand new music project based out of Bath, UK, by singer songwriter Glynn Hayward, who is the main artist behind the music. Glynn first ventured onto the music scene in the 90s, as the singer/guitarist in a three piece melodic punk band from Bristol called The Curfew. Later in the 2000s Glynn fronted punk covers band Stiff Little Bristols for 10+ years.
What are the primary influences that shape your musical style and identity?
I’ve always been inspired by the simple but effective ethos of “learn 3 chords and now form a band!” and the whole 70s punk era with bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, The Damned etc. The musical style and identity of Single Audio Channel takes this punk ethic, and adds a little touch of melodic guitar style to the mix from indie bands like Stone Roses, Pulp, Shed Seven.
“My Beloved Friend” has a distinct BritPop/Indie vibe. What inspired you to create this song, and could you share the story behind it?
Yes, alot of the feedback coming in about Single Audio Channel is that it has a strong 90s Indie/BritPop vibe - which is rather cool, as I loved that scene when it was happening. It wasn’t my intention to recreate a sound of the 90s it just seems to be our sound. It’s probably down to the jangly guitars and sing along melodies maybe.
My inspiration to write “My Beloved Friend” came from those scam emails that you used to get from a wealthy Prince, who would promise he would make you wealthy if you firstly put some money into his account! These emails would Always address you as “Dear Beloved Friend” and would be rather far fetched with lots of spelling mistakes in. Unfortunately they would catch some people out and ruin peoples lives. It still happens today and the romance scams stories seem to be all too common, so do watch out. Hopefully this song might just help someone falling for a scam in the future.
The song is featured on your upcoming album. What can listeners expect from it?
The album is set for release end of 2024/early 2025 and I’m hoping listeners can expect an albums worth of 3minute guitar based catchy tunes with sing along melodies.
Could you describe your (band’s) creative process? Do you have defined roles, or do you prefer a more collaborative and improvisational approach?
The creative process generally starts with me finding some nice chords, riffs on the guitar that excite me and I start to play around with them to form a structure of a song. Whilst this is happening I’m thinking about ideas for songs that I want to write about and the process sort of happens side by side. I get my writing inspiration from things I pick up around me which resonate or excite me.
I use Logic on the Mac to do all my recording which I find a great piece of kit to use for guitar based recording as its so easy to create quick demos and then build up the song to a final version ready for mastering.
Once I’ve laid down and finessed the drum track, using the Logic drummer, I record the guitars the vocals and a guide bass track and have a demo ready to share with Jasper Pattison who plays bass for Single Audio Channel. I then get together with Jasper and he then works his bass playing magic and puts his stamp onto the song. I take ages on the vocals trying to get them right, as having tinnitus and being deaf in one ear is bit of a challenge, but once I’m happy with them, we take the song to a fantastic recording studio in Bath for final mixing and mastering.
Josh Gallop at Stage2studios in Bath is our mixing and mastering engineer and is absolutely brilliant. Josh tightens everything up in the demo we give him and adds so much experience and techniques into the song to make the final record sound fantastic.
Are there any upcoming live performances planned for the near future?
The focus for this year is to complete the album and all energies are there at the moment so no live performances planned. In 2025 it would be great to promote the album with some live performances.
You took a hiatus from music at one point. What prompted that decision and how does it feel to be back?
I’ve played in bands since the 90s playing all the pubs and clubs. I remember one gig when I was playing with a punk covers band I was looking across at the other guitar player as he was starting one of the songs and I thought, that sounds very wrong, and he rest of the gig was bit of a struggle for me. The band assured me it was a great gig however. I booked a hearing test the week later only to discover I’ve lost the hearing in my right ear and cant hear certain frequencies and have tinnitus too. I carried on playing a few more gigs but found it hard going so decided to leave the band, and put my guitar away for 10 years!
Coming back to music after a 10 year break I was nervous about it to be honest. I was worried about whether I could hear properly or was i going to damage my hearing any further. But I wanted to get back to making music and the creative process and embraced the challenge. So under the name ‘Single Audio Channel’ which reflects me only being able to hear out of one ear this has given me the positive identity to get back into recording brand new music and so far I am loving it. It's good to be back!
What plans or projects does Single Audio Channel have lined up for the near future?
The future plans for Single Audio Channel is obviously the album at the end of the year but releasing singles throughout the year, so an audience doesn’t have to wait and forgets about us is our current plan. As we are just starting off this year, it’s also all about trying to establish Single Audio Channel on playlists and building up the audience, which is slowly working and all feeling really positive. We’ve already got 2 of our songs being used in Canadian short film thats being produced at the moment and obviously looking for that TikTok break that uses our music which becomes a global viral success would be fun !
