Bully Hay Reflects On New Single ‘Wash Off The World’

Undulating and revitalising, the brand new single Wash Off The World out now from Tasmanian singer-songwriter Bully Hay drives home a message of empowerment and inspiration, topped off with the addition of The Tea Party’s Jeff Martin on production, recording and mixing duties. Also armed with an accompanying music video, Wash Off The World marks Bully Hay’s first single off his forthcoming debut album, Black Dogs and Songbirds due out later this year on Wednesday October 30. Bully Hay tells Hi Fi Way more about the single.

How has the build-up been leading up to the release of Wash Off The World?
It’s been quite an adventure for me. Bully Hay is a fresh new project for me and we were starting at absolute ground zero. Being at the very beginning of launching as a new artist has its perks. There’s no expectation, the time frames are all up to me and I’ve got nobody to impress! So that’s been a positive. The downside is there’s a hell of a lot of work to do with promo, branding, physical production, marketing and last but not least, prepping for live shows. Now that the song is out there it’s a huge relief and I can get on with the task of launching this thing.

Was the process of making your single as challenging as you thought?
No, luckily! I had written Wash Off The World a few years ago and so the bones of the song were all there waiting to be fleshed out. Originally it was quite a short song at around two and a half minutes. I’d basically hashed that song out so quickly, recorded a demo and felt at the time “Right! That’s done” and never thought about it much after that. It wasn’t until recording the album with my producer (Jeff Martin) that he could see the potential of this one and wanted more. He encouraged me to fill out some of the sections and added another verse and in the end we nearly doubled the length of the song. Jeff added a few other sonic elements into the song with some synth and therevox. So the challenge was more around getting the song structure right. Once that was done, it was all very easy creatively to get the sound we were looking for.

Sonically, how would you describe your music?
Well, my music tends to be quite full of layers and textures. For this song (Wash Off The World), the timbre of voice is captured in both low and high octaves all the way through and then with more harmonies added in spots, so sounds quite rich vocally. The guitar tones are pretty tasty and come across like a wash or wall of guitar. But there’s an ambience to the song. There’s a lot going on but there is space to allow these dynamics and textures pop out in different parts of the song. I like to write and record music that is interesting to me and I feel that on each listen you’ll hear another element you hadn’t heard in the first listen.

Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your music and why?
I’d have to give you a couple. The Tea Party on one front. Not that I sound like The Tea Party that much, however being a major fan since the age of about fourteen, it was because of them that I opened up my horizons with guitar. Experimenting with open tunings and coming up with passages on guitar that were a bit more outside the standard set of chords.

Another influence would be Crowded House. The sheer volume of cracking songs that relate to us all… The songs hit lyrically and the writing is on point and interesting always. I try very hard to write in a way that is engaging and not let my songs drag on for too long. They’re un-pretentious and honest in the realm of music and words. So I think of them often when writing and hope at least a small sprinkling of their influence gets through in my music.

Best piece of advice you have been given?
Nobody Cares… Sounds harsh, but really if you care the most about what you are doing and you are happy with the outcome, then does it really matter if nobody cares? The truth is most of the people that hear your music will not really care. Of course there are some that do! But I’ve always found it endlessly freeing to do this for me and no-one else. It’s also a great way to handle nerves. If you believe no-one cares, then you may as well give it your best shot and have fun. What’s the worst that can happen then?

What is the “Bully Hay” life story?
I was born, grew up and have lived in Southern Tasmania my whole life. My parents divorced when I was very young and I was raised in two very different households but it was all I knew. The families were very amicable luckily for us kids and so although life was confusing moving from household to household with differing rules and expectations, it was normal to us and we all grew up with probably a deeper understanding of perspective than a lot of our friends.

I went to a pretty rough school and had to learn to be street smart at a young age. It was music that saved me from pretty relentless bullying in high school. For some reason, back then if you could play a guitar and write songs, you were considered cool and that (most of the time) saved you from getting a beating. Music always had a presence with my Dad being an accomplished folk musician and very prolific with his writing. My siblings and I have all been drawn to music at points in our lives.

I sank my teeth into music as a teenager, playing in various bands. At fourteen, my friends and I recorded a full length album (it wasnt very good! But it was all original stuff). By the time I was in my late twenties I tried to make a go of making music for a living, touring with Ash Grunwald and a few other bands at the time. But with the arrival of my kids I just couldn’t juggle the life of touring, living on a shoestring and raising children at the same time. So music hit the back burner for many years.

I dabbled in and out of the scene, playing in a family band (The Colemans) and my brother’s band (Christopher Coleman Collective). But other than that I kept writing and recording music for myself, but kept it to myself.

It wasnt until 2022/23 that I met Jeff Martin from The Tea Party who saw something in my music and dragged these songs out of me and encouraged me to put the gloves back on and get up and out there. So here I am now with a new album under my arm and I am more than ready to go and get out there. However now for different reasons. I’m in it for the experience and a general sense of curiosity. I’m at a point now where I just want to grab life and take opportunities. I am genuinely just keen to see what happens.

Are you looking to tour more broadly?
Absolutely. This year, I’ll be touring solo in support of Jeff Martin’s tour across the country between September and November. The full Bully Hay band show will kick off in January Feb next year which will be a national tour also. Beyond that, I am planning to get over to New Zealand, Canada and potentially the USA.

What’s next for you?
Next, we’ve actually just dropped the second single from the album called Black Dogs and Songbirds which is the title track from the upcoming album (releasing on October 30). The name Black Dogs and Songbirds is a metaphor for the waves I experience in life. Crushing lows and lofty high’s. Nothing ever seems to run in a straight line.

When the Black Dogs are in control, bad thoughts, ideas and bad habits seep in. When the Songbirds are about, beautiful and fulfilling things happen.

The song itself is loosely based on myself in a Black Dog moment. It’s about isolating oneself, obsessing on all of the faults that become exhausting and trying to manage various addictions. It’s wishing someone would take it away, chase away the Black Dogs and bring you back to reality or at least a safe non-destructive place.

It’s much more of a folk influenced ballad that starts off with a Ukulele and quite different than the wall of guitars in Wash Off The World. That’s out now on Spotify along with a music video on Youtube.

After that, there’s another single dropping in September, then the full album on October 30.

Who’s your favourite Adelaide artist/group at the moment?
At the moment it’s Bad//Dreems. Hell of a lot of fun to listen to. Straight up Aussie Pub Punk Rock. Get sweaty and boozy and listen to their stuff at full volume.

Interview By Rob Lyon

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