London-rock indie band DAAY are becoming regular features on this blog. It all started at the end of 2021 when I discovered them through their track Forever. An inclusion in Jane’s All Jazzed Up feature, an interview, and two more track shares since have led us to this moment, the release of their debut EP Cosmic Gossip.

By Graeme Smith

DAAY has a changing line-up, but its constant is Alex Barty-King who is in charge of song writing and vocals. For Cosmic Gossip he’s joined by Nick Wemyss on lead guitar, Melody Wayfare on synths, Jonathan Woods on rhythm guitar, Euan Mcginty on bass and Max Mason on drums.

Cosmic Gossip is four tracks that tell a combined story, based loosely on the Hero’s Journey concept created by writer Joseph Campbell. The tale starts with its title track. We are plunged into a psychedelic and experimental world featuring steady percussion, distorted vocals and a sense of otherworldliness. In a sense, it’s jazz, but in another sense it’s not. In reality it’s as indefinable as trying to sum up David Bowie’s entire back catalogue with one word.

Top Heavy is a track we’ve recently featured on this blog and as part of this EP it provides a moment of conflict, with overlapping instrumental layers and a sense of paranoia. Mercy In The Jungle is a short and poignant reflective moment with twinkling keys and trudging drums before Who Am I brings things back to life with a soaring, soulful conclusion.

Alex and his band are innovators, and this debut EP is all the proof we need of that. They’ve taken classic cult influences and created something fresh and interesting from them. Cosmic Gossip is a rewarding sonic journey that throws the concept of genre out of the airlock.

Cosmic Gossip was recorded in pieces across Tileyard Studios and a various houses. You can give it a listen below.