Shy Bairn Records are turning seven years old. To celebrate, they’re releasing new remixes of a couple of their bangers.
By Graeme Smith
Shy Bairn’s first release back in 2018 was Charlotte Grayson‘s Maybe. Here at York Calling we first heard her music in 2022 through her single MUG, before bring her back to the blog in 2025 through her team up with The Shame Areas, Get Outta My Yard.
The latter’s Foll remix combines a stomping, percussive beat with early ’90s dance overtones. The swagger of Grayson’s original still shines through, especially as her vocals float in for the verse. Its tale of rejection of a late-night caller takes on a whole new tone thanks to its lively pop arrangement. You can almost imagine a disco unfolding in the titular yard while a weary Greyson just wants some sleep.
Released via Shy Bairn’s rockier imprint, Guttersnipe Recordings, Lurcher’s HartlessPool first came to our attention in May 2025.
The track’s Foll remix pours a trance-like layer of the grittiness of the original, opening with looping electronic beats before some fuzzy bass arrives in snatches. A percussive groove works things up to a lather. The vocals do nothing to remove the building tension, rough and passionate in a fiery verse. A spoken word interlude chills things a bit before the arrangement comes roaring back, this time twice has hard.
Together, the tracks show the diverse voices coming out of the Hartlepool scene, and Shy Bairn’s keen ear to curate them.
Shy Bairn Records feel like old friends. Alongside releases by Grayson, Lurcher and Foll, we’ve also shared music by The Woven Project, NEEB, and All The Nines who also feature on the label. Each act is uniquely different, but united by a fierce, DIY independence and plenty of North-eastern grit. There’s perhaps an affinity there for us. In York, we’re used to being overshadowed by the larger city of Leeds. I imagine Hartlepool might feel the same about Newcastle.
So, thanks to Shy Bairn, we’re discovering there’s plenty of awesomeness out there if you’re willing to look for it. Happy birthday to them. It should be us getting them a gift really, but we’ll accept the ones they’ve offered gratefully.
You can keep up to date with Shy Bairn Records via Instagram, Facebook, X, and BlueSky.
The Foll remixes of Get Outta My Yard by Charlotte Greyson and HartlessPool by Lurcher are out now. You can listen to them both below.
