What’s up, Our Basement!

Baby Jey was founded by two singer-songwriters – myself (Jeremy Witten) and Dean Kheroufi. For our forthcoming new record, Someday Cowboy, we threw Montreal producer Mitch Holtby into the mix. His multi-genre background spans a hip-hop career that saw him open for acts like Big Boi, Cadence Weapon, Buck 65 and Chali 2na. This unique match between singer-songwriters and a hip-hop producer may partially explain the album’s unique blend of shimmery synths and pulsing rhythms with lap steel guitar and jangling mandolins.

When we wrote these songs, we were listening to all kinds of different stuff. Lots of country music from the 80s like Tanya Tucker, Keith Whitley and Johnny Lee, lots of soft rock like America and Carole King, lots of Prince. I guess our first single – “Someday My Space Cowboy Will Come” – is a play on “Someday My Prince Will Come.” It’s a fun little tune about having a mirage in the desert.

Someday Cowboy was recorded in two days in my childhood home – we wanted a cozy and intimate setting to record and we were too broke to rent a studio. There’s a certain feeling of nostalgia to a lot of the album’s lyrics – we reminisce about tobogganing as kids and dreaming about cowboys, so it’s fitting that I was able to play the same piano that I first learned on. Since Someday Cowboy was recorded live off the floor in a living room, the piano had to be covered in blankets to prevent the sound from leaking to other mics.

The release of Someday Cowboy on September 14th (on NYC label Maintenance Records) will mark an important transition for both Dean and myself as we move to New York City. I’ve been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to complete an M.A. in History at The New School, while Dean is set to begin working full-time in the city. We plan to continue performing and will begin recording a new album in late 2018.

Baby Jey