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Mike Baillie: The History!
At the age of 22, Mike Baillie’s CV is impressive. With a self-recorded and self-funded solo album under his belt at just 19, it was to be the start of great things. Working with Jamie Watson (The Vaselines, Idlewild, Snow Patrol) and Grant Macnamara (Mogwai, Annie Christian) at Chamber Studios, Edinburgh, “The Things We Are” was independently released to some acclaim. Solo band project, Sonus, was formed on the back of this, and over the course of the next year, Baillie would make appearances with a number of other Edinburgh bands, including a re-incarnation of cult sample-rockers RisingSon. 2004, however, would lead Mike to Glasgow, where he had longed to be for years…
A solo recording session set up with reindeer section friends Marcus Mackay (I Am Scientist/The Zephyrs) and Gareth Russell (Summer of Mars/Astrid) soon turned into much more. When Charlie Clark (Astrid/Cold Night Song) attended one of the studio sessions, he swiftly recruited Mike on guitar and vocal duties in his new as-yet-unnamed rock outfit. Our Lunar Activities was born, and Baillie’s first appearance with the band would be only a matter of weeks later, supporting Snow Patrol in Ireland. A fiery, intense combination of Psychedelic Furs-esque guitar battery, mixed with Texas Chainsaw Massacre imagery and visuals, allowed Baillie to wear influences, such as Sonic Youth and Sebadoh on his sleeve. As a result, his energetic, inventive live performances attracted the right attention at shows, and on this very first occasion cemented his place in the band. From this gig onwards, it was up and up for the Glasgow four-piece, with further tour dates with Snow Patrol, playing to a crowd of 27,000 at the Killarney Festival in Ireland, high profile shows with Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian, a packed out T-Break crowd at T in the Park, and even an invitation to perform at the prestigious CMJ New Music Festival in New York. However, due to a number of changes within the band dynamic, Baillie was to depart as the band signed to Fiction subsidiary, Hatch Records. It was with no hard feelings, and a mountain of fresh solo material, that Baillie moved back to his hometown of Edinburgh in August 2005…
Wasting no time, Baillie assembled a studio band of good friends (dubbed Baillie & The Fault), and headed back to where it all began, Chamber Studios. Featuring Craig Grant (Union of Knives/Close To The Ground), Lewis Gale (Fickle Public) and Mark Donaldson (SomeYoungPedro), and with old friend Jamie Watson at the desk, a stunning EP (“Cross Your Fingers And Pray That It Rains…”) was created in just four days, with lead track “Dark Water” appearing on Vic Galloway’s Radio One show a matter of days after completion. With it’s bright, shimmering guitars, thundering drums and heartfelt, glowing vocals, Baillie & The Fault's "Cross Your Fingers..." EP has turned many heads, not to mention ears, and the live band have already displayed they are truly a force to be reckoned with. Expect to be blown away.
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