Hayley McKay - Wild West (single)
Hayley McKay is a singer/songwriter from north east, UK. Displaying an incredible vocal range with a distinctive all-round style, which can effortlessly leap from earthy and soulful raw emotion to soaring and ethereal angelic tones, Hayley has been likened to Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchel, LeAnn Rimes and Kate Bush. An accomplished and insightful songwriter, who effortlessly captures deep emotional sentiment with moving sincerity, she has co-written with twice Grammy-nominated songwriter Jan Buckingham (Whitney Houston) in Nashville, performed in Bob Harris’s home studio for his Under the Apple Tree sessions, and has supported Tom Jones, Albert Lee, Scouting for Girls, Martha Reeves and Hazel O’Connor.
Following on from Hayley’s recent chart topping success with ‘Breathe’, her new song, ‘Wild West’ takes the listener on a trip back in time.Partly inspired by the Doris Day classic western movie, ‘Calamity Jane’, the nostalgic, yet refreshing retro sound features a blend of mandolin, fiddle and guitar, alongside Hayley’s pure vocal.The song is about uncertainty and about taking risks. Don't we all take risks at times? Following our hearts, being different than the rest? Listening to this song you are being transported to the era where Indians and desperados were battling over the land and gold, honour and a man's word valued more than money. Don't you wish to go back, at least for a while? The fiddle in particular adds the western feeling.
“The melody and words came together pretty quickly. I then watched Calamity Jane for the first time and some western documentaries, and I started to get ideas for the instrumentation. You don’t hear much of this type of music anymore and I wanted to give it a new lease of life.”
‘Wild West’ was produced in the North East of England by Chris Davison, singer, songwriter and producer at The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. It was mixed and mastered by John P Taylor at Mirage Music and features drummer Paul Smith, who has worked with many well known artists including Alan Hull and Sting. The fiddle is a big feature of the song and was performed by Johnny Bunce from The Spirit Levellers.
There is also a music video filmed by Richard Doney, so sit back, put your cowboy hat on and enjoy!
"Sometimes I just break down and cry
But I gotta keep on moving
Don’t doubt myself anymore
It’s not good for my health"