Interview: Ambient artist Bayonne released third album, premieres new video today

Today, Roger Sellers aka Bayonne released his third studio album Temporary Time. We sat down with him to discuss what listeners can expect. Temporary Time’walks through stages of grief with ambient looped composition in what he describes as ‘his most personal work to date’.

‘Must Be True’ sets the tone with an organic piano ballad that has just enough echo to linger lightly in the air before dissipating to the next note. For those caught in the catchiness of Glass Animal’s Heat Wave, ‘Right Thing’ is similar with a synth hook over Seller’s high-pitched melodies. ‘Solo’s” larger sound has a richness brought about by various layers of guitar, whether it’s a short acoustic riff or a punctuating electric guitar substituting Seller’s voice at various points.

Catch Bayonne at Parish on June 28 as part of KUTX’s 10th Birthday Concert Series. Tickets here.

Me: Tell us about Temporary Time.

Roger: It’s the third record under Bayonne, the Bayonne moniker. Off the top of my head, it’s a blend of the last few records. ‘Primitives’ was more experimental, more layered and ambient. ‘Drastic Measures’ was more on the pop side. More structured on that record. ‘Temporary Time’ feels like both. The sonic quality is better than what I had put out. I’m excited for that aspect of it. It’s the first record I have had come out in three years, so it feels good.

Me: Definitely got the ambience listening to it from start to finish. Were there any components on Temporary Time that you were excited to experiment with?

Roger: Having other people come in, more than I have done in the past. It’s something I want to get better at. Blending music to somebody and the extra help. Even on the mixing level, my friend came in. He did a bit of the mixing, we co-mixed it. Having the space and the openness to have other people involved was probably the most exciting new thing. I learned a lot more that way.

Me: “Solo” was the first time you worked with another producer?

Roger: That song in particular, John Joseph came in. You get so stuck sometimes, especially with big songs like “Solo”. You fill out some of the structure and help finish it, basically, with additional production. I found that super helpful and I want to keep going in that direction.

Me: Is there anybody in particular that you would like to work with?

Roger: There’s a good amount of producers. I really like Jon Brion a lot. He does a lot of film scores. He’s a dream producer for me. He also worked on some of Kanye’s older records. He’s probably my fave. Jim O’Rourke, too. I’m really open, when it comes to other artists, I’m pretty open to seeing who else could come in. Those are probably my two faves.

Me: Temporary Time has an overall melancholy tone and overarching theme of loss, especially on ‘Solo’ and ‘Is it Time’. Were there particular events that inspired the album?

Roger: It was a tough time, what I was going through. There was the pandemic, everyone was having a tough time. The factor that was in the back of my head most of the time was a lot of family issues in terms of health, my dad’s health was declining. He had cancer a few years ago. [He] beat the cancer right after Drastic Measures’came out. It was a long span of time. That was a big factor on the melancholy nature of the record. Going through that and dealing with a new set of things, like anticipating what was going to happen. He passed away right as we were starting to do the deal with a record label. It was strange timing. I think that had to do a lot with it, but there’s other elements. Temporary Time is self-reflective, it’s very introspective. It just naturally came out that way.

Me: How do you use your songwriting process to engage with your audience?

Roger: I don’t know if I would say engaging. It’s more internal and more personal. Like a diary. I try to keep it alive when I’m performing on stage. I like being interactive with the fans. Really it just comes out. I don’t think about engaging when I’m in the process and how people are going to interpret it, but live, I definitely do.

Me: Do you have a preference: performing live or recording?

Roger: They’re two whole separate things. Two different lifestyles almost. The way that it feels coming out. I think I like them both. It’s two different parts of the brain. When you’re recording, it feels sacred. You’re being really introspective, you’re writing. When you’re [performing] live, it’s outward. So it’s a totally different thing. If I had to pick, I’d pick recording.

Me: Your music has been featured on a few different films and TV shows, what’s one that sticks out to you?

Roger: “All Together Now” which was a Netflix movie that came out a few years ago. It was the placement of where the song was, which was cool. It was at the end where there’s this huge shot of Portland and this epic ending. The song comes in right at the end and rolls through the credits. It’s the pinnacle of the whole movie.

Me: That’s the best spot where the music can come in, right where the credits are rolling.

Roger: It’s the only place in a movie or show where they can play the whole song too. People that want to hang out and listen to it can.

Me: One final question: who are you listening to now?

Roger: You know, I haven’t been listening to that much music.  I’ve been giving my brain a break. Music is very personal to me. I get a little anxious about it sometimes, especially before or after a project. I really love this band Pure Bathing Culture out of Portland. I’ve started picking them back up again.

Listen to Temporary Time