British singer-songwriter James Bay recently released his third album, Leap.

He finished recording it early in 2020, but – in an all too familiar scenario – the pandemic hit and put all of James’s release and touring plans on hold. The silver lining was that it gave him time to write more songs, and re-evaluate what he wanted to say with the record.

We talk about that whole journey in this interview, as well as his upbringing in the UK, surviving the explosion of success that came with his debut album Chaos and the Calm, and loads more.