Scott Clay brings heart and feeling to the Americana/roots rock music found on his brand new album, “Let It All Lay Bare,” which is being released on September 23rd. With a voice that often sounds quite similar to that of Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, Clay’s songs rock at times and are folksy, gentle, relaxing balms at others, providing the perfect gamut of listening experiences within one album. With a penchant for nature and the national parks, Clay makes music that will appeal to the outdoors adventure enthusiast and the armchair traveler in equal measure. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel to catch the videos for some of the songs on the album (“Aurora,” “Let It All Lay Bare,” and “Open Country”) filmed in national parks in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Utah, and Washington State. The scenery accompanying Clay’s fantastic songs is nothing short of spectacular.
Amplify Music Magazine is pleased to premiere the full album stream here today for fans to take a complete first listen. We also sat down with the Nashville-based Clay recently to talk about the album, and you can read our Q&A below while you listen.
Your album is really fantastic. Tell us how you came to gather this collection of songs together.
Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoyed listening to it. This project was built directly on the heels of my 2020 studio release, “Time Will Tell.” I had just wrapped up sessions with producer Mike Davis at the Hall of Justice in December 2019, and we decided to dive directly into a new project. We used the same session players and studio space as the previous project. Mike and I doubled down on our pre-production work to make sure this project had all the kinks worked out prior to tracking live at the studio. We were able to track six songs as a band together before the Covid-19 pandemic locked us all out of the studio. Later in 2020, Mike and I set up a remote Skype session to finish the remaining four songs on the project. He worked from the studio, and I worked from my apartment in Seattle. We tracked our parts separately and then sent out session files to the remaining studio musicians to track from their homes.
How do you feel the different way of recording things worked? What was your favorite moment (or moments) in the studio?
The pandemic turned our recording sessions completely on end. That being said, after adjusting to the remote recording setup, I strongly feel that some of the best material I’ve ever worked on was completed during this time. Working remotely allowed me to record and write completely independently from others. The producer, Mike, would set me up with a loop of the song, and I could spend hours experimenting with different guitar and vocal arrangements. This level of detail, and ability to spend limitless time on each part, really helped the album achieve a level of detail that I am super proud of.
When we were finally able to get back into the studio later in 2020, I really wanted to carry this level of detail and focus to my final vocal parts. So we experimented with a few different vocal mic setups. For “Open Country” and “Utah,” I set up a “bed” on the floor of the studio, with the vocal mic suspended above my head. We arranged some near field studio monitors that were synced out of phase with each other to allow for a “headphoneless” mix for me to record with. I then set an alarm for 4 a.m. and fell asleep in this “bed.” When my alarm went off, I hit the spacebar on the recording computer and sang through the song. This take is the final take of what is heard on the album. I wanted to achieve an effortless, dreamy vocal performance and knew that waking up at 4 a.m. was the perfect way to do that! By far, this late-night vocal session was my favorite moment of studio recording.
Do you have a favorite song on the album? What makes it stand out for you?
I really love the way the song “Chief Joseph” turned out. I had read a book by Kent Nerburn called “Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce.” This book inspired me to do some traveling to the battlefield sites of the Nez Perce and US Army conflicts in the early 1800s. I traveled to Western Idaho with my brother, Nathan, where we explored some of the amazing terrain at the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains. After my visit to Idaho, the verses and choruses came together for the song “Chief Joseph.” Seeing the landscape — its beauty and its complexity — really brought the book to life and helped me distill the core concepts from the book into a song.
Mike, the producer, had a very clear vision about how the layout of the song should happen. He felt like it should start from a slow, thoughtful song and crescendo into a climax at the very last note. We attempted to try to “ramp up” the intensity of this song continuously from start to finish. I really enjoyed the addition of the electric guitar and the last vocal choruses. My vocal coach at the time, Chris, had also employed me to write a second chorus at the end which would double with the vocal part. I really feel like this helped add to the complexity of the song and helped the final chorus move along into its climax. Lastly, my producer had also encouraged me to approach the vocal recording from a very humble perspective, because the story is one of defeat and sadness; I feel like approaching the vocal part in the way we did really brought the story to life and helped portray the honesty and brutality that the story holds.
What do you hope listeners get from listening to this album? What would you like the message or messages to be?
Much of this album was inspired by nature, outdoor backpacking, and the national parks. We ended up filming six videos in ntional parks to accompany the songs on this album. I feel like some of the themes that run throughout the project are vastness, natural beauty, as well as appreciation of the open lands that we have in the United States. I hope that listeners are able to walk away from the album with a new appreciation for the outdoors, and with a renewed perspective of their place in the natural world.
How would you describe the music that you make?
Having grown up in a rural environment in Eastern Washington State, I’ve always had some element of folk/roots in my music. So I feel like Americana and folk play a big part in my sound. I would describe my music in one sentence as “melodically driven Americana/folk rock.”
What’s coming up next for you once the album comes out this week?
I’m really excited to continue touring in support of this album through 2023. I’ve got a short break in November and December of this year. And then I’ll be back to touring through Colorado in January and the Southeast starting in February. I’m excited to continue seeing this project connect with listeners!
