When I asked Bayne to describe his newest album his answer was “new 80’s synth, maybe?”. I find this description wonderfully reflects the beautiful abstract painting that is Lydian. Bayne’s whimsicality is woven within the fabric of the album beginning with the title. Musicians and music aficionados may recognize the album’s title is a reference to a musical mode that features seven tones crafted out of a pattern of pitches that rise through a series of whole tones and semitones. Here’s the thing though, it’s okay if you don’t understand Lydian mode because Bayne doesn’t actually use it in this album. Some may find this hysterical, while others may feel slightly uncomfortable when considering this unconventional artistic choice. |
It has been six years since I last sat down with musician Mason Bayne to discuss his debut instrumental album called Flight (Read our original interview HERE). Many things have changed since our first interview. In 2014, I recall how we—two full-time university students—sat down in the North Greenville University cafeteria to chat. In 2020, however, we find ourselves meeting over Skype with pets and family members moving around in the background of our conversation. Bayne is now happily married, living in upstate South Carolina, and working full-time composing music for advertisements, company projects, and films. During our time at North Greenville, Bayne and I bonded by sending each other our most “epic” scores and soundtracks back and forth on Facebook. That’s pretty much the basis of how we met. A mutual friend (Filmmaker, Andrew Bradford) introduced us with one sentence, “You guys both love film soundtracks and I think you’d enjoy talking about them together.” He wasn’t wrong then, and six years later, I find it still to be a ture statement. Bayne’s entertaining humor, atypical analogies, and acute insight about the world help him interpret and connect with music in a way I find both engaging and wise. Perhaps the most notable difference between our 2014 interview and this one is that in October of 2020, Mason released his instrumental fourth album titled Lydian. Bayne describes the process of creating this album as being an opportunity for growth and change that was initially born out of the statement, “I can do better”. Through the process, however, Bayne confessed his motivation and purpose for Lydian changed. The album listeners hear now was built out of a place of new confidence (to which Bayne gives gracious and considerable credit to his wife Angelina). This album was completed from a space of choosing to no longer care about how other people will receive or hear the music, but instead taking risks and being true to his creative self. Sometimes risks don’t mean going big and over the top. Bayne argues that for him, risks sometimes meant scaling back his art. The songs in Lydian are intentionally minimal, not pandered to a need to be “epic” or recognizably conventional in its scoring. “The word epic. You and I used that word a lot in college to talk about the soundtracks we liked, but what does it even mean? Impactful music doesn’t have to be “epic” to say something to people,” Bayne concludes. So, what did the process of creating Lydian involve? “I had a lot of opportunity to play with different musical toys,” Bayne explains of his off-the-wall approach to the album. If you listen closely enough, one track features Bayne’s first time singing on one of his own albums. Another distinct example of this experimentation is the track “Lullaby” which features Bayne’s wife singing a traditional Irish lullaby, that Bayne then broke down and crafted completely new. The finalized track features enchanting synth sounds with the female vocals echoing that of an ancient Greek siren. A few of the tracks, such as “Riptide”, “Life After Death”, “Beacon”, and “09/19/08” were created for other projects. The latter three are featured in the documentary “My Brother Jordan” by filmmaker (another NGU graduate) Justin Robinson. As of December 2020, “My Brother Jordan” has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube. I asked Bayne what it was like for him to work on songs for others as opposed to just for himself. “Commissions are 96% of my job,” He replied. “I’m more like a therapist and translator sometimes than a composer. Often what people say they need and what they really want are two very different things and it’s my job to read between the lines to find the real story seeking to be told.” Bayne admitted that there isn’t much room for insecurity when composing music for others, but he stated that some of his best education as a composer has been creating for projects like “My Brother Jordan”. “Working with others challenges me to serve and try different things. When you pick good dance partners the outcome can be pretty incredible,” he revealed. If the public response to “My Brother Jordan”—a stunning and very personal passion project filmed over eight years and involving hundreds of people—is anything to go by, I believe Bayne has uncovered a poignant truth about art, life, and humanity. Throughout our discussion, I was struck by Bayne’s vision and hope for the impact of music. His vision was not one of external accomplishment, instead he continually focused on how the music he composes has helped him grow, connect, and find joy. His desire to create Lydian was born out of a longing to create something that was special to him and the things and people that he values most. In our interview in 2014, Bayne said, “I think that all Christians, when it comes to creating, should pursue after excellence in art. I don't see my work as excellent by any stretch, but I do my best to reflect the most creative being in all of existence.” Since then, Bayne has discovered that what is seen as excellent can never be based upon recognized uniqueness, public acclamation, or legendary greatness. Instead, excellence is found in our willingness to give fully of ourselves—often in the form of our gifts, passions, and talents—and to then let go of a need to prove something; whether that be to God, others, or most notably ourselves. These profound words of truth are ones I need to consider and cling to--especially in 2020. You can listen to all eleven tracks from Mason Bayne’s fourth album Lydian on Spotify, Apple Music - iTunes, and for free on YouTube. I cannot recommend this album enough, it moved me deeply. The emotions it draws out and paints are truly stunning and reminds me of the power of music to help each and every one of us write our own story.
1 Comment
Kate Mylin
12/8/2020 01:44:59 pm
I'll give it a listen... after i find my password!
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