It’s been said that music is good for your mental health, releasing the ‘feel-good’ chemical dopamine into your brain. Makes sense, right? Whether you’re feeling angry, sad, or just a bit pissed off, sticking on your favourite tunes can give the boost you need to get you through the day. Dave Bayley agrees, so he’s made us a playlist and talked about what brightens his mood.
Dave is the frontman for Glass Animals. After spending his early years in Texas, USA, a place young boys are told to ‘man up’ and ‘be strong’, his family moved to the UK where he met and bonded with Drew MacFarlane, Joe Seaward and Ed Irwin-Singer. The friends who would later become his bandmates.
The band put up posters at their shows at the entrance and in bathrooms, signposting people to places they can talk about how they’re really feeling. Because they believe everyone needs to know that there are charities like CALM that offer an anonymous ear.
Dave shared a bit about how he manages when things aren’t going so well, how he’s connecting with others during lockdown, and Dreamland, the band’s new album – which is out in July.
While playing, and often losing, Mario Kart tournaments has been fun, the band have wanted to keep making stuff while in quarantine, and thought they would provide some ammo for others to do the same: “We constructed this open-source website where we put all the stems and parts of our music and art, 3D graphics, website code – literally everything for people to use and abuse and create with”.
“We keep adding to the open-source and then share what people have done. It’s so nice to see it being put to such good use. Everyone is so damn talented!”
But Dave gets that some people are just having a bit of a shit time in lockdown and believes in dividing stuff up so that the ‘work day’’ doesn’t blur into the evening: “Find time to do things for yourself and do the things that make you happy. Whether that be speaking to family or friends or cooking or watching movies or listening to music or having a bath.”
And what does he do when things aren’t going so well? Other than listening to music, watching movies and TV reruns that make him feel comfortable, he exercises every morning: “I guess it just releases endorphins that make you feel better. It’s a good way to start the day and gives you some space to digest things on your own, even if it is subconsciously. That bit of time to yourself is important”.