Lancashire, U.K.-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ian Bailey first attracted attention in the Lancashire band MellowDrive, which formed in 1999 and included Bailey on vocals, his brother Phil Bailey on drums, Jim Mumford on bass, and Andy Bagwell. The group recorded a low-tech DIY album and also tracked at Gary Hall's Voodoo Rooms studio in Preston, where Bailey returned when he began work on a solo project. The resulting album, co-produced by Bailey and Hall and simply entitled Bailey, was released in 2005 on the newly created Northern Sun Records label, and garnered critical acclaim for its lush feel and tone. ~ Steve Leggett