An hour or so drive outside of London, at the point where the city’s vast swathes of suburbs become the green fields of the countryside, you’ll find Hitchin, home of the Rhythms of the Worlds Festival and hometown of 23-year-old singer-songwriter James Bay. It’s this kind of environment that has the habit of breeding the very best kind of British vocalist, singers and songwriters grounded by melodic truth and raw emotion. “I’m trying to make songs that make people feel something and, if I’m lucky, even move them,” he explains. James Bay is a singular modern talent; an old head on young shoulders, a damn good guitar player and an even better songwriter. A true soul singer, chasing “that goose bumps moment” by channeling artists such as Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen and James Blake, his music is intensely personal. “I’m trying to keep things human and emotional,” he explains. “It’s hard to know what the balance is, but you know it when you hear it. It’s such a personal process that it’s hard to share stuff sometimes.” But share he does, casting a light onto his attempts to make sense of the world, and a young man’s discovery of love and loss.