Music
Shock Octopus
I have been performing as a singer and keyboardist in various music projects since 2006. The most enduring of these has been Shock Octopus, which started in 2010 as a cranky post-punk outfit in Perth and has since morphed into a neo-folk outfit in the mid tweenies before settling into an epic pop-rock sound in time for our 2021 compilation album “A Decade Into Darkness”.
I guess this is how I express my activism and existentialism through art. Most of the songs that I write for Shock Octopus have either an apocalyptic or environmental theme to them. Often both!
Like much of what I do, Shock Octopus has kind of existed as a cult in the fringe without ever really breaking through to the mass public consciousness. Nevertheless, I am incredibly proud of our legacy and what we have achieved.
Our music can be heard on Bandcamp. If you are a rare breed that still believes in financially supporting original music, this is the best place to buy our music. If you must listen to us on Spotify instead, just remember that every 1000 streams provides us with a breadcrumb of income!
We made one professional music video in our time to our 2014 single ‘Siren’.
In 2020, we released a double A side single ‘No Easy Way Down’ along with fellow existential rockers ‘Counting Backwards’ as a fundraiser for Extinction Rebellion. ‘No Easy Way Down’ is about climate change from the perspective of a polar bear.
Our latest single, ‘A Deer Caught In The Headlight’ is about the impact of forest clearing on Indigenous populations.
Radio
I was interviewed on radio for Adelaide’s Songcatcher program to discuss the stories behind my songwriting and to play a selection of Shock Octopus songs and tunes from other artists that inspired my songwriting. A link can be found below:
Publication
In this interview from Scenstr, I discussed my ‘top 5’ existential environmental songs
Scenstr Interview - ‘Michael Bayliss’s top 5 existential environmental songs’
My dream is for my music form a backdrop for a good cause – like a documentary of TV series for example. If you are interested in collaborating, please feel free to contact me on the contact form anytime.