Slay Positive release debut track

Atlanta-based Slay Positive is a band led by frontman and bass player Billy Batty. When performing live, he’s joined on stage by a group of musicians to bring his compositions to life in front of live audiences.

Taking influence from artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Rancid, Rage Against the Machine, Royal Blood, Beastie Boys, Death From Above 1979 and Beck, Slay Positive uses drums, bass and synths to create their own blend of rock, rap and electronic music. Notably, the band uses no guitars in their recordings or live music, instead Billy runs his bass through a dual amp set up to offer both the traditional low range bass tone, augmented by a fuzzy distorted mid range sound.

Making their recorded music debut, they bring us their first single with the new track titled “Mind Control”, with their sophomore release “Sports Riot” set to drop in the near future. Both recorded in a grimy basement studio by Billy’s childhood friend Christian Robert, the recording set up perfectly captures the intense style of song with touches of industrial tones.

When playing the old Playstation 2 game Manhunt 2, Billy was inspired by the storyline of the video game which sees a patient escape from a mental asylum with his cellmate. During the game – spoiler alert – it’s revealed that the cellmate is in fact a second personality of the patient, implanted into the protagonist’s brand by a secret government organisation experimenting with creating mind controlled assassins.

Weaving a sense of dissonance into the song, Billy crafted his bass tone to add an unnerving sound to the composition to reflect the chaotic and chilling context of the song.

Listen to Mind Control below