With a name inspired by Francis Bacon's painting Head VI, London's
Boxed In is the electropop project of singer/songwriter/producer
Oli Bayston. In the mid-2000s,
Bayston was a member of the Manchester-based band Keith; when the group called it quits, he worked behind the scenes as an engineer and assistant to producer
Dan Carey, and wrote songs with
the 2 Bears and
George Fitzgerald. While working with
Carey and establishing his own studio in Hackney -- where he co-wrote and produced music for and with
Lianne La Havas,
Rose Elinor Dougall, and
CocknBullKid's
Anita Blay -- he also assembled
Boxed In, taking inspiration from house music gurus like
Theo Parrish and the motorik rhythms of
Can and
Neu! Bayston recruited
Liam Hutton, Mark Nicholls, and Jack Benfield to flesh out the project, and
Boxed In released its debut single,
All Your Love Is Gone, in November 2013 via
Moshi Moshi's Singles Club. After signing to Nettwerk, the
Run Quicker single appeared in mid-2014, with
Boxed In's self-titled debut arriving in January 2015. The band emphasized its dance roots on 2016's
Melt, which featured tracks co-produced by
Carey and
Bayston. ~ Heather Phares