Exclusively for rampstyle #25: Bryan Adams photographs James Bay

»A man and his guitar« meets »a man and his camera«. And both of them in turn meet »a man and his magazine«. Or to put it in more detail: James Bay, British singer-songwriter, is portrayed by Bryan Adams, also a world-famous musician and photographer. And both stars were brought together in London for an editorial in the new rampstyle #25 by Michael Köckritz, who was also on location for the shoot. His exclusive interview with James Bay is also included in the issue called »Keep it Simple and Smart«. What is it about? James Bay, of course. And he is currently quite tired, because his five-month-old daughter regularly keeps him awake. "But that doesn't stop me from getting up at seven o'clock to do a photo shoot with Bryan Adams," the Briton says with a laugh.

Almost eight years have passed since his world hit "Hold Back the River" - and James Bay has grown up in the meantime. At least that's what the 31-year-old says about himself. Along the way, he produced his second studio album, changed his style with short hair and then returned to his usual long hair and hat. With his songs, on the other hand, there is no going back. Bay explains, "Don’t do something you’ve done before. That’s the rule."

He also reveals in the interview where his enthusiasm for making music still comes from after ten years: the "endless possibilities in making music, in telling stories" are what make Bay take up the guitar and microphone. And while we're on the subject of artistic diversity and style: At some point during the musical-photographic jam session of Bay, Adams and Köckritz, David Bowie comes up.

→ Find out which album of Bays records was influenced by David Bowie, which album impressed Bay most recently and why he can relax when analysing other artists' songs. All in Michael Köckritz's exclusive interview. And you can find that together with Bryan Adams photos in rampstyle #25.