The 31-year-old singer-and-actor has made a return to music, 13 years after he was runner up on 'The X Factor', and he had a great time heading into the recording studio to work on his new track 'They Say Love'.
Speaking to new! magazine, he said: "It felt like coming home because I was in Liverpool at Parr Street Studios. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
"We had a 50 or 60-piece orchestra, so it's huge. I'm a big 'Bond' fan as well and a lot of strings is quite 'Bond'-esque."
The single - which is taken from his upcoming album 'Undeniable' - was originally recorded a few years ago but the former 'Hollyoaks' star wasn't happy with how it sounded so he's now reworked the track to incorporate more swing elements.
He said: "It's about the ups and downs of love and it's actually the first original track I've ever released.
"It was originally a pop song I recorded about five years ago but I didn't release it because it never felt right at the time.
"I didn't feel like I was connected musically, so I went down the road I know, which is big band orchestra and swing elements. It was a bit of a eureka moment of, 'Oh wow, that's my sound.'"
Ray credits his "older family" for his interest in swing music.
He said: "I'm from an older family - my dad is in his late 70s and my eldest brother is 50 - so I grew up listening to these artists and it connected me to my dad.
"He'd always have the tunes blasting from Gerry & the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, Leo Sayer, The Walker Brothers, Frank Sinatra... all these artists almost became part of me."
