New Zealand Music Month 2017 Profiles
Louis Baker
By Doug Peters.
Soulful singer-songwriter Louis Baker possesses a voice that can register as an intimate croon or soar to dizzying heights. And when twinned with his prodigious fretwork that he’s cultivated over many years as both a student and a teacher of the guitar, his voice is a tool that he’s able to wield to jaw-dropping effect.
Raised in a family where the classic sounds of the 60s and 70s were on firm rotation on the family record player, Baker picked up a guitar at the age of eleven profoundly inspired by the sounds and techniques of Hendrix and Joni Mitchell. Come high school, there were brief flirtations with heavy metal and the chance of promising sports careers, although these were left by the wayside when he was introduced to the music of Jeff Buckley, Curtis Mayfield and D’Angelo. Around this time, encouraged by his mother, Baker began singing which led him to winning a national song writing competition with two songs he would record some seven years later, ‘Love’ and ‘Birds’. His prize was an acoustic guitar that he still records and travels with today.
He then went on to study at Jazz School and after three years Baker left to apply a heavy focus on live performance which would see him playing some of the biggest music festivals in New Zealand as well as sold out shows across the nation. Bakers first single release, a classic blue-eyed soul original “Even In The Darkness” in 2011 won him the most votes on The Audience, a website dedicated to new, unreleased music. The prize included a recording session at Neil Finn’s Roundhead studios and music video funding.
In May of 2013 Baker went overseas for the first time to attend the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy in New York. He was chosen out of 4000 applicants to take one of only 60 places. Following the academy he spent the summer in London playing a series of shows and recording his debut EP with UK producer Andy Lovegrove (Supergrass, Breaks Co-Op,).
Baker released his second single Birds in November 2013 followed by independently releasing his self-titled five track extended player in his home country in March 2014. The release debuted at #3 on the NZ Charts and #1 on the iTunes Singer / Songwriter charts. He then went on to release his first ever limited-edition 7” record ‘Just Want To Thank You’ courtesy of the Red Bull Music Academy. Later that year, Baker’s songs ‘Heavy Stone’ and ’The Way’ featured on Oprah Winfrey’s new TV series ‘Queen Sugar’.
2016 was a year of travel, change and more growth for Baker, as he released two new singles “Rainbow” and “Fade” into the world. The release of “Rainbow” marked a new chapter in Baker’s sound as an artist, blending elements of electronic instrumentation with the organic acoustic foundations in which his songs take form.
2017 began with a third single to be revealed in the exciting new body of work, titled “Gave It All Away” – a dual single release featuring an acoustic version, and a dance mix produced by Mu of Fat Freddy’s Drop. This was followed up today, with the release of Louis Baker’s latest single ‘Addict‘. Again exploring a slightly different sound (while still being quintessentially Louis Baker), Addict was co-penned with Theia, Josh Fountain of LEISURE and Grammy nominated songwriter and producer Sacha Skarbek.
Later on this month Louis Baker will perform two shows in Auckland and Wellington with a full band. Inspired by vintage soul bands, this translates into his live show. “That’s where a lot of my influence stems from,” says Louis. “The night will have it’s soft, quiet moments, and it will also have high-energy parts where the roof could lift off.” There is truly something for everyone.
Louis Baker can seemingly do no wrong and is on his way to being truly one of the greats. Check him out sooner rather than later, you won’t be disappointed!
This profile is a part of our NZ Music Month coverage, celebrating new and upcoming Kiwi artists. For more information on Louis Baker you can visit his website, or follow him on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram. For more information on NZ Music Month you can visit their website.
Image Credits: Promotional Image courtesy of The Label. Live Image courtesy of Instagram / @louisbakermusic