Track By Track: Louis Baker’s Commentary On His New Album, Open

After years of gigging and fine-tuning his sound…while constantly writing songs, Wellington’s Louis Baker is finally ready to release his debut album.

It’s titled Open, and it will make it’s long-awaited appearance this Friday, June 21st.

To get you ready for the big event, the 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Louis Baker about how he came to make Open...a project that literally spans the globe…and who he made it with. Louis then gives us a track-by-track rundown of the songs that comprise the album, so that you’ll be ready to fully appreciate it when Friday comes around.

Click here to listen to the interview with Louis Baker:

Or, read a transcription here:

MD: Alrighty, well let’s talk about the album. It’s called Open, and  it’s coming out on June 21^st, is that right?

LB: Yes, sir.

MD: Are you excited about it?

LB: Oh, I’m so excited, man. I’m gonna be real relieved, actually.

MD: Why’s that?

LB: Oh, it’s funny, cause artists often will finish a record maybe a year before it gets released, y’know, cause PR and promo needs eight months, and then, whatever. Everyone’s working ahead. So – it’s kind of… it’s one of those things, you sorta gotta kind of keep working on the next thing. I’m working on the next thing right now, because I know it’s gonna be the same story. You just kinda gotta wait around until it’s out, you know?

MD: So how long ago did you record the record?

LB:  It must’ve been completely mastered and finished by sort’ve January, or December last year. It’s been recorded all over the world, but mastered here in Wellington.

MD: I see. And why was it recorded all over the world?

LB: Comes down to the people, man. Always, always with the people, and always with that kind of connection that you have with people in the room, when you’re making music, and producing music. That’s what it is, for me.

MD: So, who are some of these people that you had to go abroad to?

 LB: So Steve Rusch, he’s been one of the main producers on the album. He’s worked with people like Solange, and Raphael Saadiq, and he’s a great producer and mix engineer.

MD: And how did you come to work with him?

LB: Oh, I actually met him in Sydney at a writing camp, just writing songs for a week and got on really well with him. And we ended up recording, and writing in a day, the song Black Crow, which is on the album. And then, I thought, man, this guy’s awesome, and he’s got so much experience, I wanted to go back with him. So went back and recorded more in L.A., with him, at his place.

MD: Right. So was he the main producer of the record? Or are there various people?

LB: There are various people, man. So there’s  Steve Rusch, who  produced Heart on Fire – have you got a tracklist thing?

MD: I do.

LB: Oh, cool. Yeah, Steve produced Heart on Fire, which is the second track, Black Crow, the third track, So Lo, the fourth track, and, Alive, as well. Um, and then… do you just want me to just let you know who produced what?

MD: Sure, that be great!

LB: Okay. Me and Jordan, co-produced Open, which is the title track, and the last one. Then Femme,  she’s from London, we wrote the song Just A Memory over there and she produced it.

MD: Uh-huh.

LB: And then Josh Fountain, from New Zealand, part of the Leisure Collective in Auckland, and has done lots of different sorta stuff, and has made some really awesome radio stuff, here in New Zealand, he did… Addict. Um, and then we have – last but not least

– Brad Ellis, who I’ve worked with quite a lot, before, aka Brad Baloo. He’s from London, and he’s one half of The Nextmen – which is like, a hip-hop duo over there. But he’s been around for years, and is a great writer as well. He produced The People.

MD: Okay. And do we mention Figure 8?

LB: Figure 8 – oh yeah, he produced Figure 8.

MD: There we go.

LB: As well.

MD: See, I’m paying attention.

LB: Oh, you are, man! I missed that one out!

MD: Um, I’d noticed that, because I remember seeing you quite a few years ago, and you were kind of doing the traditional folky acoustic guitar singer-songwritery thing, and this album sounds nothing like that. So how did that musical journey go from that to what we hear here?

LB: Yeah, yeah. Good question, man. I mean it’s… I hope that I continue to evolve and change and stuff, because I think it’s natural that we do that. I think it’s a good thing. I think, naturally, you just… you kind of… I feel like I get caught into something and just feel I just wanna move on with it and kinda go to something new. And because my musical influences are so broad, I just felt like I wanted to make a record like this.

MD: And when you say “like this”, for folks who haven’t heard it, how would you describe it overall? The sound?

LB: I’d say it’s still a soul, singer-songwriter record. You know, the songs are very much so that they’re classic songwriting, there’s nothing too abstract in the song. But I think sonically, sonically it’s got quite a lot of neo-soul, hip-hop influence… R&B. It’s sort of in that world of soul, neo-soul.

MD: Definitely.

LB: Hip-hop. But I really… I know it kind of sounds a bit silly, but I try not to put it in a box, because it is what it is…

MD: Sure.

LB: … to people, and the only reason I do that, is because… when you go into iTunes or when you’re putting your submission into Spotify, or most of these digital aggregators, you’ve gotta say what it is. It’s like, well…

LB: To someone else, it sounds like it could be funk. But you know, like – “what is it?”

MD: Since I’ve heard the whole album, and since I’ve got the list of the titles here. Could we go title by title, and you could give me a few comments on each of the songs?

LB: Yeah, sure!

MD: Well, let’s start with The People, which is the first track. What can you tell me about that one?

LB: It all started at my mum and dad’s place at Heke Street in Ngaio [a suburb in Wellington], I was writing that song. I read a – I was reading Oscar Wilde – and I was inspired by one of his lines on the great divide between rich and poor. And it got me thinking about the inequalities of our times, and in particular here in New Zealand, but of course around the world, for all people. Hence, the name: The People. And wanted to create a bit of a chant, or something that people can kind of sing together, that feels like a unifying thing. So it’s really about creating more of a dialogue around peace, love, and equality.

MD: And I think you mentioned in the song how you were being raised to listen to things going on around you. So is that something that’s autobiographical about you?

LB: Oh, for sure. Yes. I was raised to believe that we were created equal. I was taught to always listen.  I think I have been a listener, or at least I’ve been told by lots of people that I’m a good listener! Which isn’t always true, of course! But um, I just try and keep it real.

MD: Right. Now, the second song is called Heart On Fire. And it’s more of a soul-ballad, like a love song, would you say?

LB: Yeah, it is, man. It’s that kind of… that unique thing… I don’t know. I think the colour – like, I don’t claim to be some prophet or anything like that. But sometimes music, it gives you a colour. And that one for me was kind of a dark purple blue. And something about the chords, when I started playing them on the keys. Cause a lot of this record’s actually – like, I’ve played the bass, the keys, and guitars, that’s another point. But Heart on Fire, it’s describing the kind of unique nuances of the person – my girlfriend, and kind of like not always seeing eye to eye perhaps, but just loving each other unconditionally, no matter what, and just like y’know, write a song about it.

MD: And the musical backing on that, it almost sounds like some of it is – just to my ear – it’s like, backwards, stuff is running backwards, and I mean it has a kind of… I don’t know what’s going on, maybe you can tell me.

LB: Yeah! I think Steve is really creative, as a producer. And I played the Rhodes, the bass, the electric guitar, and the vocals on that track, and then Steve produced the drums, and had a few samples that I had from my own demos put in there as well. And then… oh, yeah, Melodownz does the feature on it – it was really cool to work with him.

MD: Oh, that’s right, I was gonna ask you about that, who was doing the rapping.

LB: Yeah, man, Melodownz,

MD: Yeah, and how did you rope him into that?

LB: I just messaged him on Facebook, and said – “Hey man, what do you reckon?”

MD: It’s as easy as that?

LB: I’ve known Bron-Sun for a while, and he’s a really great guy. But uh, you know, I just kinda heard an MC at this bridge part. Because when we cut it in L.A., we just left the bridge open, and I said, “I’ve got an idea for this, Steve, you know, I wanna go back home, and see if we can get some local blood on this record, you know?” Yeah.

MD: Cool. Next one is Black Crow, you said this one was co-written with Steve, was it?

LB: Yeah, we did that at Grove Studios in Sydney, which is better known for being set up by one of the guys from INXS. It came about in a day, we wrote it and just tracked it, and[it sort of fell out of us, and it was a really cool experience working with him, cause I’m a really huge fan of Raphael Saadiq and Solange, who he’s worked with before. It’s a song that’s really about the conversation of depression and mental health, and I wanted to shine a light on that, because I think that’s an important issue that we need to talk about and have solution-based conversations about.

MD: And it seems to be something that people are willing more and more to talk about, especially within the arts. I’d say it’s possible that its time has finally come.

LB: I agree, man. I think it’s a good thing.

MD: Your fourth song is called So Lo. And when I heard it, I immediately went back to like the 70s, and like, the Bill Withers you know, classic soul from that. Hearing that, is that something that influences what you do?

LB: Oh! I’m so glad you heard that. Um… yeah, man, big time. I’m a huge advocate and huge fan of the soul greats – Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, type thing. And definitely, you know, I played the Wurlitzer on that track, gave me a vibe. Steve’s Wurlitzer just has a sound about it. That was nice. And that song was actually written in Sydney, but actually re-tracked in L.A., and we got Gee Clifford, who’s an up-and-coming amazing singer from Christchurch – she’s amazing. Yeah, man. That’s like a, it’s a soul record, definitely.

MD: Definitely. And then things seem to get a little bit darker on Just A Memory. Kind of piano-based thing, right?

LB: Yeah, I don’t know if it’s dark, to be honest, man. It’s about that thing of seeing someone from your past, and not seeing them for years, and just wondering where all the time went and still having that kind of affection for one another. That was written in London, produced by Femme. A guy called Martin Craft also wrote on that record and played the keys, which is lovely. I really love that song too, man. It’s sort of like an electronic-y, modern day soul. Cause all the chord progressions and harmony under it is definitely that of some of the old Sam Cooke and things like that. You know, um, yeah, it’s a cool record, I loved it.

MD: Yeah! And then we have Addict? You’re addicted to love?

LB:  Yeah, pretty much. Pretty much. That was a cool record we did in Auckland, produced by Josh Fountain. I played the bass and the guitar on that. A guy called Sacha Skarbek, who’s an Ivor Novello and Grammy-nominated… an Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year out of the UK. He’s awesome. He played the Wurlitzer on that as well. And it was a duet – we made that at Roundhead Studios –

MD: Huh! Just around the corner from here.

LB: Yeah. We did that for the Songhubs which APRA puts on with…

MD: Yeah. And you get to use your falsetto quite a bit on that one. Is that something that you work on? Does it come fairly natural to slip into that?

LB: Yeah, yeah! I love the falsetto range. I guess a lot of the artists I love really work in that range and so it’s kind of become more and more natural to me, at least for singing other people’s songs. Yeah! No, I like it.

MD: And then we have Figure 8, which is more of a dance track, would you say? Kind of funky?

LB: Yeah, it’s kind of like a funk… quite a heavy sort of track, with a heavier kind of groove. That was recorded in London, at Brad’s place. We wrote it in a day… and….yeah, I played the bass and the guitar on it. Brad did some of the keys, and I recorded vocals. It’s really a song about history repeating itself. I guess one of the themes of the record is kind of moving on from the past. And being open to change. And hence the name, Open. And I guess, the whole song reverberates with this – “we’re still waging wars, we’re still…” I reference the Circle Game, which is kind of a Joni Mitchell reference, as well, it’s one of her tracks. But yeah, it’s just about history repeating itself, and not feeling that great about it.

MD: And then we have Alive?

LB: Alive, yeah! That was a song I wrote in L.A., with… one of my writing partners, Lindy Robbins, who I met at Songhubs, in Auckland. And for the last sort of… I don’t know, wee while. I’ve spent a lot of time over there, writing with her. And she’s been a real great mentor to me. She’s had like sort of number one American number ones, as a songwriter as a top-line writer. And she’s an incredible hit-maker. To write under her… oh, well, not to write under her, but to write with her as my mentor, has really improved my writing and understanding of song. That was cool. And the song’s really about seizing the moment.

MD: Living life to the fullest.

LB: Yeah! Basically, yeah.

MD: Alright, and then the final track is the title track, which is Open.

LB: Yeah, man. That was co-produced by myself and Jordan Rakei, Jordan Rakei is actually, I think he’s from New Zealand originally. But he’s a friend of mine, and he lives in London now. And he’s blowing up. If you haven’t listened to his music, he’s very, he’s a very, very good singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, jazz alternative, jazz, soul. And the scene is really coming back there now, which is cool. And I wrote that… sorry, no, I brought that back to Jordan and I said, “Hey man, would you produce this with me and put some keys on it,” and he did that. And so we went into – we took the demo over to him, and then we reproduced it at his studio in London. And yeah, it was cool, man. I played guitar, he played keys. I played bass and it was just – it’s always a joy to work with him, because we fire off the same sorta stuff.

MD: Alright, so, um… once you get back from the UK, are you planning on doing some shows here in New Zealand?

LB: Yeah. I’ve got shows August 8, 9, and 10, …8^th in Christchurch, at Blue Smoke. 9^th, in Auckland, at Tuning Fork. And the 10^th in Wellington, at San Fran.

MD: And you’re with a band? Or how is it?

LB: Yeah, with the band. So recreating those songs, live, you definitely need a band. And I’m lucky enough to have a really, really great bunch of guys and girls who will be playing on that. So that will be cool.