Dust & Bone, the debut album from Anglo-French singer/songwriter, Michael Baker follows the critically acclaimed EPs Keys To The Kingdom and Caroline and current single ‘Anywhere Anytime Soon’.
Co-written, produced and mixed with a variety of well-respected names, including Dan Brown (Massive Attack), Jim Lowe (Stereophonics, The Charlatans, Herbie Hancock) Peter Vettese (Carly Simon, Simple Minds) and Ben Christophers (Bat For Lashes, Guy Garvey), Dust & Bone was two years in the making.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Michael about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from Brighton and I would describe my music as singer-songwriter with a twinge of Americana. I also like the modern electronic side of everything. So i dust some of that in places too.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Writing songs has been something i have done from a young age. It has always felt like a diary to me and almost like therapy. Music has allowed me to travel the world & meet so many wonderful talented people. I cant really imagine doing anything else. It’s brilliant!
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This single ‘One God Damn’ is from my second album ‘Salt’ and was the first album that the band & I recorded completely ourselves. We wanted it to sound as live as possible, so me, Fred Hills, Andrew Stuart Buttle, Tom Anderson, Oli Hinkins & My good friend Ed Martin (who also produced the album) all went down to the house I grew up in and tracked the recording live in one room over a couple of weeks.
Each member of the band (a songwriter in there own right) collaborated on the recording and I feel that our friendship and love of music really added something special to the albums sound.
For the Mix we were lucky enough to secure Oliver Baldwin (‘Aldous Harding’, ‘This Is the Kit). He really tied the sound of this record together and I was blown away by the final mixes! With Mastering coming from the amazing Pete Maher (Jack White, Damien Rice l) the album is set for release soon.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I’ve been making albums for 12 years now across various projects, & the thing i have noticed the most is that with physical merchandise obviously selling less and less and with streaming income taking over, Spotify and Apple has become the most important platforms in the world & getting playlisted can change an artists career.
It’s the era of artists not just having to be be good at making music, it is now essential for them to embrace using the free social media platforms and self promoting themselves to the industry and public.
Something that doesn’t come easy to me. But I’m trying.
Sometimes choosing to have a career in music can feel like it’s a constant up hill struggle. But its the first time that one person can put a song that they’ve created in their room out and it can travel the world reaching radio and playlists everywhere without a team or label! That’s pretty cool! At the same time, if you don’t receive any playlist support from any of the large platforms it makes it financially difficult to sustain a long your career.. So in one way your destiny is in the hands of just a few people, exciting and frustrating in equal measures.
What was the last song you listened to?
Cattails – Big Thief.
It’s a tune!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
You just cant beat a Vinyl. Does anyone say any different? …
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify i suppose.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can find me on Instagram & Facebook under Michael Baker Music – give us a follow 😉
Anything else before we sign off?
Go also check out; Hollow Hand, Night House, Ellie Ford, Black Peaches & Time for T. They are all people i have met in Brighton & friends doing wonderful things and definitely deserving a wider audience! x
