Critically acclaimed New Zealand singer-songwriter Louis Baker releases his debut album Open, featuring his powerful new single The People along with fan favourites Black Crow and Addict.
Over the last five years, the world has watched in growing appreciation of the young modern soul prodigy as he released a prolific volume of singles.
Open sees the celebrated voice dive into new emotional depths – weaving themes of human connection and self-acceptance into an expansive body of work, tackling issues of global and personal significance with the kind of sincerity and organic artistry that is truly rare to come by.
“Each song on the album is a conversation. On this record, I try to put life into perspective, battle between the light and the dark, and seek to make sense of the world around me.” Baker explains.
Open begins with Baker’s hearty anthem The People, followed by the subtle neo-soul inflections and electronic pulses of Heart on Fire featuring MC MELODOWNZ. Around the silky piano strokes of Just a Memory, a song dedicated to fleeting moments with the past, the organic musical arrangements blend acoustic and electronic instrumentation in a striking representation of Baker’s modern take on soul. The record closes with the airy, soaring title-track, bringing the project to full circle.
An album formulated around letting go of the past, accepting the present and feeling open to the future, this feeling threads itself around the project from beginning to end, hence the record’s suitable title, Open.
From Baker’s humble home studio set up in Wellington to London, Los Angeles and Sydney, Open came together in collaboration with many friends and notable names such as Laura Bettinson (FEMME), Brad Ellis (James Arthur, Jorja Smith, Wilkinson), Josh Fountain (Benee, LEISURE, MAALA), Jordan Rakei – who co-produced the title track, multi-platinum selling songwriter Lindy Robbins (Andra Day, Chromeo) and Grammy-nominated engineer and producer, Steve Rusch (Kendrick Lamar, Raphael Saadiq, Solange).
Baker’s velveteen voice exerts emotion like no other, sending audiences from pin drop silence to elation, as he rolls between falsetto and a low, earthy range. Carrying the torch of a younger generation of soul artistry in an aching world, Baker presents a debut that acknowledges the past, focuses on the issues of the present, and shares hope for the future.