Darwin’s worst kept secret, the formidable Caiti Baker, is back on the road armed with a fresh dose of blues, soul and R&B.
Working again with her close-knit crew, including ARIA-nominated producer J. Mangohig, Baker plans to debut new material alongside her much-loved repertoire from last year’s debut album Zinc. “There were quite a few songs that didn’t make it on the record. This tour and these songs are a segue into the next chapter of my career,” she says.
“They still fit in the Zinc sphere in terms of utilising my dad’s guitar samples, but the drums on the newer tracks are quite different.”
Fans of Baker will know she has a range that surpasses many other vocalists on the Australian soul and hip hop scene today. Along with her natural talent for songwriting, her ability to jump from smooth honey-dipped tones to a controlled glass-shattering register is Baker’s gift she has been honing from a young age.
“My parents didn’t really know that I could sing or project as much as I can until I was maybe 14 or 15. There was a Debelah Morgan song called ‘Dance With Me’ that really inspired me,” she says. “Debelah used to be an opera singer and then she went into R&B. That song was a bit of a one-hit-wonder that came out in the late ‘90s or early 2000s, and there’s this really high note that she hits at the end and I used to try to emulate that for a very long time.
“Although I’m not entirely sure that I did it the right way because I did end up at the emergency department,” Baker laughs. “They were scared that I had developed nodules at such a young age, but it turns out I was just dehydrated, I wasn’t drinking enough water.”
Faced with the prospect of damaging her chances at a singing career before it had even begun, she vowed never to make the same mistakes again. “So from there I began exploring and learning everything I could about vocal technique and preservation. I’ve never done anything by the book but I know the more I sing, the more my range increases, and I’ll keep pushing it, I like a challenge.
“I also believe my songwriting and the way I approach recording has matured quite a bit as well, so I’m really excited to show everyone what I’ve been working on.”
Her latest singles ‘Gimme’ and ‘Yep Yep’ are out now. ‘Gimme’ was released first and has more of an R&B influence thanks to some extra production from Nooky who is a producer and rapper from the Bad Apples crew.
“It was one of the tracks we couldn’t get right at the time of the Zinc release. So that’s when we enlisted the help of Nooky and he sent back a whole bunch of amazing ideas for us to work with.
“My other new songs ‘Yep Yep’, and ‘La La’ which hasn’t been released yet,” Baker says. “They’re both a little more spacious and a little more dynamic, and this is the direction I will be taking in the new year.”
While Baker shys away from confirming a follow-up to Zinc, it’s clear she’s been quietly working away on a labour of love. “We’re calling it a collection of songs at this point.
“Music is therapeutic and cathartic for me,” she says. “There’s a lot of trust and vulnerability in creating music for me and I feel like whoever I work with I have to have quite a strong connection. I’ve been collaborating a lot with my band – the Bartlett brothers John and Paul, who may be known from Adelaide many years ago. They’re helping me to hark back to my indie R&B roots.”
Always surrounding herself with exceptional talent, Baker will be joined on tour by rising star Stevie Jean. “We are both from the Northern Territory and I remember seeing Stevie when she was about 14 or 15,” Baker says. “Stevie’s gone from strength to strength in creating her own sound and she’s absolutely smashing it. She’s a part of the family.”
