From an outsiders perspective, it would appear that soul is running through the veins of Caiti Baker.
With her debut single ‘Heavy On My Heart’ already added to Double J airwaves across the country and a national tour in support of it already underway, we Get To Know Caiti in our brand new feature.
01. Name : Caiti Baker .
02. Where are you based? I spend my time between Darwin, NT and in a rural village in the Northern Rivers district of NSW.
03. How did you get your start in music? I’m the daughter of a blues musician so I grew up in the local music industry attending gigs and festivals. I never really thought I’d be a musician until I met my producer James Mangohig in 2006. We began writing songs together and formed a band called ‘Sietta’. We recorded EPs and LPs and toured nationally and internationally.
04. Give us five words to best describe you as an artist. Honest. Strong. Sassy. Gritty. Quirky.
05. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. My aforementioned blues musician father and I didn’t always get along. We had a four year break from one another and upon our reunion, he bestowed upon me a USB key filled with hundreds of original guitar and harmonica licks, riffs and ideas that he had recorded on his Nokia mobile phone. James, my producer, converts those files and samples them into his production. I write songs to the instrumentals and Michael Hohnen, James’ production partner (and my label’s creative director) lays down double bass. Together, the three of us work on crafting each song appropriately with contributions from some amazing musicians around the country. I would describe my sound as a gritty low fi blend of traditional R&B, trad jazz and neo soul with my own unique flavour that I have yet to name!
06. Who have been your musical influences? The music I grew up listening to and the music I discovered in late primary school. The blues, big band and soul greats such as Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Wilson Pickett, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, James Brown etc… ’90s R&B icons Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, TLC, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Faith Evans, SWV, Destiny’s Child, D’Angelo etc. On the production side, I’m heavily inspired by the RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Timbaland, Just Blaze, Rich Harrison, Dr Dre, Teddy Riley, Jermaine Dupri and the Neptunes.
07. What are your favourite songs of all time? Hard question, but ‘Ruler Of My Heart’ by Irma Thomas (written by Allen Toussaint) will always be in my top ten of all time. I love the song ‘My Babe’, which both Little Walter and Tina Turner have released versions of. The blues classic ‘Spoonful’, which everyone has done a version of! (Howlin’ Wolf’s being my favourite). Etta James’ ‘Wallflower (Dance With
09. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. I went to a Jay Z concert in Brisbane in 2006 and he called me out twice, complimenting my dancing. Haha!
10. What would your chosen career be if music wasn’t an option? The trade that I am educated and well versed in is Graphic and Advertising Design. But I don’t think that would be my chosen career now if music wasn’t an option. Probably something in community arts like event planning and management… i.e. Festivals. :)
11. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? Trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not.
12. Tell us about your latest release. ‘Heavy On My Heart’ is a bouncy, uptempo genre blurring song that I sing from my gut about the state of the world and where I see myself sitting in it currently.
13. What do your future plans involve? Finishing more songs, writing more songs, touring the country, supporting a few amazing artists who I love… hopefully getting overseas too!
14. Where can our audience catch you live?
September 03 : Bellingen (No.5 Church Street)
September 04 : Yamba (Pacific Hotel)
September 17 : Valla Beach (Headland Cafe)
September 18 : Old Bar (Flow Bar)
October 02 : Caloundra (Caloundra Music Festival)
October 05 : Coffs Harbour (Elements Bar)
October 07 : Newcastle (Stag & Hunter)
October 13 : Sydney (Midnight Special)
October 14 : Bathurst (Webb & Co)
October 15 : Mudgee (Roth’s Wine Bar)
October 16 : Orange (The Agrestic Grocer)
October 19 : Newtown (Newtown Social Club – Front Bar)
October 20 : Wollongong (Jane’s)
October 21 : Nowra (Bottlerocket Cafe)
October 23 : Canberra (Old Canberra Inn)
October 27 : Canberra (The Front Gallery)
October 28 : Castlemaine (Bridge Hotel)
WEBSITE : www.caitibaker.com
FACEBOOK : www.facebook.com/caitibakermusic
TWITTER : www.twitter.com/caitibakermusic
INSTAGRAM : www.instagram.com/caitibakermusic
SOUNDCLOUD : www.instagram.com/caitibakermusic
Australia's first stop for pop!