Baker Boy Drops Powerful New Single ‘CURSE’
The track is taken from the forthcoming deluxe edition of Baker Boy’s sophomore album, DJANDJAY.
Image Aurie Indianna
Baker Boy has announced a deluxe edition of his critically acclaimed second album, DJANDJAY, and to celebrate the news, has shared new single ‘CURSE’.
Quickly becoming a fan favourite during his 10-date tour of Australia earlier this year, Baker Boy says of the song, “everyone has been going mad for it, you know you got something good when people haven't ever heard the track before, but you can see the whole crowd bouncing to it.”
‘CURSE’ was written and produced by Baker Boy in Melbourne with long-time collaborators Pip Norman (Troye Sivan, Missy Higgins) and Rob Amoruso (G Flip, Thelma Plum), alongside acclaimed Toronto-based songwriter and record producer WondaGurl (Rihanna, Travis Scott, SZA).
“It was really powerful getting to work with WondaGurl alongside Pip and Rob, I think she added this flavour and energy to the track that really fills out the room,” explains Baker Boy. “Really grateful to ARIA for the opportunity to work with a heavy hitter like WondaGurl.”
Before WondaGurl got in the studio, the trio of Baker Boy, Norman and Amoruso worked on a new approach to recording the Yidaki, experimenting with its sound throughout ‘CURSE’.
“We used a Yidaki and pitched it down to create the sound of an 808 sub. We then also pitched the Yidaki up to make it sound like a horn that you hear throughout the track. This is a really different approach to how we usually incorporate Yidaki, so it was really fun getting to experiment with that, being able to work it into the track in a less immediately obvious way,” says Baker Boy.
He adds, “‘CURSE’ is kind of about survival. It's about navigating the music industry, dealing with a certain level of fame and expectation, as well as sometimes being your own worst enemy and getting in your own head. I look at it like sometimes the best things in my life can also be some of the most challenging, and I don't want to be ungrateful for the opportunities, but trying to find that balance to be able to brush off the negativity and own my shit.”
The single is accompanied by a stripped-back, black and white music video directed and co-produced by Jordan Ruyi Blanch, with Creative Director and Stylist Aurie Indianna (also co-producer) and Lighting Technician Remus Care-Parisi.
“We wanted to capture some of the same energy that we captured throughout the DJANDJAY videos at Werribee Mansion,” says Baker Boy. “We tapped into the black and white, which we explored in ‘FREAK OUT’ and ‘RUNNING LOW’ as well as some really heavy strobe use, which plays on the ‘LIGHTNING’ and ‘THICK SKIN’ videos. We wanted this video to feel like it was still in the same world. It has a kind of eerie feeling, but it’s also really strong and powerful, so it's carrying on that same narrative while still feeling like its own vision.”
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Arriving via Island Records/Universal Music in October last year, DJANDJAY debuted at #13 on the ARIA Albums Chart and #1 on the ARIA Hip Hop/R&B Albums Chart. The record comprised 14 tracks, including the singles ‘THICK SKIN’ ft. Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan, Kee'ahn & Jada Weazel, ‘PEACEKEEPER’, ‘FREAK OUT’ ft. Briggs and Haiku Hands’ and ‘LIGHTNING’ ft. REDD.
Speaking on the album, the six-time ARIA Award winner said, “DJANDJAY is me stepping into a new era, owning my music, my art and my direction. This body of work is wholly me and everything I stand for. It’s proud, it’s Blak, it’s vulnerable, it’s angry, it’s nuanced. I’m here to show everyone that I’m more than what they expect of me.”
‘CURSE’ by Baker Boy is out now. Listen here. DJANDJAY (Deluxe) arrives later this year.
