Baker Boy has recruited some very special guests indeed for new single “THICK SKIN”, another taste of his forthcoming second album.
The track marks a bold sonic departure for the artist, with “THICK SKIN” finding Baker Boy venturing into punk territory for the first time.
“THICK SKIN” emerged from Baker Boy’s response to the 2023 Indigenous Voice Referendum and the racism it exposed within Australian society.
“It wasn’t anger at the result as much, I think it was the way mob became a topic of conversation and mottos like ‘if you don’t know vote no’ encouraging ignorance,” he explains. “It highlighted the everyday experience of being Yolŋu, being Indigenous in this country, and that hit me hard.”
The single features a powerhouse Blak choir comprising Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan, Kee’ahn, and Jada Weazel, creating an anthem of survival and solidarity.
The punk-inspired production provided Baker Boy with a new outlet for expressing his emotions. “It’s not natural for me to express anger through my music, I have this reputation for positivity, but I think the punk inspired production allowed me to really say what I wanted to say,” he says.
Baker Boy revealed at the end of July that his second studio album, DJANDJAY, would arrive on October 10th.
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Featuring heavyweights such as Briggs, Haiku Hands, and Plum, Baker Boy says the 15-track album is his “strongest, most powerful work yet.” Named after his late grandmother and a Yolŋu spiritual figure — an octopus spirit said to guide souls — the album draws heavily from ancestral influences.
DJANDJAY will follow his five-time ARIA Award winning debut album Gela from 2021, by which time he had already been awarded Young Australian of the Year and had won two of his three National Indigenous Music Awards for Artist of the Year.
While soaring to dizzying heights of fame from a young age, Baker Boy said he found himself joking about “becoming Baker Man” while recording the album.
“I’ve grown up a lot as a person in the last few years since Gela but also became a lot more intentional and focused on what I wanted out of my music and career,” he says.
“I think this album has all of the things Baker Boy is known for, it’s playful and fun but has a more mature twist on it. I’ve explored some different sounds and different energies and really focused on what I want out of my music rather than trying to be what people want me to be.
“Baker Boy has always had this positive reputation and that’s still there but also like I guess I’m getting into the more real side of things, some darker, grittier feelings and letting that come out in my music more.
“DJANDJAY is about truth. It’s about strength and defiance. I put my whole self into this album – and it feels like all of me is in there.”
Baker Boy’s DJANDJAY is out October 10th via Island Records and Universal Music.
