Baker Boy has revealed his second studio album DJANDJAY will be released on October 10th.
Featuring heavyweights such as Briggs, Haiku Hands, and Thelma 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.
It follows 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.
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“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.”
The album announcement follows the release of recent single featuring REDD, “LIGHTNING”.
The track features Baker Boy singing in English, Yolŋu Matha, the native language of northeast Arnhem Land, and his mother’s language from Maningrida, Burarra.
“’LIGHTNING’ is a lighter moment on DJANDJAY, the production is bouncy and playful and REDD. brings this catchy hook,” Baker Boy shares of his single.
“It has this kind of cheeky arrogance to it, but during the writing process, I was touching on the pressures and expectations I feel to kind of be this perfect role model and I guess coming to terms with not being able to make everyone happy.”
The track became a reflective moment for Baker Boy, who adds: “People are always going to have opinions about how you do things and yeah this feeling that I could do more, be more but being able to look past the noise, the jealousy and just being true to myself and protecting my peace.”
Baker Boy’s DJANDJAY is out October 10th via Island Records and Universal Music.
