Keytars, Colorado And "Pantydropstep"

“I feel like I learned a lot from my students – sometimes more than I feel like I’m teaching them, which is a kinda weird thing.”

This improbable future funk star comes from Indiana, raised on a lake, off a gravel road, in “a very small town”. In his teens Baker learnt to play guitar, then bass, piano and drums, envisioning a future for himself in bands (he sings too). He’d head to Tampa, Florida to study recording. Baker, into Björk (and Incubus), discovered electronic music “from just luck and chance” — and by experiencing the Ultra Music Festival. “I had listened to more, like, bands and singer/songwriters for a long time and had no idea what electronic music was and thought that everything’s just techno. Then you finally hear it and you’re like, Oh, this is a much deeper area of music and there’s a lotta different things going on. That’s when I opened up my eyes and ears to it.” At college Baker, who’d messed around making music on a Windows computer back in Indiana, was introduced to Ableton Live by a friend. Baker taught himself how to use it, becoming a certified teacher (check his online tutorials). “I feel like I learned a lot from my students — sometimes more than I feel like I’m teaching them, which is a kinda weird thing.” Baker circulated his productions online before issuing two EPs, notably last year’s Foreplay, through Skrillex’s OWSLA. He’s also remixed Rudimental (and, unofficially, the Ghostbusters theme).

After living briefly in the EDM epicentre of Los Angeles, the nomadic Baker moved to picturesque Boulder, Colorado. “I guess growing up, I wanted to live in a city. Then, once I did live in the city, I was like, ‘Argh, I don’t really like this!’” Here, he completed his debut album, Galaxies Between Us, which, with the “heavy chill” single, Space Forest, reinvents cosmic disco. “I think Colorado’s really helped me evolve my sound. It should definitely be a lot more vibey and a little bit more like natural sound and not too harsh.”

The producer released Galaxies… via his fledgling label “collective”, Sexy Electric — all music available for free download. “Everybody who we’ve signed, we’re trying to really help them build up their own fanbase in their own space, as opposed to taking the approach that a lot of labels do today where they sign a hundred thousand different people and just keep putting stuff out — because I feel like that kinda waters it down.” Baker is planning a special vinyl edition of Galaxies… The muso cares little for corporate streaming platforms (he boldly challenged deadmau5 about TIDAL on Twitter!) — Baker is “DIY”. “I make enough money to be able to do music for a living, so I’m pretty much happy where I’m at. Now I’m just trying to continue to be creative and everything.”