Baker Boy Announces New Album 'DJANDJAY'

Baker Boy is returning with his highly anticipated second album this October, and launches the new LP with a fresh single.

The new album, DJANDJAY (pronounced Jan-jay), will be released on Friday, 10 October, via Island Records/Universal Music. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

The follow-up to his five-time ARIA Award-winning debut album Gela, including Album of the Year, DJANDJAY has already been described as Baker Boy’s “most emotionally layered and creatively evolved work yet.”

New single LIGHTNING featuring REDD. had its First Play on triple j Drive yesterday (23 July). For the track, Baker Boy teamed up with longtime collaborators Rob Amoruso and Pip Norman. Meanwhile, the single finds him effortlessly going between Yolŋu Matha, English and Burarra — his mother’s language from Maningrida.

Check out the single below.

“Sonically, LIGHTNING is a lighter moment on DJANDJAY; the production is bouncy and playful and REDD. brings this catchy hook,” Baker Boy explained of the single in a press release.

He added, “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.

“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.”

Filmed within the historic Werribee Mansion, LIGHTNING follows the already-released singles PEACEKEEPER and FREAK OUT featuring Briggs and Haiku Hands.

Baker Boy said of the new album, which is named after his late grandmother: “DJANDJAY feels like a new space for me — more mature, more elevated. This is my strongest, most powerful work yet.”

He continued, “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.

“Throughout the making of this album, I kept joking that Baker Boy was growing up and becoming Baker Man. But I think it’s true; 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.

“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.”