BnB Interview: Simon BakerWritten by the B&B Crew
An avid record collector and DJ for nearly 20 years, Simon Baker has established himself as a respected connoisseur of the deeper realms in electronic dance music with a twist. After his 2004 debut release The Lip Trick, the UK artist went on to release a string of cuts and remixes on labels such as Playhouse, Infant Records and 2020Vision, the latter being the label that recently presented Simon’s debut album Traces (check out our review here). It has become an album that elegantly showcases the Simon Baker sound, blending elements from early house grooves to modern day tech-house rumbles with the end result being utterly catchy, danceable and very, very soulful. As his name continues to grace the top regions of the international dance charts more and more, we figured it would be a good idea to team up with the man himself for some first-hand info on his new album, his relationship with the 20:20 label, the current UK dance scene, and loads more… How's the last few months been, you’ve been busy touring heavily yes? Your schedule looks hectic, travelling to some fantastic countries; has there been any standout gigs so far? I have loved it. The album tour has been great, and getting to play along side other label mates on 2020 Vision makes such a difference. My stand out album tour gigs have been Fabric London, Watergate Berlin and Ape X Newcastle. How come it's taken you so long to release a full length album? I do things when they feel right naturally.I feel I have the experience now to put an album together that isn't just straight club tracks. I wanted it to represent me and my years in this music scene and show my more musical side. Hopefully this shows in the direction I have taken in the album. Will the next take quite so long? Ha! No, I don’t think so, I am on one now. It’s been a long journey with number one album, and I need to think about something else for the time being. Album number two I will start thinking about later, but not too much later! Tell me a little about some of the more musical areas of the album, am I right in thinking that your learning piano? Yes, I started taking piano lessons a couple of years ago now, but haven’t taken any for a while to be honest, but I still tinkle around on my piano at home. I really enjoy it, but its like anything you have to put the effort in to improve and I don’t always have the time these days. I initially started as I wanted it would benefit my production as well as just having a new past time really. I played the classical guitar for many years when I was younger so I had some musical knowledge, and I wanted to get back into an instrument. The piano was my obvious choice and I hope it shows in the musical direction I have taken the album. Could you tell us a little about your very strong relationship with 2020Vision? 2020 Vision were the first label to believe in what I was doing so I felt it was the natural label to release my debut album with. I followed the label for many years when I was trying to break through. Because I am a local boy, It was cool to have a label to work with in your home town. After a decade on the scene, do you think producers are rushing to success too fast with EPs, albums and singles often arriving in quick succession? Yeah definitely, but the problem is they are often leaving the scene just as fast. There are so many kids in their bedrooms making music now, you have to have something a little extra to lift you above the rest these days. The competition out there is raw! I was glad I started at a time when vinyl still ruled the day, it taught me a lot about the industry and not just throwing anything out there just so your name might be seen. Hence why I have taken so long with the album I guess. You’ve lived in Leeds for quite some time now, can you say that the city’s nightlife has contributed to your style? For sure, I used to live in York which is about 20 miles away from Leeds, so I would travel over here when I was younger to go to Back to Basic, Orbit and so on. Leeds has always been a very strong clubbing town on the map and still is today. I was lucky having this nearby as it has no doubt had some influence on my career. Domestically, do you think the four four scene in Britain is stronger or weaker than when you first put needle to record? Well, when I bought my first decks it was the day of rave! It was huge, I was going to places like Orbit in Morley and The Hacienda in Manchester.(showing my age now) I think the club scene in the UK is strong at the moment though. It’s in a good place, not too commercial not too underground, I like it where it is right now. Apart from electronic music what other genres do you love to listen to? Don’t tell me your iPod is full of house and techno! No definitely not. I rarely listen to house and techno out of the club/studio. I am pretty open minded with music, but as my days consist of listening to banging beats in a studio, my head tends to levitate towards more down tempo lighter styles of music usually. But I listen to everything from classical to rock, from folk to soul. Given that “Traces” is your debut album, are there specifics things that you’ve learnt about writing a full length and are there any processes that you found particularly challenging – perhaps you would do differently second time round? The one thing I tried not to do so much with the album is think about dance floors too much. I mean, it’s still house music, 4/4, but I didn’t write it with the mind set I had to get a dance floor jumping around after a certain breakdown for example, or where would the drums kick it and so on, I felt there was much less pressure working this way. It just seemed to flow. I would follow the same formula 2nd time round to be honest. Seemed to work for me. Finally, forthcoming plans for 2011? I am back in the studio making some EPs for labels I haven’t been able to work with recently due to album commitments. I am also looking at some collaborations this year, with Glimpse and Debukas who’s vocal I used on my album. I might also look at a live act. Other than music, I have decided its time to move on from Leeds where I have been for the past 10 years, so there is lots to be going on with. .   
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