Joel Baker heads out on tour

Joel Baker has just announced a list of forthcoming live dates including Live At Leeds, Roundhouse Rising, a London date with Random Impulse and his first UK tour supporting Ryan Keen.

The 22-year-old from Nottingham, England, has been causing a stir with his sounds, despite not releasing any of his own music yet. He will be releasing covers EP Between Kings Cross and Old Street on February 25th via free download, and on the same date will announce news of his first official single release.

The EP represents Joel's influences while showcasing his talent and his longstanding relationship with production collective The Confectionery, who produced the EP. 

Until then though, you can check out Joel above causing music mayhem in London in his new video for track, Mulled Wine in Manhatten, which will also be on the ‘Between Kings Cross and Old Street’ EP.

Joel said: "I am really looking forward to supporting Ryan Keen on his Room For Light tour in April. I'm a big fan of Ryan, so it's a real privilege to support him.  I'm also excited to release my latest score of music - Between Kings Cross & Old Street - which is a collection of covers of some of my favourite songs, from rap, rock to reggae. 

"The EP represents the transition for me as an artist, from a 'covers' singer to a songwriter. It is also a teaser for the sound that I've been working on for the last six months with my partners in crime and producers The Confect, whom I am currently creating an originals project with at this very moment. This next six months is going to be such an adventure, and I can't wait for it to begin."

You can find out more about Joel at  www.facebook.com/joelbakermusic and www.twitter.com/joelbakermusic or read the Q&A he did with me here.

And if you like what you hear, these are his tour dates:

23^rd Feb – Roundhouse Rising, Camden

26^th Feb - Cargo London, supporting Random Impulse

5^th April – Studio Lounge, Totnes, supporting Ryan Keen

6^th April – The Poly, Falmouth, supporting Ryan Keen

7^th April – Full Moon, Cardiff, supporting Ryan Keen

9^th April –  Komedia, Brighton, supporting Ryan Keen

10^th April – Dingwalls, London, supporting Ryan Keen

11^th April – Dingwalls, London, supporting Ryan Keen

12^th April – Bodega, Nottingham, supporting Ryan Keen

13^th April – The Plug, Sheffield, supporting Ryan Keen

19^th April – Academy 2, Newcastle, supporting Ryan Keen

20^th April – Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow. supporting Ryan Keen

21^st April – The Attic, The Forum, Hatfield, supporting Ryan Keen

22^nd April – Waterfront 2, Norwich, supporting Ryan Keen

23^rd April – Academy 2, Oxford, supporting Ryan Keen

24^th April – Thekla, Bristol, supporting Ryan Keen

25^th April – Junction 2, Cambridge, supporting Ryan Keen

4^th May –     The Cockpit 3, Live At Leeds Fest

Joel Baker Q&A

Your name:

Joel Baker.

Where are you from?

Nottingham (in London that means fields and farms, but I promise we have shops and cinemas too).

  

Who else is in your band?

I do almost all my gigs with my good friend Jo, who is also who I make all my music with. He is part of a very gifted production outfit called The Confectionery. I’ve also started playing with a cellist called Patrick. He’s so talented.

How would you describe yourself?

Someone recently described me as ‘contemporary soul’. I don’t know. I’ll let you decide.

Who are your main influences musically?

Musically: Ben Howard, John Mayer, Bon Iver, Jeff Buckley, Cat Power, Miguel, the Lumineers.  Lyrically: Kanye West, Nick Brewer, Drake, J.Cole, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To be recognised as a songwriter. To make one great album. To have adventures with my friends.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Kano tweeting about a video I was singing in. Lame I know, but I was GASSED.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Playing a gig to two people, forgetting all my lyrics, and the room smelt like faeces. The gig venue shall remain nameless.

If you could choose one of your songs as an advert for your music, what would it be and why?

At this current time, I would choose the Kendrick Lamar cover (on my youtube and soundcloud). But original songwriting is what I'm most passionate about, so I would point people in the direction of the one original track - 'Out Of The Two' -  on the upcoming EP, due to be released this month (February).

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Type “Joel Baker Music” into pretty much anything and you will find stuff (even Tumblr, if Tumblr is your thing, you know, reblogging teenage angst in the form of close-up coffee cups or photo-filtered Vans logos).