Why Tim Baker's new songs 'demand to be let out' during the pandemic
Have a First Listen to Survivors, Tim Baker's new EP
Tim Baker has gone through a whirlwind couple of years, including moving halfway across the country, launching a solo career, as well as touring and performing extensively.
Then the global pandemic hit, and with it came an unexpected creative spark for the musician originally from St. John's.
"The whole zeitgeist, everyone feeling very fraught, fearful and held apart from each other — I've sort of written about that kind of thing a lot," said Baker.
The result is a new five-song EP, Survivors.
'My voice without the band'
Baker's longtime St. John's-based band, Hey Rosetta, amicably parted ways in December 2017 after years of writing, performing and touring together.
In 2018, Baker relocated to Toronto to start a solo musical career and create a debut solo album.
"I was trying to find my voice without the band, to figure out who I was and what the music was that I wanted to make outside of Hey Rosetta," said Baker.
Baker's debut solo album, Forever Overhead, was released in early 2019 to critical, popular and award-winning acclaim.
He spent the remainder of 2019 and the first part of 2020 on tour in North America and Europe to support the album.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic confined Baker to his new, and still somewhat unfamiliar, base in Toronto.
He began reconsidering a batch of songs that he wrote during the Forever Overhead sessions, but didn't wind up on that album. They became the basis for Survivors.
"Several of the songs, to me, seemed to stand up and demand to be released and let out," said Baker.
A return to home
Even though the pandemic has slowed down most of the world, Baker says his life has continued to be busy.
In Toronto, Baker has been working on songs for a new album.
Last week, he drove directly from Toronto to St. John's, where he is now in quarantine.
Baker is making the most of his two-week confinement, continuing to work on new material on his old hometown piano.
After he is cleared, he plans to take a few more weeks of downtime at home, before figuring out what the rest of 2020 may look like for him.
"I love writing music here, in Newfoundland." said Baker.
"It definitely feels like a spring flowing."
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