Tim Baker didn't set out to make a Christmas record, but that was the jolly outcome
New album Full Rainbow of Light is about joy and nostalgia of the season
St. John's singer Tim Baker is spreading cheer with a new album infused with holiday spirit and his own memories of Christmas past — even though that was not the plan when he started work on his third solo album.
"I didn't set out to make a Christmas album," Baker told CBC Radio's Weekend AM.
The former Hey Rosetta! frontman said Full Rainbow of Light, released last month, came to be inspired by his feelings associated with the holidays.
"Christmas has been a big thing for me artistically through Hey Rosetta! and all our big Christmas shows, our big holiday shows in St. John's where it just became such a tradition and an event — and that had an impact on me."
He said playing in the band to packed crowds helped kick off the Christmas season.
Despite loving the season, Baker said he was initially a bit ambivalent about making a Christmas album because he worried it would come off as being too commercial, or people would think putting out an album that picks up sales every year might be a good business move.
"But I wrote a lot of Christmas songs," he said. "It's an easy thing to write about. There's a lot of big feelings. There's a lot of nostalgia. There's a lot of images," said Baker.
Baker has been in the holiday recording arena before. Hey Rosetta! issued a Christmas EP, A Cup of Kindness Yet, in 2012.
For this project, Baker ended up writing a number of songs that weren't about Christmas but were closely tied to the feelings the holiday evokes in people. A set of songs is called Saint Tibb's Suite and Baker said he drew on his memories of past parties to write it.
"I wanted to write a song that articulated some of the fun and the parties of my Christmas past."
Baker said his favourite Christmas tradition is caroling and that on Tibb's Eve — that's Dec. 23, for those outside St. John's and other N.L. communities, where friends make merry together on the eve of Christmas Eve — he and his caroling group get together.
"We sing carols in forward harmony and we have a few drinks and we line up a bunch of parties that are going on and we knock on the doors, sing a few songs, go in for a drink and a bite and sing a few more songs. And then go on to the next one."
He added they also try to sing to a few strangers as well.
While Baker said he prefers to start getting ready for Christmas midway through December, because of the album he began in the fall.
"I want to keep it concentrated and ultra-special. I don't want any of this power to be leached away in, like, mid-November. But that said, I was in the store the other day and they were playing Christmas music and I didn't hate it."
Leaning into local
After St. John's-based Hey Rosetta! parted ways in late 2017, Baker relocated to Toronto to embark on a solo career. He now spends his time between St. John's and Berlin.
For the latest album, Baker is joined by the Dardanelles, a mainstay of the St. John's trad and folk scene.
"I followed them around for a while and really, really fell in love with their music," he said.
Growing up in St. John's, Baker sang in choirs and played in grunge bands. Despite the diversity, he didn't really connect with traditional Newfoundland music, which he's now tapping into.
"I wanted to have music that was at the beginning of here, you know, of Newfoundland, of my own musical journey and everything," he said.
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With files from Weekend AM
