Julien Baker

Julien Rose Baker (born September 29, 1995) is an American singer and multi-instrumentalist.[1][2]

Julien Baker
Baker performing in April 2018
Background information
Birth nameJulien Rose Baker
Born (1995-09-29) September 29, 1995
Germantown, Tennessee
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocal
  • Guitar
  • Piano
  • Organ
  • Mandolin
Years active2014–present
LabelsMatador, 6131 Records
Associated acts
Websitejulienbaker.com

Early life

Born on September 29, 1995,[3] Baker was born in Germantown, and raised in Bartlett, Tennessee.[1] She grew up in a religious family and participated in church music. She came out as gay to her parents at age 17.[4] She learned to play on her father's guitar,[5][6] and attended Arlington High School[7] as well as Middle Tennessee State University,[3] where she studied audio engineering and later majored in literature with a double minor in Spanish and secondary education before leaving school to tour full-time.[8] She returned to campus in the fall of 2019 to complete her degree.

Music

Style

Baker has met critical acclaim for her performances and songwriting, described as emotively cathartic, as well as a fresh take on folk music.[9] Her album Sprained Ankle has been described as featuring pared-back fragile songs, while Turn Out the Lights features more developed song structures while retaining the raw emotion of its predecessor.

Career

In 2010 Baker co-founded the band The Star Killers, who renamed themselves Forrister in 2015.[10][11][12] During her first year at MTSU, she began writing songs on her own, often in the university practice rooms late at night.[13][6] With her friend Michael Hegner, she recorded an EP at Spacebomb Studios, which she self-released in the winter of 2014 on Bandcamp.[14] The EP became the studio album Sprained Ankle in October 2015.[12] Sprained Ankle topped many 2015 year-end lists and its success led to features in The New Yorker and The New York Times.[15][16]

Baker performing at Rough Trade NYC in 2016

On March 7, 2016, Baker performed in an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert.[17] During that set she referenced a new song, "Sad Song #11", which was later retitled "Funeral Pyre" and released as a single, with "Distant Solar Systems" as the b-side.[18] Baker contributed the song "Decorated Lawns" to the Punk Talks winter compilation Jingle Yay, released on December 1, 2016.[19]

Baker has opened for artists including Death Cab for Cutie, Conor Oberst, The Decemberists, Belle & Sebastian, Paramore, The Front Bottoms, and Manchester Orchestra. In 2017 she was signed to Matador Records,[20] releasing a 7-inch single of the songs "Funeral Pyre" and "Distant Solar Systems". An LP, Turn Out the Lights, recorded by engineer and producer Calvin Lauber at Tennessee's Ardent Studios - with help from Sorority Noise's Cameron Boucher, was released on October 27, 2017.

On October 28, 2017, Baker made her national-television debut on CBS This Morning and on January 3, 2018, she made her late-night debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert performing her song "Turn Out The Lights".[21]

In 2018, Baker formed the supergroup Boygenius with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, both with whom she had toured previously. The group released three songs in August of that year and subsequently announced an EP and accompanying tour.[22] The EP, self-titled boygenius, was released on October 26, 2018.

In 2020, Baker, alongside Boygenius bandmates Bridgers and Dacus, recorded background vocals for Hayley Williams' song "Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris" ahead of the release of Williams' debut album, Petals for Armor.

Personal life

Baker is a lesbian and a Christian socialist.[23][24][25][26][27] Her music often features frank explorations of addiction and sobriety, and she has been open in discussing her experiences with substance abuse and mental illness.[28][29][30]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[32]
"Funeral Pyre" [18] 2017 — Non-album singles
"Distant Solar Systems" —
"Red Door" [33] 2019 —
"Conversation Piece" [34] —
"Tokyo" —
"Faith Healer" 2020 23 Little Oblivions

EP

Collaborations

References
  1. Mehr, Bob. "Ascendant Julien Baker overcame darkness to find light of success". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. Lorusso, Marissa (August 21, 2018). "Hear New Music From Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus' Supergroup Boygenius". Npr.org. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  3. Townsend, Eileen (October 22, 2015). "Julien Baker Arrives". Memphisflyer.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  4. Pareles, Jon (October 22, 2017). "Julien Baker Bravely Confronts Her Traumas and Fears". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  5. Nordstrom, Leigh (August 11, 2015). "Singer-Songwriter Julien Baker Hits New York". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  6. Claymore, Gabriela Tully (October 26, 2015). "Read An Interview With Young Phenom Julien Baker And Watch Her 'Sprained Ankle' Video". Stereogum.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  7. Cannon, Joshua; Shaw, Chris. "Beale Street Music Fest: On the Road, On the Beach, On the Rise". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  8. Fenwick, George (July 20, 2017). "Julien Baker on queerness, the power of music and making people cry". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  9. Cohen, Ian (November 5, 2015). "Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  10. "Forrister – Forrister". Forristertn.tumblr.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  11. Ladd, Olivia (February 23, 2015). "From Memphis to Murfreesboro: Musician Julien Baker Shares Her Passion". Mtusidelines.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  12. Chiu, David (December 9, 2015). "Julien Baker's 'Real Life' Music Tugs at the Heartstrings". PopMatters.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  13. Gokhman, Roman (December 1, 2015). "Julien Baker: The Best of What's Next". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  14. Mook, Aaron (November 11, 2015). "Julien Baker – 11/10/15". Chorus.fm. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  15. Syme, Rachel (April 29, 2016). "Julien Baker believes in God". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  16. Williams, John (April 26, 2016). "Julien Baker: Sad songs that whisper and howl". The New York Times.
  17. NPR Music (March 7, 2016). "Julien Baker: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert". YouTube. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  18. "Funeral Pyre, by Julien Baker". Julienbaker.bandcamp.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  19. "Julien Baker – "Decorated Lawns"". Stereogum.com. November 30, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  20. "Matador Records". Matadorecords.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  21. Yoo, Noah (January 4, 2018). "Watch Julien Baker Perform "Turn Out the Lights" on "Colbert"". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  22. Rincón, Alessandra (August 21, 2018). "Julian Baker, Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers Form Boygenius, Release Three Singles From EP: Listen". Billboard.com. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  23. "Julien Baker Is a Queer, Christian, Socialist – We Had to Talk to Her". Religion and Socialism Podcast. SoundCloud.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  24. "The On-The-Road Education Of Lucy Dacus". NPR.org.
  26. Syme, Rachel (April 29, 2016). "Julien Baker Believes in God". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  27. Tolentino, Jia (October 27, 2017). "The Raw Devotion of Julien Baker". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  28. "Music Heals: Julien Baker on Addiction and Finding Your Place in the World". KEXP.org. KEXP-FM. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  29. Heath, Chris. "9 Musicians on How They Thrive Creatively Without Drugs or Booze". Gq.com.
  30. "Julien Baker on Living With Depression and OCD". Consequence of Sound. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  31. "Julien Baker – Audiotree Live, by Julien Baker". Julienbaker.bandcamp.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  32. "Julien Baker Triple A Songs Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  33. https://julienbaker.bandcamp.com/album/red-door-conversation-piece
  34. https://julienbaker.bandcamp.com/album/red-door-conversation-piece
  35. https://consequenceofsound.net/2016/08/touche-amore-share-skyscraper-a-heartbreaking-ode-to-nyc-featuring-julien-baker-watch/
  36. https://pitchfork.com/news/hayley-williams-shares-new-song-with-boygenius-listen/
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