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Julien Rose Baker (born September 29, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her music is noted for its moody quality and confessional lyrical style, as well as frank explorations of issues including spirituality, addiction, mental illness, and human nature.

Julien Baker
Baker performing in April 2018
Background information
Birth nameJulien Rose Baker
Born (1995-09-29) September 29, 1995 (age 27)
Germantown, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
  • Alternative rock
  • indie folk
  • emo
  • slowcore
  • indie rock
  • post rock
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocal
  • guitar
  • piano
  • organ
  • mandolin
  • bass guitar
  • banjo
  • drums
Years active2010–present
LabelsMatador, 6131 Records (former)
Websitejulienbaker.com

Born and raised in suburban Memphis, Tennessee, Baker released her debut album Sprained Ankle (2015) while she was a student at Middle Tennessee State University. The album received critical acclaim and appeared on several 2015 year-end lists. Baker subsequently signed to Matador Records and released her second studio album Turn Out the Lights in 2017, to further critical success. Her third album, Little Oblivions (2021), embraced a more full-band sound and became Baker's first top 40 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

In addition to her solo work, Baker is a member of the indie supergroup boygenius, alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. The group's debut eponymous EP was released in October 2018.


Early life


Baker was born on September 29, 1995 in Germantown, and raised in Bartlett, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis.[1][2] Her parents both worked in the field of physical therapy, and she has spoken of being inspired by her father who, after an accident in his twenties resulting in the amputation of his leg, dedicated his life to making experimental prosthetic limbs.[3] Baker's parents separated while she was in elementary school.[4]

Baker grew up in a devout Baptist family, and her early exposure to music involved playing at her church.[1][5] After seeing Green Day on television, she was inspired to explore more alternative music and started listening to bands like My Chemical Romance and Death Cab for Cutie.[3][6] She subsequently became captivated by the punk, hardcore, metalcore, and screamo scenes, and has said some of her favorite bands were MewithoutYou, Underoath, The Chariot, Norma Jean, and Whitechapel.[3][6] She struggled with substance abuse as a young teen, but found support in the community surrounding house shows in Memphis, and became inspired by the straight edge punk subculture.[3][7] While in high school in 2010, Baker co-founded the band the Star Killers, who renamed themselves Forrister in 2015.[8][9][10]

Baker attended Arlington High School and then Middle Tennessee State University, where she had a campus job in the A/V department and initially studied audio engineering, before switching to literature and secondary education.[2][11][12][13] She eventually left school to tour full-time after the release of Sprained Ankle, but returned to campus in the fall of 2019 to complete her degree in literature.[14]


Career



2015–2017: Early success


During her first year at MTSU, Baker began writing songs on her own, often utilizing the university practice rooms that stayed open late at night.[15] She wrote what would become Sprained Ankle in her dorm room and recorded it on free studio time that a friend of hers had gotten from an internship, and she’s said that she never thought the EP would be heard by a wide audience; she put it on Bandcamp so that her friends could hear it.[16]

It was discovered and picked up by 6131 Records, however, and became the studio album Sprained Ankle which was released in October 2015.[10] Sprained Ankle ended up topping many 2015 year-end lists, and its success led to features in The New Yorker and The New York Times, with various critics calling it "heartbreaking," "hypnotic," and "striking."[17][3][4]

Baker performing at Rough Trade NYC in 2016
Baker performing at Rough Trade NYC in 2016

In March 2016, Baker gave an NPR Tiny Desk performance, the first of an eventual four appearances at the desk.[18][19][20][21] She also played at that year's South by Southwest and Newport Folk festivals.[22][23] Her performances from this period have been called "hushed, reverential events," with the audience often remaining quiet and emotional.[17] In 2017 she signed to Matador Records, and released a 7-inch single consisting of the songs "Funeral Pyre" (previously called "Sad Song 11") and "Distant Solar Systems."[24][25]

Her second album, Turn Out the Lights, was recorded with engineer and producer Calvin Lauber at Ardent Studios in Memphis, and released on October 27, 2017 to further acclaim. She spent the following year touring across the U.S. and internationally, performing alongside artists including The National, Father John Misty, Half Waif, Adam Torres, and Lucy Dacus, and appearing on CBS This Morning and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[26][27][28]

Baker has opened for or collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Death Cab for Cutie, Conor Oberst, Paramore and Hayley Williams, The National, The Decemberists, Belle & Sebastian, Frightened Rabbit, The Front Bottoms, Touche Amore, Manchester Orchestra, and Bright Eyes. She has also released covers of various songs including those by Elliott Smith, Radiohead, and Soundgarden.[29][30][31]


2018–present: Boygenius and Little Oblivions


In 2018, Baker formed the rock supergroup Boygenius with fellow indie singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, both of whom she had toured with previously. The group released three songs in August of that year and subsequently announced an eponymous EP, Boygenius, which was released on October 26, 2018 to widespread critical acclaim.[32] The band spent that November touring the U.S., and performed "Me & My Dog" on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[33] The trio has continued to collaborate on each other’s solo work since the release of their EP, lending backing vocals to two songs from Bridgers’ Grammy-nominated Punisher and “Favor” from Baker’s Little Oblivions, as well as Hayley Williams' Petals for Armor single "Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris."[34]

In 2019, Baker put out two 7-inch singles. The first, released in June, featured songs "Red Door" and "Conversation Piece," and the second in October featured "Tokyo" and "Sucker Punch" as part of the Sub Pop singles series.[35] All four songs had a slightly more produced sound than her previous work and were received very positively.[36]

On October 21, 2020, Baker announced her third studio album, Little Oblivions, accompanied by the lead single "Faith Healer" and an essay by poet Hanif Abdurraqib.[37] Little Oblivions was released February 26, 2021, and was preceded by additional singles "Hardline" and "Favor."[34] It was written mostly over the course of 2019, a difficult and formative year for Baker as she had to cancel various tour dates, struggled with her sobriety and mental health, and eventually returned to school to finish her degree at MTSU.[14] In January, she appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performing "Faith Healer."[38]

In 2021 the artist was inter alia part of the Newport Folk Festival in July.[39]


Artistry


Baker performing at the Palace Theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 2017
Baker performing at the Palace Theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 2017

Baker is known for her deeply personal, confessional songwriting, and her music has been categorized as a mix of indie rock, indie folk, alternative, and emo.[40] The sparse arrangements on her “fragile, gentle” 2015 debut, Sprained Ankle, feature only her voice and guitar, and her stage performances often consist of her alone, utilizing a loop pedal.[41] 2017's Turn Out the Lights saw the addition of occasional violin as well as "organs and cavernous-sounding production."[41][42] Baker experimented with a more full-band sound for her 2021 release Little Oblivions, and has commented on feeling limited by her own expectations to adhere to her established style.[42] The album newly features drums, bass, keyboards, mandolin, and banjo, all played by Baker on the recording.[43] On tour for the album, she has played with a full band and featured new, multi-instrument arrangements of her previous work, describing the band's sound as "post-rock."[44][45]

Baker’s writing is infused with religious themes, and is often noted for its physical imagery.[41] Hope, redemption, love, addiction, shame, self-loathing, and direct appeals to God are all prominent motifs throughout her work.[46] 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.[47][48][49]


Personal life


Baker is a lesbian, and her fraught experiences with organized Christianity inform much of her work.[17][50] She came out to her parents at age 17, after years of being closeted and watching friends get sent to conversion therapy or kicked out of their homes. However, she found her family was “radically accepting.”[17] She previously referred to herself as a Christian socialist, but has spoken on how being constantly labelled the "sober queer Christian" early in her career was damaging to her understanding of her identity, and led to her questioning and reevaluating many foundational aspects of her life.[51][52][53][14] She has since discussed the ever-changing nature of her relationship to faith, saying she is no longer interested in labeling her beliefs so rigidly and that she is trying to adopt a less dichotomous worldview than the one she was raised with, calling the realization "freeing."[54][55][53]

Baker has a deep appreciation for literature and has said that she "love[s] school".[14][31] She has contributed essays to literary magazines and been known to enjoy discussing philosophy, history, theology, and her hopes of possibly continuing her academic pursuits or becoming a teacher.[31][56] Interviewers have often remarked on her kind, playful nature and Southern politeness as striking in contrast to the weight of the themes she explores in her music.[13][57]


Discography


Julien Baker discography
Studio albums3
EPs5
Singles16

Studio albums


Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[58]		 US
Alt
[59]		 US
Folk
[60]		 US
Indie
[61]		 US
Rock
[61]		 AUS
[62]		 BEL
(FL)
[63]		 GER
[64]		 IRE
[65]		 UK
[66]
Sprained Ankle
  • Released: October 23, 2015
  • Label: 6131
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
 —[upper-alpha 1]―――――――――
Turn Out the Lights
  • Released: October 27, 2017
  • Label: Matador
  • Format: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming
 7893912―――――
Little Oblivions
  • Released: February 26, 2021
  • Label: Matador
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
 3951642171377451

Extended plays


Title Album details
Sprained Ankle
  • Released: Winter 2014
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download, CD
Spotify Sessions
  • Released: May 20, 2016
  • Label: 6131
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Audiotree Live
  • Released: October 22, 2016[68]
  • Label: Audiotree Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Little Oblivions: The Remixes
  • Released: September 1, 2021
  • Label: Matador Records
  • Format: Digital download, streaming.
B-Sides
  • Released: July 21, 2022
  • Label: Matador Records
  • Format: Digital download, streaming.

Singles


Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[69]		 US
Sales
[citation needed]
"Funeral Pyre"[70] 2017 —11 Non-album singles
"Distant Solar Systems"[70] ——
"Appointments" —— Turn Out the Lights
"Turn Out the Lights" ——
"Bad Things to Such Good People"
(with Manchester Orchestra)		 2018 —— Non-album singles
"Red Door"[71] 2019 ——
"Conversation Piece"[71] ——
"The Modern Leper" —— Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened
Rabbit’s ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’
"Tokyo" —— Non-album singles
"Sucker Punch" ——
"Faith Healer" 2020 14— Little Oblivions
"A Dreamer's Holiday"
(Spotify Singles)		 —— Non-album single
"Hardline" 2021 —— Little Oblivions
"Favor" ——
"Heatwave"[72] 27—
"Guthrie" 2022 —— B-Sides
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances


Title Year Primary artist(s) Album
"Ballad of Big Nothing" 2016 — Say Yes! A Tribute to Elliott Smith
"Skyscraper" Touché Amoré Stage Four
"How It Gets In" 2017 Frightened Rabbit Recorded Songs
"All I Want" 2018 Matt Berninger, Stephen Altman 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood, Vol. 2: Pt. 1
"Bless This Hell" 2019 Mary Lambert Grief Creature
"Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris" 2020 Hayley Williams Petals For Armor
"First Time" Becca Mancari The Greatest Part
"Graceland Too" Phoebe Bridgers Punisher
"I Know the End"
"Reminders" Touché Amoré Lament
"Act Four" 2021 Fucked Up Year of the Horse
"Neil Young On High" The Ophelias Neil Young On High
"Going Going Gone" Lucy Dacus Home Video
"Please Stay"
"Triple Dog Dare"
"Underwater Boi" Turnstile Glow On

As part of Boygenius



As part of Forrister



Notes


  1. Sprained Ankle did not enter the US Billboard 200 but did peak at number 23 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.[67]

Awards and nominations


Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2016 Libera Award Sprained Ankle Libera Award for Best Breakthrough Artist Nominated [78]
2021 AIM Awards Hardline Best Independent Video Nominated [79]

References


  1. Mehr, Bob (April 28, 2016). "Ascendant Julien Baker overcame darkness to find light of success". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. Townsend, Eileen (October 22, 2015). "Julien Baker Arrives". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  3. Fink, Matt (December 22, 2017). "Julien Baker - The Under the Radar Cover Story". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  4. Williams, John (April 26, 2016). "Julien Baker: Sad Songs That Whisper and Howl". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  5. Pareles, Jon (October 22, 2017). "Julien Baker Bravely Confronts Her Traumas and Fears". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  6. Turned Out a Punk Podcast. "Episode 197: Julien Baker". Apple Podcasts.
  7. 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. "Interview with Julien Baker". YouTube.
  8. "Forrister – Forrister". Forristertn.tumblr.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  9. Ladd, Olivia (February 23, 2015). "From Memphis to Murfreesboro: Musician Julien Baker Shares Her Passion". Mtusidelines.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  10. Chiu, David (December 9, 2015). "Julien Baker's 'Real Life' Music Tugs at the Heartstrings". PopMatters.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  11. Cannon, Joshua; Shaw, Chris. "Beale Street Music Fest: On the Road, On the Beach, On the Rise". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  12. 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.
  13. Claymore, Gabriela Tully (October 26, 2015). "An Interview with Young Phenom Julien Baker". Stereogum.
  14. Bernstein, Jonathan (October 21, 2020). "Julien Baker is Still Learning". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  15. Gokhman, Roman (December 1, 2015). "Julien Baker: The Best of What's Next". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  16. Hughes, Hilary. "Julien Baker is Just Being Honest". Entertainment Weekly.
  17. Syme, Rachel (April 29, 2016). "Julien Baker Believes in God". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  18. NPR Music (March 7, 2016). "Julien Baker: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert". YouTube. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  19. Boilen, Bob (January 10, 2018). "Julien Baker: Turn Out the Lights Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org.
  20. Boilen, Bob (November 16, 2018). "Boygenius: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org.
  21. Gotrich, Lars (December 9, 2020). "Hayley Williams: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org.
  22. "Julien Baker: SXSW 2016 Event Schedule". SXSW.com.
  23. Horn, Rachel. "Julien Baker, Live In Concert: Newport Folk 2016". NPR.org.
  24. "Matador Records". Matadorecords.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  25. "Funeral Pyre, by Julien Baker". Julienbaker.bandcamp.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  26. "Julien Baker Tour Dates & Concerts". SongKick.
  27. Slingerland, Calum. "The National Announce Toronto Show with Father John Misty, Jenny Lewis, Julien Baker". Exclaim.
  28. Yoo, Noah (January 4, 2018). "Watch Julien Baker Perform "Turn Out the Lights" on "Colbert"". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  29. Aycock, Dylan (April 5, 2016). "Hear Julien Baker's "Ballad Of Big Nothing" Cover For Elliott Smith Tribute". American Songwriter.
  30. Bloom, Madison (March 22, 2019). "Listen to Julien Baker, Ben Gibbard, More Cover Frightened Rabbit on Live Tribute Album". Pitchfork. Conde Nast.
  31. KEXP. "Julien Baker: Performance & Interview". YouTube.
  32. 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.
  33. Yoo, Noah (November 6, 2018). "Watch boygenius Perform "Me & My Dog" on "Seth Meyers"". Pitchfork. Conde Nast.
  34. Curto, Justin (February 3, 2021). "Julien Baker Drops New Song 'Favor' with Boygenius". Vulture.
  35. Meadows, James (June 26, 2019). "Review: Julien Baker's Modern Gospel in "Red Door"/"Conversation Piece"". Atwood Magazine.
  36. Jones, Abby. ""Tokyo" by Julien Baker Review". Pitchfork. Conde Nast.
  37. Leas, Ryan (October 21, 2020). "Julien Baker – "Faith Healer"". Stereogum.
  38. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "Julien Baker "Faith Healer"". YouTube.
  39. "Newport Folk Festival stage schedule 2021". newportfolk.org. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  40. "Julien Baker: Ones to Watch". Ones to Watch.
  41. Geffen, Sasha. "Julien Baker: Turn Out the Lights Album Review". Pitchfork. Conde Nast.
  42. O'Neill, Lauren. "The New Era of Julien Baker". Vice.
  43. "Little Oblivions". Bandcamp.
  44. Olivier, Bobby (September 15, 2021). "Julien Baker spins delicate darkness into full-band emo on tour: review". NJ.com.
  45. Baker, Julien. "be warned we're a post rock band now". Twitter.
  46. Cohen, Ian. "Julien Baker: Sprained Ankle Album Review". Pitchfork. Conde Nast.
  47. "Music Heals: Julien Baker on Addiction and Finding Your Place in the World". KEXP.org. KEXP-FM. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  48. Heath, Chris (January 15, 2019). "9 Musicians on How They Thrive Creatively Without Drugs or Booze". Gq.com.
  49. "Julien Baker on Living With Depression and OCD". Consequence of Sound. Consequence of Sound. January 19, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  50. Tolentino, Jia (October 27, 2017). "The Raw Devotion of Julien Baker". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  51. "Julien Baker Is a Queer, Christian, Socialist – We Had to Talk to Her". Religion and Socialism Podcast. SoundCloud.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  52. Power, Ed. "'I just want to be an artist. I don't want to be the queer Christian artist'". The Irish Times.
  53. Carson, Sarah (February 18, 2021). "Julien Baker: 'The Church made me feel powerless. Even if I was Mother Teresa, I'd still be gay'". iNews UK.
  54. Eloise, Marianne (February 4, 2021). "God, shame and redemption: how Julien Baker just wrote her best album yet". Louder Sound.
  55. Pierson-Hagger, Ellen (February 17, 2021). "Julien Baker: 'I saw music as religion'". The New Statesman.
  56. "Julien Baker". Oxford American: A Magazine of the South. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  57. Roebuck, Ian. "Julien Baker: a young voice of reason, from behind the wheel of a large automobile". Loud and Quiet.
  58. "Julien Baker Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  59. "Julien Baker Chart History: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  60. "Julien Baker Chart History: Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  61. "Julien Baker Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  62. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  63. "Ultratop.be – Julien Baker – Little Oblivions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  64. "Offiziellecharts.de – Julien Baker – Little Oblivions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  65. "Irish Albums Chart: 5 March 2021". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  66. "Julien Baker | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  67. "Julien Baker Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  68. "Julien Baker – Audiotree Live, by Julien Baker". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  69. "Julien Baker Triple A Songs Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  70. "Funeral Pyre / Distant Solar Systems, by Julien Baker". Bandcamp. December 4, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  71. "Red Door / Conversation Piece, by Julien Baker". Bandcamp. August 22, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  72. "Future Releases: Triple A". All Access Music Group. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  73. "boygenius : demos EP (Bandcamp) (24 Hours Only) – Matablog". Matador Records. July 2, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  74. "American Blues, by The Star Killers". Bandcamp. April 1, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  75. "Little Moses/The Star Killers Split, by The Star Killers". Bandcamp. July 31, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  76. "Choked Up (Single), by The Star Killers". Bandcamp. January 27, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  77. "Choked Up, by Forrister". Bandcamp. March 3, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  78. "SoundExchange Presents The 2016 A2IM Libera Awards". shoerefire. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  79. Grein, Paul (June 6, 2021). "Arlo Parks Leads 2021 AIM Awards Nominations". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2021.



На других языках

- [en] Julien Baker

[ru] Бейкер, Жюльен

Жюльен Роуз Бейкер (англ. Julien Rose Baker, род. 29 сентября 1995) — американская певица и автор-исполнитель из Мемфиса, Теннесси. Участница панк-рок-группы Forrister, до этого известной как The Star Killers, а также супергруппы boygenius, основанной ей в 2018 году с певицами Фиби Бриджерс и Люси Дакус. Жюльен выпустила два студийных альбома: первый, Sprained Ankle, вышел в 2015 году на лейбле 6131 Records, а второй, Turn Out the Lights, вышел в 2017 году на Matador Records.


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