“MY BABY serve up acid-fried country stompers that will haunt your dreams for weeks.” – Q Magazine
HYPNOTIC TRANCE-POP group MY BABY, will be hitting our shores for a nationwide tour between Dec-March! This will be their fourth return after their Prehistoric Rhythm album pre-release tour in 2017. This time they delight us with recent release Mounaiki ~ By the Bright of Night a shamanic album laced with deep-bass driven grooves, gospel and blues singing, cultural inflections and a touch of EDM… try name a better combo.
This year, MY BABY begin their 13-date tour at New Year’s Eve festivals AUM (Auckland) and Rhythm & Alps (Wanaka). They will play a string of headline shows all over the country and finish up at WOMAD 2019! An incredibly hypnotising live act everyone has a chance to see so DON’T MISS OUT!
Ticket information and full tour dates below.
Watch the official video for ‘In the Club’ below.
MY BABY Mounaiki Summer Tour
Sun Dec 30 – AUM / Auckland Tickets here
Sat Dec 31 – Rhythm & Alps / Wanaka Tickets here
Sat Jan 5 – Blue Smoke / Christchurch *
Fri Jan 11 – Meow / Wellington
Sat Jan 12 – Cabana / Napier *
Sun Jan 13 – Smash Palace / Gisborne
Thur Jan 17 – Yot Club / Raglan
Fri Jan 18 – Soundsplash / Raglan Tickets here
Sat Jan 19 – Neck of the Woods / Auckland *
Sun Jan 20 – Totara St / Mt Maunganui *
Wed Jan 30 – Luminate Fest / Golden Bay Tickets here
Sat Feb 9 – Marlborough Wine and Food Fest / Marlborough Tickets here
Fri March 15 – WOMAD / New Plymouth Tickets here
* Tickets at undertheradar.co.nz
MY BABY
For those of you not yet familiar with the Dutch-New Zealand trio, they play roots driven hypnotic dance. It’s a sound informed by gospel and blues singing and playing fused with ancient folk melodies. Added to that is the rawness of seventies funk, african desert blues, moroccan gnawa, indian raga and a touch of EDM all played on guitars and drums without using computers or samples. They have been spreading their psychedelic blues-trance rave to the approval of audiences worldwide since 2012, featuring on renowned festivals such as Glastonbury (UK), Isle of Wight (UK), Sziget (HU), Fusion (DE), Exit (RS), Lowlands (NL) and Pinkpop (NL).
MY BABY is more than just the band’s name. It’s a title that refers to an allegorical figure, a central character in the band’s musical story. She is in part a phantom muse, a result of the combined imagination of the band members. She’s often described as, ‘a girl in the ’70’s fantasizing about being a flapper girl and dancer in the ’20’s.
For their latest album they started writing a story about their muse first.
The trio elaborates:
Daniel ‘Da Freez’ Johnston (guitar)
“We thought it would be interesting to start with writing a story that follows the narratology of the hero’s journey. This offers a template for a tale that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, overcomes a crisis and returns home transformed. A story that takes place during the course of a night. It starts in early evening as the sun sets and the final stages take place at dawn. The songs on the album are meant to accompany the story.”
Joost Sheik van Dijck (drums / vocals) explains the title MOUNAIKI and the motives of the main character;
“Mounaiki is the shamanistic name given to the main character and to the experience she goes through. A ‘spirit name’, if you like. It means ‘love and will’, or the combined energy of love.
The character’s quest to find meaning and identity leads her to a path of transformation.”
The world that MOUNAIKI inhabits consists of the suffocating environment of suburbia, with all its limitations, juxtaposed by the exhilarating experience of the inner city with its boundless possibilities. The pervading threat of anonymity in the city leads to a search for tranquility in nature.
“This way of working allowed us to be very diverse in our songwriting. The labyrinthian dream like world, where the character travels through different ages, inspired us to delve into jazz and ragtime from the twenties, the american songbook of the thirties as well as film scores from forties film noir and italian neorealism.” Says lead singer and guitarist Cato van Dijck.
“The challenge was combining these influences with our established blend of folk, blues, funk and psychedelic trance. Storytelling on top of a hypnotic groove is how I would summarize what we tried to achieve while in the studio.” “We took inspiration from many musical heroes of ours. Most notably Sly Stone, who also became a character in the song ‘SUPERNATURAL AID“, adds Joost.
Cato also describes how some of the Band’s own personal experiences have influenced the songs on the album, BORDERLINE in particular;
“Borderline is inspired by our experiences while taking part in making a short documentary about the refugee crisis, filmed at the Serbian border. We stopped at the border to meet the people there and listen to their stories. The song is a depiction of being on the road and experiencing the twisted irony of being free to travel everywhere you want whilst witnessing the troubles of others less fortunate as you gaze out of the window of your vehicle, while passing by a refugee camp on the border. Although the injustices are all too clear to see, what prevails is a combined feeling of being humbled by the strength and positivity of the people there, who have so little, and the inspiration you take from observing the importance of hope.”
The documentary was part of the band’s role as ‘Ambassadors of Freedom, a honorary title given annually to Dutch artists by the Dutch Government. It involves calling attention to the importance of freedom in our society.
MY BABY ONLINE
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