EP Walkthrough: BAYNK discusses his second EP, Someone's EP II

New Zealand songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist BAYNK is one of those names you don't realise is gaining popularity until their massive. He's always been a name steadily rising throughout the New Zealand electronic scene, first drawing our attention with his sun-soaked 2016 collaboration with NÏKA, What You Need. From here, however, he's blossoming into a defining, internationally-dominating force. His 2017 debut EP Someone's EP I was an encapsulation of his achievements to date, teaming up with international names like Shallou as he layered ricocheting percussion underneath plucking synth, while singles since have seen him further flesh out his collaborative skillset; Glades and Sinead Harnett the two most popular to join his ranks. He's played Coachella and dates throughout the US already, while also taking full creative direction for every facet of his work, even beyond music and into art design, live visuals and more.

In 2019, he's proving that he's a force to be reckoned with - if he's not already. Sitting atop of New Zealand's most popular acts with names including Lorde, he's just further showcased why he's an artist on the edge of international dominance with his second EP Someone's EP II, which along with some previously released cuts, includes four new tracks that deepen his production and songwriting versatility, stepping forward as one of his sound's most inventive and forward-thinking. It also sees more collaborators come on board, with Hablot Brown and Martin Luke Brown adding to the EP's collaborative quality as their toplines and songwriting intertwine with BAYNK's, finding middle ground between their respective strengths and the musician's plucking and generally quite warm and summer-reminiscent sound.

It arrives ahead of headline shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney this July (with further forthcoming shows including Lollapalooza and Las Vegas' Life Is Beautiful), but in the meantime, stream the album below with a track-by-track walkthrough from BAYNK, who explores the EP's creation and themes one song at a time.

WATER

A far cry from the music I began making and the most intense track on the record. The more I tour, the more I want music that suits a live format as well as headphones. I think I’ve always had this sort of production in me, I just never knew I needed it until I started playing more shows. Wrote this one in my tiny LA apartment with a friend DJ Stanfill. We were trying this idea where we wrote a song every 30 mins until we had something good. This might have been the fourth instalment of that process and we’d found a synth patch that was randomizing the octave of every note you played and it just sounded so wild so we just recorded that and then put another randomized arpeggiated line on the drop with the same chords. I remember thinking at the time I really wanted something special to start my sets with so I think that’s how this record became what it is.

SETTLE (feat. SINEAD HARNETT)

I was in London sometime last year just to write for two weeks and catch up with some old friends. I’d rented out a very nasty studio somewhere in Cambridge Heath and was session-ing daily out of there. I’d been a fan of Sinead for a while so was thrilled when she said she was down to come by. We wrote one track for about five hours, which was pretty unmemorable and then decided to quickly bang out another one in the last 45 mins we had before she headed out. I had the chords almost instantly and she wrote everything excluding the second verse in one 15-minute sitting. We polished it off the week after and have been friends ever since, bless her soul.

GO WITH U

Started this one in Downtown LA with another friend Tom (Hazey Eyes). He was playing keys whilst I was riffing (very badly) on the guitar. We ended up with this incredible Rhodes progression, very simple twangy plucky guitar and this abrasive chorus section. I think I wrote the intro “go with you” part and then the majority of the chorus before I’d run dry on lyrics. The song sat for a while before I found myself with another friend and very accomplished songwriter Annika Wells who finished off the rest of the mix. From my perspective, the song was about lust and the uncontrollable feeling you get when you see someone you’re attracted to. I think I was just fascinated by it at that point in time, how I’d do anything or go anywhere just to hang with this person even if it wasn’t at all logical and had no explainable reason. Annika obviously wrote her portion about someone else but I have yet to quiz her about who that person is. I guess it’s two love stories rolled into one.

INT II.

I love instrumental music almost more than I do vocal. It’s where the passion for electronic music came from and every time I get an opportunity to make instrumental tracks I do. I produced this on my own in my manager’s house somewhere up in Laurel Canyon. The neighbourhood up there is quite boujee and the views are incredible and I think I was feeling a little fancy so I made a modern day version of what I imagined would play in a speakeasy in prohibition-era NYC.

SIMMER (feat. Hablot Brown)

I went to see Honne play at a concert hall next to the Staples Center and was blown away by their opening act who were “surprise” Hablot Brown. I hit them up immediately and took them to another friend’s studio in Downtown LA where we chilled, played some instruments, recorded some vocals and had a song. It was such an enjoyable process and they’re all such nice guys. The track sounded great but super raw to me and I made quite a few different versions and stressed out about it a lot until I realized the original had all the magic and should just be left the way it was made in the room that day.

SHATTER (feat. Martin Luke Brown)

Wrote this one in a little studio in Stoke Newington, London. I was looking for people to write with and my assistant sent me Martin's tracks and I was taken aback by how strange and unique sounding his voice was. He came in and I’d found a glockenspiel sample that the whole song is based off and he just wrote the whole thing out and went up to sing the thing and started whacking his throat as he was singing which at first seemed a little weird but then it just sounded so cool in the production. This was the last track to be written at about two months ago so only fitting to be the closing piece on the EP.

Tour Dates (tickets HERE): 

Jul 4 - Melbourne, Howler (AUS)
Jul 5 - Brisbane, The Brightside (AUS)
Jul 6 - Sydney, The Lansdowne (AUS)
Jul 10 - Auckland, Powerstation (NZ)
Jul 11 - Wellington, Meow (NZ)
Jul 12 - Christchurch, The Foundry (NZ)
Jul 13 - Dunedin, Union Hall (NZ)

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