Premiere: NZ's Louis Baker shares live version of latest single, So Lo

If you're yet to be acquainted, Louis Baker is a steadily-rising musician from New Zealand specialising in a soulful pop sound, layering groove-filled productions - often quite rich and intoxicating - with buttery vocals that don't take long to win you over at all. Over the last six years, his smooth blend of pop, soul and funk has pushed him forward as an act grappling onto international acclaim, finding a spot in the 2013 RBMA program in New York - joined by electronic boundary-pusher Sinjin Hawke and more - alongside festival appearances at Sziget, Sonar and The Great Escape; all of which combining to present an artist seemingly blossoming internationally, rather than going for the Australian-centric approach many of our cross-Tasman musicians take up.

On June 21st, he'll share his debut album Open, an album formulated around "letting go of the past, accepting the present and feeling open to the future" as he explores the many sonic textures his versatile sound can take up, enlisting the help of several favourites - Jordan Rakei and Steve Rusch (Solange, Kendrick Lamar) perhaps the most recognisable - for a record bound to push Baker even further into the international spotlight. Today, we get another tease of his musical versatility and range, taking on a live version of one of the album's pre-release teases, So Lo. It's a stunning live take that strips the single right back to just two sets of vocals and subtle guitar melodies, finding and fleshing out all the emotion in the original for a cover that really brings everything Louis Baker should be recognised for to the table.

"Sometimes we feel shut out in a relationship. It's like you both take a back step because the communication isn't there, and you just seem to frustrate one another. I think finding the words to convey what you really feel to the other person isn't always easy, so you close off, and don't get it off your chest," he says on the original track and its meaning, which was co-written by Lanks and Plutonic Lab. "The name has two meanings, as in, to feel 'so low', and 'solo', to be solitary. This is another reason why I wanted to call the album Open."

Watch the cover below, and pre-order the full record HERE.

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