Mentors

Soulful singer-songwriter Louis Baker is undoubtedly one of the most compelling voices to emerge from Aotearoa New Zealand’s fertile musical landscape in recent years. Crafting his work from a place of deep artistic integrity, Louis has gathered a loyal following that spans the world over. Everyone from India Arie (“Louis Baker, you sing my soul”) to Rolling Stone, BBC 6 Music, Clash Magazine and Earmilk have shown love for what he is and has become. To date, he has received over 25 million Spotify streams worldwide, putting his authentic style of modern soul on the world stage.

Baker released his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Open’ in 2019, which received a prestigious Taite Music Prize nomination, and Aotearoa Music Awards nominations for Best Soul Artist and Best Māori Artist. Written and produced in London, Los Angeles, Sydney and New Zealand, the album sees him reflecting on being open to opportunity, to change and to acceptance. Louis has worked with Grammy-nominated engineer and producer, Steve Rusch (Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Cody Chesnutt) and multi-platinum selling songwriter Lindy Robbins (Andra Day, Chromeo). Previous singles ‘Back On My Feet’ (2014), ‘Rainbow’ (2016), and ‘Black Crow’ (2018) have been recognised for APRA Silver Scroll nominations. Louis’ latest offering, Love Levitates (2021), takes his signature sonic of modern-soul to new territory. Working with producer and songwriter Devin Abrams (Dallas Tamaira, Drax Project, Pacific Heights), ‘Love Levitates’ is Baker’s five-track opus of life, an intimate yet expansive journey of heritage, love, friendship, observation, and beyond.