Episode 20: Caiti Baker

Caiti Baker. Image: Michelle Grace Hunder

Listen to the Trusty Chords podcast via your preferred platform of choice here.

Some of my favourite artists are those who do so much amazing work yet often find themselves flying under the radar. While I’m a huge proponent of the fact that they should all be household names due to their exceptional output, they continue to operate as well-kept secrets, beloved by their diehard fans.

A great example of this is the wonderful Caiti Baker. For years now, Caiti has been crafting some truly amazing music. For example, she was one half of Sietta with partner James Mangohig (otherwise known as Kuya James), and after a number of years in this format, she launched a solo career over a decade ago. 

Since then, she’s been sharing amazing records like clockwork. I’m talking records like The Seventh Passenger, ZINC, and 2022’s Under Our Galaxy. But Caiti doesn’t stop there, however.

She's produced an ARIA-nominated multi-artist lullaby album, won at the NT Music Song of the Year Awards, opened for American music legend George Benson, worked with Emily Wurramara on her new album, and even mentored young artists and established a girl group called CLINK. 

This year, however, she released 'Stay Down' in anticipation of her next album, So You Know. It’s on the way, but we’ve had to wait a little bit since Caiti is also in the process of expanding her family with the upcoming addition of a little one.

Somehow though, amidst all of this, she found the time to have a chat with me about her musical journey, her past records, and her myriad influences.

One thing you should know before listening is that this was actually recorded a few months ago, in the earliest, formative days of this podcast. As a result, there’s a few audio issues from my end (and a couple from Caiti’s end), but issues largely dealing with my laptop struggling with processing audio. So a few times, you’ll hear a bit more background noise than I’d like. Caiti sounds amazing though, and she was a trooper for dealing with it.

I strongly urge you to check out Caiti Baker’s ‘Stay Down’ ahead of the eventual release of So You Know, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Caiti Baker's Trusty Chords

Caiti’s One Influential Artist

1. Aaliyah and/or Missy Elliott

Caiti’s Three Impactful Albums (And A Bunch Of Honourable Mentions!)

1. Big Mama Thornton – Ball 'N' Chain (1989)

2. Aretha Franklin – The Very Best Of Aretha Franklin, Vol. 1 (1994)

3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love (1967)

4. Kelis – Kaleidoscope (1999)

5. Method Man & Redman – Blackout! (1999)

6. Jay-Z – Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998)

7. Lil’ Kim – The Notorious K.I.M. (2000)

8. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange (2012)

9. Rihanna – Anti (2016)

10. Beyoncé – 4 (2011)

11. Angel Haze – Back To The Woods (2015)

12. Sky'High – Forever Sky'High (2012)

13. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (2005)

As Caiti says, it was a little hard to pick just three.

Caiti’s Five Trusty Songs (And A Few More Honourable Mentions!)

1. Rihanna – 'Consideration (feat. SZA)' (2016)

2. Frank Ocean – 'Bad Religion' (2012)

3. Emily Wurramara – 'FRIEND' (2024)

4. Maanyung – 'Light & Dark' (2023)

5. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – 'Little Wing' (1967)

6. Etta James & Harvey Fuqua – ‘Spoonful’ (1961)

7. Rage Against The Machine – ‘Pistol Grip Pump’ (2000)

8. Fiona Apple – ‘Criminal’ (1997)