On his sophomore EP, 'Someone's EP II', New Zealand producer BAYNK transitions from his roots as a beatmaker into his new identity as a songwriter.
In doing so, BAYNK, real name Jock, has learnt to tap in to emotional stimuli he has previously avoided. “It's a really scary thing to start doing because I feel like being a beatmaker you don't have to spill your soul really, and I was starting to write songs and words that felt really awkward for me and it felt so soppy,” Jock says.
“I feel like a lot of the time boys are trained to withhold your emotions and be a big man, I think I carried a bit of that with me from my youth and so it's really weird for me to start talking about those things.”
Asked if he feels at ease with the role of songwriter and if the transition is complete, Jock's response is priceless. “I think I've always been a songwriter, it's just that I started off as a sh.t one and now I'm a slightly less sh.t one,” he laughs.
On 'Someone's EP II', BAYNK shows the strides he's taken musically and personally since his debut. “It's a sonic upgrade from the first EP,” he explains.
“It's kind of a close-out emotionally from where the first EP was, which was 'I don't know what I'm doing with my love life, who am I and what am I supposed to be?'.
“This EP was me re-finding myself, finding someone more special and settling into my musical career. That's what it feels like to me: it feels like the start of my career and the end of the beginning, if that makes sense.”
Working with collaborators such as GLADES, Sinead Harnett, Hablot Brown and Martin Luke Brown, 'Someone's EP II' also represents a refinement in Jock's songwriting process best exemplified in new single 'go with you', featuring Jock on vocals.
“I feel like the first couple of songs I wrote and sung lyrically, because I started off as a beatmaker, were all sort of haphazardly thrown together and happened to work out,” he says.
“And this is the one that I really sat down with a friend of mine, who is a songwriter, and we polished the lyrics out and we figured out what I was really trying to say.
"It feels like a more cohesive record than the other songs that I had written before. That's what it is for me.”
With the record released at the end of May, Jock is preparing for a brief Australian tour with shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney during July. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Christchurch Mayoral Fund supporting those affected by the 15 March terror attacks.
“I'm stoked,” he says of the tour. “I feel like I'm just at the point where I can get a 100 per cent BAYNK set, maybe not; maybe I'll have to play some other people's bangers that I love because I love doing it, but the more live the better.
“The more vocals that I can chop out and sing live and put more of a performance into, the better the show is. I feel like from the shows I've done that's what makes people happy, seeing me perform and do the live thing. "I don't want it to be like another DJ set, I want it to have passion and character, and be something to remember.”
'Someone's EP II' is out now.
BAYNK 2019 Tour Dates
Thu 4 Jul - Howler (Melbourne)Fri 5 Jul - The Brightside (Brisbane)
Sat 6 Jul - The Lansdowne Hotel (Sydney)
