On The Row: Bastian Baker

Swiss singer-songwriter Bastian Baker dropped by the MusicRow office recently, fresh from his opening stint on the Shania Twain Now Tour, and played some acoustic versions of songs from his self-titled fourth album.

Baker is no stranger to artistry or playing for big crowds. His 2011 debut album, Tomorrow May Not Be Better, was certified platinum in Switzerland, and he’s toured with the likes of Elton John and Bryan Adams. He relocated to Nashville to write and record his latest project, and found himself on tour with his neighbor, Twain.

Baker wrote “Blame It On Me” in Nashville, with Caroline Marquard and Zoe Mirkovic; and he wrote the current single for the album, “You Should Call Home,” with Nashville songwriter-producer Josh Bruce Williams.

“He probably has the most American name that I’ve heard, Josh Bruce Williams,” Baker joked. “The four of us wrote that song.”

Baker also sampled his pop radio-ready jam, “So Low” for the MusicRow staff.

“My first language is French,” said Baker. “But I just like the sound of [English] better. I started writing songs in English I was like 14 or 15 years old. I’ve had a very happy childhood,” he noted. “Somehow I still felt depressed. It was annoying. So I was writing all of these extremely negative, depressing songs and I felt that if I wrote them in English, I could still sing them and people would not really understand what I’m talking about back home,” he said with a laugh.

Bastian Baker will hit the road in March for his own headlining tour. Bastian Baker is available to purchase and stream now.