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Something slightly different this Hump Day. Sweet Baboo in session for Marc Riley at BBC 6 Music on October 22, 2022.
Stephen Black, also known by his stage name Sweet Baboo. Before becoming a solo artist, he played with the band JT MOuse. Alongside his solo work, he has also played with many other artists, including Gruff Rhys, Cate Le Bon, Euros Childs, Piney Gir and Slow Club. He is bilingual in Welsh and English but usually sings in English.
Sweet Baboo’s earliest musical influences were fellow Welsh musicians such as Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Later influences have included The Beach Boys, Dire Straits, Squeeze and Jonathan Richman. His musical style has been described as a mix of country and psychedelic – idiosyncratic, with a skill for writing darkly funny to piercingly tender lyrics.
Sweet Baboo has performed extensively at festivals such as Glastonbury, Festival N°6 and Latitude; he’s been a regular performer at the Green Man Festival. He has worked with Cate Le Bon, Slow Club, Aldous Harding and H. Hawkline, and has also performed with and produced/recorded Euros Childs, The Pictish Trail, The Voluntary Butler Scheme and Islet, and collaborated with Gruff Rhys.
Sweet Baboo’s album I’m a Dancer / Songs about Sleepin’ was nominated for the first Welsh Music Prize in 2011.
Sweet Baboo launched single “Let’s Go Swimming Wild” in 2012 as a free download. After winning the BBC Radio 6 Music “Rebel Playlist” weekly singles competition on the Steve Lamacq show, it was constantly played on the station, hourly on the hour. “If I Died…”, the second single from his upcoming album, was released in March 2013 to much critical acclaim. To celebrate that month’s St. David’s Day, a Welsh-language version of the song (co-written with H. Hawkline) was released online. The third single from the album, “C’Mon Let’s Mosh”, was released in July 2013, having also won the 6 Music “Rebel Playlist” competition in June.
The album Ships was released in April 2013 on Moshi Moshi Records. Sweet Baboo followed the release with his first headlining tour in the UK and also performed solo shows and band shows in several festivals during summer 2013. Another headlining tour followed later in the year. The album was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize in 2013.
On 11 November 2013, Sweet Baboo released an EP titled Motorhome Songs.
Black, collaborating with musician Paul Jones, released two albums under the name Group Listening: Clarinet & Piano: Selected Works Vol.1 (2018) and Clarinet & Piano: Selected Works Vol. 2 (2022).
In October 2022, Black announced a new Sweet Baboo album – the first new music from this project in five years – with the single “Good Luck”, written by H. Hawkline. The album The Wreckage was released in January 2023 on Black’s own label Amazing Tapes from Canton.
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