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What is your name and role within Bae Baracus?
Dolly: Dolly, vocals
Clef: I’m Clef, I’m sorta like a co-pilot / instrumentalist. Lin helms the ship and I groove with it!
Lin: Lin, writer, arranger, keyboards, programmer and producer
How did the band form?
Lin: We got together during one of my songwriting workshops – it was just the three of us and we gelled instantly, so decided to form a band
Dolly: Lin, composer and producer extraordinaire brought us together to try out some songwriting using her song seeds as a base, and we managed to write an EP over just a day and a half. So we decided to become a band!
Clef: Lin got me and Dolly in studio for a weekend and we jammed out some magic
Where are you currently based?
Dolly: Vancouver, in Beautiful BC (unceded Traditional Coast Salish Lands including the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (
Clef: Sunshine Coast, BC
Lin: I’m in Roberts Creek (xwesam) on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, which is on the traditional unceded territories of the Sechelt and Squamish Nations
What’s been happening recently?
Lin: I’ve been super busy directing the music on upcoming video game Age of Empires IV, just released a collaborative album project under the artist name Julia Sound and most recently, writing, recording and producing Bae Baracus’s debut album
Dolly: I attended the first live music show in well over a year, which was incredible. I really missed the sense of community you get at a concert.
Clef: Live music is back in little pockets and I’ve been catching the wave! I’ve been DJing and doing a live set here and there, but my big ticket these days is Tetrahedron, my extemporal comedy rock spectacle!!
Your new single ‘Definition Of Love’ will be out on August 20, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
Lin: For Definition of Love I had this beat where I’d gone back to some old school 90’s samples and wanted to evoke that golden era of early house music… We had been working on another song which was kind of channeling New Order, and Dolly’s lead vocals on DoL is also rooted in that Bernard Sumner mood. Clef brings his exuberant energy and funky edge to the track!
Clef: There’s this acid-house party feel to the track that I found really inspiring. My verse felt absurd to me during the recording but the hype is for real and that’s what I like about it!
How did the single come about?
Clef: Lin had a frame and some chords, I laid down some guitar, bass, some bleep bloops, Dolly penned some lyrics, we recorded and ba-bam!
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?
Lin: I’ve been engineering, producing and mixing for a long time, and have my own studio The Sound Garden, where we wrote and recorded the single and upcoming album. Once I’ve finished the production and mix, I love working with mastering engineer Ohan Vandermeer at Dialled In Audio for the mastering
Clef: Sound Garden Retreat studio in Roberts Creek, Sunshine Coast BC. Check out Lin, it’s awesome!
How did you approach the recording process?
Dolly: We started with song seeds that Lin wrote and took inspiration from there. I was also inspired by a DJ set that Clef did on one of the nights during our time recording at Sound Garden Retreat.
Clef: There was no wading around in the shallow end, with Bae Baracus we jump from the high board head first!
Lin: What I love about working with Bae Baracus is that we have this really fast approach to the writing and recording process. Dolly is influenced by punk (& other genres) and I think that approach also influences us as a band. I love the way we flow so fast and throw down ideas in a flash and then move on – it removes that agonising pursuit of perfection which can in itself be a blocker
What programs/equipment did you use?
Lin: I use Logic Pro as my DAW (been using it since the 90s!), and have a full complement of virtual instruments, but we also love dusting off some classic old pieces when we work as a band – Roland Juno 60, Roland JX3P (originals not the mini resissues), Akai 3200XL sampler, 80’s Yamaha keyboard and a crackly old Melos echo unit all make an appearance
Clef: I like to bring a carload of stuff and see what inspires. I have a Yamaha PS-20 that got a lot of use this session, and of course my trusty OP-1 from Teenage Engineering, my trusty right hand synth. Plus a neat Mexican telecaster and an old fender jazz bass.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Dolly: Vovoid, Belle & Sébastien
Clef: I’ve been on a Boiler Room kick recently, a find all sorts of amazing artists and DJs from all over!
Lin: I’m a bit all over the map at the moment… I’m loving tracks on Nithin Sawney’s recent ‘Immigrants’ album, love TV composer Dominik Scherrer’s work and since my other half left an old Mary J Blige CD in the car, have been belting out “No More Drama” lately too
What do you like to do away from music?
Dolly: I ride a motorcycle, and I’ve taken up mountain biking recently.
Clef: I became a dad in September 2020 right before the 2nd wave lockdown, so my winter comprised of poopy diapers, walking my dog with a baby strapped to my chest, and not playing music live 🙂
Lin: Growing vegetables… I love the cycle of the seasons and the challenges that growing food without chemicals presents. And I love cooking, preserving and eating the results 🙂
What’s planned for the remainder of 2021?
Lin: No solid plans, but looking forward to getting the Bae Baracus album out and hoping that we can book some live shows once the world is less Covid-y
Clef: Live music seems to be coming back so I’m gonna get while the getting’s good! More shows, DJ gigs, refine my live setup, etc. You can’t take for granted that in a moment’s notice your art can be deemed unsafe for human consumption. After a year of prohibition tho, I’ve never felt more inspired to go out and get after it. Get ready for a huge post-pandemic proto-punk phase. Music is about to get reeeeeally good!
Dolly: Nothing! It’s hard to plan anything these days.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Dolly: Sushi, and the Heatley bar in East Vancouver.
Clef: I’ve been really digging Gibsons Tapworks these days, craft beer and they just put in a kitchen to up the food game and, WHOA did they ever deliver! Also, the patio is low key the best patio in BC.
Lin: Favourite fluctuates between a good pizza and good curry 🙂 For hanging out, there’s a great organic beer farm on the Coast called Persephone… really cool chill place to hang.
