Michael Baker - “Cave of Memory”

Photo by Alice Humphreys

Anglo-French singer-songwriter Michael Baker arrives on our blog with his latest indie folk single, “Cave of Memory.”

This song is wonderfully sparse, relying heavily upon ambience and mood to fill the sonic space. In fact, for a folk song, there’s nary an acoustic instrument to be heard until the faint chords of a piano fall within earshot at about a minute deep. But with the diaphanous organ and cinematic padding, most listeners will, at first, not notice its arrival. If the sun had a soundtrack for the way that it rises, “Cave of Memory” would fit snugly inside of this niche.

The focal point in this track is, of course, Baker’s vocal work. We have never tried to hide our love for Bon Iver or Novo Amor and the same singing style is present here– Baker layers his voice to spread the production, as well as to conjure the emotions of all who listen. The lyrics are delivered to our ears triumphantly and when combined with the dream-like instrumental, it makes for quite the heavenly and ethereal listening experience.

The crescendo within “Cave of Memory” is one that sneaks up on you, as it happens very gradually. By the time the soft percussion enters at around the three-minute mark, you may find yourself wondering if it had actually been there all along. And before you have a chance to investigate, you are once again swept away by Baker’s magnificent falsetto. Although this song was not designed to fill a dance floor, it will occupy every crevasse of your heart and mind, setting every wonderful memory to music.

-TM