Baker Boy has shared new single ‘Wish You Well’, flipping Bernard Fanning‘s 2005 hit of the same name into a characteristically upbeat, buoyant hip-hop cut that features the Powderfinger frontman himself.
Marking his first new release since debut studio album ‘Gela’ arrived, Baker linked back up with producer Pip Norman for the new song, delivering free-flowing bars in both English and Yolŋu Matha, interspersed with Fanning singing the refrain.
In a statement, Baker explained that he wanted to take the Powderfinger frontman’s original and “make it Yolŋu flavour”. He continued: “It’s about sharing the love – whether it’s your partner, whether it’s your friends or family. It’s also for the people that are having a hard time right now. I just wanted to spread some love through music.”
Listen to ‘Wish You Well’ below:
“It’s Bernard from Powderfinger and a national treasure, you know? So it was crazy. I was just freaking out a little bit. Then I jumped on a call with him. It was so, so amazing to do the track and make it into a Baker Boy track as well,” Baker Boy continued.
Fanning, in his own statement, said Baker Boy’s music was “so full of energy and excitement” that he was “very happy to collaborate” on a new version of ‘Wish You Well’.
“I love the spirit of this new version and am so glad it’s taken such a different musical tack but maintained the buoyancy of the original. It’s the first time I’ve worked in this way, but I found it so easy because the ideas coming from [Baker Boy] and Pip were so good.”
It’s not the first time this year Baker Boy has put his own spin on a classic song. In April, he made his debut on triple j’s Like a Version segment, delivering a creative rendition of Blur‘s ‘Song 2’ that incorporated a yidaki solo and interpolated Baha Men‘s ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’