Sweet Baboo

Sweet Baboo is the solo project of Welsh musician Stephen Black, who is born in Bethesda, Gwynedd and based in Cardiff. He works in English and Welsh, though he usually sings in English. He is associated with folk and psychedelic music, and has also been tagged as indie pop and acoustic.

Early work

Black begins making music with a Casio keyboard, a cheap microphone, a small four-track recorder and his father’s guitar. His early songs draw on Welsh psychedelic pop, including S.F.A. and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, as well as his parents’ records by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Before his solo career, he plays with JT Mouse. He also studies clarinet in Cardiff and spends time in local bands, including work with Cate Le Bon’s solo project and Spencer McGarry Season.

Collaborations and live work

Alongside his own recordings, Black plays with a wide range of artists, including Gruff Rhys, Cate Le Bon, Euros Childs and Slow Club. In 2007 he is asked to play bass in Euros Childs’ solo project and also assembles Daniel Johnston’s backing band for the Cardiff leg of a European tour. He supports acts such as The Hidden Cameras and Jeffrey Lewis, plays Glastonbury, and tours in Europe and America. He also works with Mark Nevers in Nashville.

Recordings and releases

Black’s debut album, The Mighty Baboo, is recorded partly in a church, partly in his housemates’ loft studio and partly on his own. It is played on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 and XFM, and receives support from Bethan Elfyn and Mark Riley. Earlier releases include the single “C’mon Let’s Permoose”, intended for Huw Stephens’ Boobytrap Records, followed by the self-released singles “Mountain” and “C’mon Beef”. His album I’m a Dancer / Songs about Sleepin’ is nominated for the first Welsh Music Prize in 2011.

Ships is released on Moshi Moshi Records in 2013, followed by his first UK headline tour. That year he also performs solo and with a band at several festivals, and the album is nominated for the Welsh Music Prize. He releases the EP Motorhome Songs later in 2013. In 2014 Moshi Moshi releases a limited-edition 12-inch vinyl collection of tracks from sessions on Marc Riley’s BBC 6 Music show, followed by The Test Pressings Tour and a duo tour with The Pictish Trail. He also performs with The Pictish Trail at Green Man Festival, where he appears again with a full band featuring The Mavron Quartet and as part of the bands backing H. Hawkline and Meilyr Jones.

In 2014 Black contributes vocals to Mowbird’s Lady Lion EP on Shape Records and plays saxophone on Teleman’s “Lady Low”. His next album, The Boombox Ballads, appears in 2015, with Laura Bryon of Tender Prey guesting on “You Got Me Time Keeping”. In 2016 he releases the Dennis EP, which includes unreleased tracks from the The Boombox Ballads sessions and two covers, including a Dennis Wilson song. Wild Imagination follows in 2017 on Moshi Moshi and is nominated for the 2016–2017 Welsh Music Prize.