“Baiki” is polish for “stories”. The band called Baiki hails from Belguim. Their music borrows profusely from European folk traditions, “Francaise Chaussons”, British punk, and many other musical styles. Baiki deserves to be called multi-cultural not only because of the hodgepodge of iinfluences but because they actually manage to pull it off.

Aside from imaginative arrangements and excellent musicianship, the main reason this music works is due to the strong vocals and lyrics of Philippe Bailly. He is as much as a storyteller as a singerand he does it well in several language including Polish, French, Spanish, and English. Their latest album Do It Yourself is a good representation of the group’s talent. The music remains enjoyable whether its the punkish stle of “Rover”, the outstanding must-download “Positive, the French folk ballad “Les 3 Pecheurs”, a foot-tapping “Sokoly” or any of the boundary breaking delights of a song you will find here.

There is also an early release titled To są Baïki from 2002. It is not quite as good as Do It Yourself but still shows good songwriting and imaginative musianship. There may be an stronger emphasis on lyrics as evidenced by “Level Down” and an moving “For Small Jessie”. There is also a clearer rock influence although French pastries like “Clapiers” and “Le Petit Matin” still manages to shine. Overall it is very enjoyable and definitely worth a download. But if I was to pick one of these albums, I would have to go with the very impressive Do It Yourself.

Both albums are available in 128kbps MP3. There is also a free EP with 5 other songs if you still can’t get enough. There are no CDs to purchase so if you like the music, support the artist by seeing them live or by just telling them how much you like their music.

Download
Do It Yourself
To są baïki