second thought

bio

It's been a long four years since Ross Baker first engaged electronic music listeners with his sonic tales as Second Thought, and new album Vacuum Road Songs suggests he's been busy...

Though released on Second Thought’s own label and receiving only a small promotional push, his first album, Purlieu, was met with critical acclaim, with positive reviews appearing all over the internet as well as a glowing report in established alternative music magazine The Wire, a live slot at one of AmbientLive’s ‘Awakenings’ mini-festivals and sales rocketing past expectations. The following months provided further exposure with radio appearances, culminating in ‘Parin Onia’ being spun by none other than Ross’ heroes The Future Sound of London on BBC 6 Music.
"Ecstatic isn't the word. I don't think anything is the word. The best thing to ever happen to me. My favourite band and biggest inspiration play one of my songs to the nation? It doesn't get any better."

"I've been asked if it was hard to follow up that kind of attention, and I don't know. Six months before Purlieu came out, I was playing a couple of songs to my friends in my bedroom, and suddenly I'm in The Wire and on the BBC. But some of Purlieu was recorded when I was only 17, and I think it shows in places, so it's nice to be able to improve on it before everything snowballs. Hopefully Vacuum Road Songs will get an audience and be able to show off my best work to date."

Second Thought began life at the turn of the millennium as a short-lived techno outfit featuring Ross Baker and Dale Clarke, although Dale left soon after to pursue his love of dance music by DJing. Ross was left to pick up the name, and began transforming the music away from techno and back to the more abstract nature of his first ever recordings. Citing hearing The Beatles' 'Revolution 9' as the most important moment of his life, Ross was creating tape collages with friends at the age of 12, and now aided with computer software, found himself able to create ambient music in his own room.

Fast-forward to 2008 and the impending release of Vacuum Road Songs; how does it compare to Purlieu?
“This sounds hideously prog rock to say, but I’m halfway through a series of concept albums which all link together. In the booklet for Purlieu there was a little story, and at the end, the protagonist – the listener – sees city lights at the end of this huge stretch of countryside. Vacuum Road Songs is the trip through that city, from the edge to its centre. Instead of finding warmth and comfort, though, the city is eventually seen as a huge, inhuman monster, and eventually the listener goes mad and passes out. It’s not incredibly happy, but I don’t think a summer’s day picnic would make an extraordinarily exciting soundscape. Musically it’s quite different from my previous work, too. There are ambient pieces, but they’re punctuated by more rhythmic tracks: while I was working on the album I was heavily into Autechre and Underworld, so there are glitches, breakbeats and even a couple of techno tracks in there. And a lot more melodies than before. Everyone who’s heard it has described it as a lot more accessible than the last one”.

And for the future?
“The next album’s in the pipeline somewhere. It’s very, very different. Let’s just say I was listening to a lot of Nurse With Wound and Nine Inch Nails when I started work on it”.