Bakey’s Debut Album is a Love Letter to UK Sound System Culture

Bakey’s debut album Tribute should come with some kind of warning. It combines the full weight, heft and bass of the UK’s most powerful sound systems with the energy and spirit of ‘00s raves, all soaked in Bakey’s unmistakable bass music flavour. He’s fully mastered the art of builds and drops, which is where that warning might come in handy. The album begins with the unmistakable voice of Sgt Pokes paying homage to the essence of the rave. 

As he speaks the bass starts to rumble, so low I felt it in my belly first, then ribs, then teeth. It builds right through to “Ease Up” which has a drop so powerful the only suitable reaction is to make a stank face and say ‘fuck off.’ The problem was I happened to be doing errands in the south of Glasgow on my first listen, and at that moment accidentally made eye contact with a young man who clearly wasn’t in a good mood. If I hadn’t apologised and hurried off sharpish I'm not sure I'd be writing this article today.

To say Bakey’s debut album is long-awaited would be an understatement. Ever since he dropped his 2020 breakthrough EP Take it Further in 2020 at the age of 19, the global dance music community’s been locked in. There was a depth, energy and texture to his music few producers master throughout a career, let alone at the beginning of one. Clearly, Bakey was some kind of UK bass prodigy with a sound system addiction, and his rise was immediate. Within a couple of years he’d played every major club in the UK including fabric, The Wire, and Corsica Studios, and was named DJ Mag’s Breakthrough Artist of 2023. He performed at Boiler Room, Glastonbury and Outlook, and became a resident at Manchester’s Warehouse Project. This summer, held down a four-week Phonox residency in London.

Tribute has a clear mission: to make sure anyone who listens to Bakey’s music knows exactly where it came from. It’s a love letter to pirate radio, UK bass music and sound system culture. Sgt Pokes’ words in “Intro” are dedicated to the rave; the inclusivity, the diversity, the way the bass makes your drink fall off the bar. “Come Close” embodies the dark UKG of yesteryear, heavy on the low-end and sitting somewhere between garage and drum & bass, while “Everything” ventures into broken beat territory, all synth keys and crisp breaks and rolling basslines.

This album is packed full of collaborations, references and features, all inspired by the ‘00s and early ‘10s era of UK bass music. There are countless nods to artists like Joy O, Calibre, El-B and Zed Bias, as well as sound systems like Iration Steppas and Sinai Soundsystem. The album spans 2-step, breakbeat, broken beat, jungle, D&B, and dubstep, with single “Senses” blending euphoric piano house with bass so grotty you’ll need a shower after. “Fool Me Twice” weaves shimmering synths with a honeyed vocal to create a jungle cut that ranks among the album’s most emotionally resonant moments. The title track “Tribute” samples the final broadcast of Kool FM in 2002, with a poignant monologue from Eastman and vocals from Shabba Dee and MC Plague. The album wraps up with “Get Free” (feat. B-ahwe), which blends jungle breaks and uplifting vocals for a finale that feels both nostalgic and future-facing.

Anyone who’s followed Bakey for a while will know he’s not interested in the spotlight. He doesn’t do many interviews, and the ones he does do he doesn’t particularly enjoy. “Nah, yeah, nah,” he says, chatting from his home in Bristol. “I’m not huge on interviews. I’ve never been into them. Talking about my own music feels weird to me. But yeah, it’s good to do it, I guess. We’re just not doing any on camera.”

Bakey is Freddie Baker. He just turned 25, and celebrated his birthday with a speed garage-paced singalong at Waterworks Festival led by the iconic Manchester MC Chunky. He grew up in Kentish Town in North West London, and his early run-ins with music came in the form of jazz, soul and funk his parents played around the house.

“Then in secondary school I got into rap and grime,” he says. “I was producing bits and bobs on Logic, working with rappers in my year, and we’d record it in my room and pop it on Soundcloud.”

His brother – DJ and producer Breaka – introduced Freddie to electronic music just before he went to university in Leeds, and from there he headed straight for the soundsystems. “I was going to dub nights like SUBDUB and was just blown away by the sound systems and how they made the rooms feel,” Bakey says.

Back then, he wasn’t really thinking about where music might take him. He was just doing what he loved, taking all the positive feedback as encouragement to carry on. He was putting his own twist on the genres that inspired him, making UKG, bass and breaks feel simultaneously historic and fresh. Sometimes, when I’d hear a new Bakey track for the first time, it was like I’d heard it somewhere before; perhaps back when I was a teenager in the ‘00s going to raves in south London.

Bakey finds it weird when people recognise him, which usually happens when he’s with his brother. The pair look nothing alike, but Breaka has a particularly recognisable look and so when they’re touring together they often get stopped for photographs. “It’s strange,” Bakey laughs. “But I’m appreciative of everyone who gets in touch and enjoys the music.”

Ultimately, he hopes this album acts as a gateway drug to sound system culture. “I mixed underground and mainstream together a little bit, because I haven't done that loads,” Bakey says. “I want more people to find it, so they can then get lost in the scene.”

Bakey’s aware that his popularity often surpasses that of the people who built the culture, so his aim is to shine the spotlight back on them. That’s probably why his face isn’t on the album art, just a hooded figure beneath a looming stack of speakers.

In a world where social media incentivises narcissism, Bakey actively rejects it. I saw that in real time during his all-night-long B2B with Breaka at Corsica Studios back in 2022. Even then, surrounded by his mates and family, he seemed a little unnerved by the love pouring out for him, instead keeping his head down, smiling self-consciously, more comfortable lost in the music than absorbing everyone’s admiration.

One of his most fruitful collaborations and bromances in recent years has been with Capo Lee, a pirate radio and grime MC hailing from North London. They released their joint EP Am To Pm in 2023, which was so informative Capo provides a central old-school rap inspired interlude in the album. “Capo's helped and inspired me a lot so he had to be part of it,” Bakey says. 

Bakey’s just wrapped up a mini album showcase tour in Bristol, Leeds and London, three cities that informed his style, but in typical Bakey fashion, he’s already got both eyes on the future. He spent two years making this album, and he’s ready to release it into the wild and get to work on his next project. “I’m ready to make weird shit,” Bakey says. “I’m gonna go more left-field.”

Tribute is the product of an artist channeling the culture that’s informed his life’s work. It packages up the genres, energy and history of UK rave, bass and sound system culture, and the result is volcanic. Just be careful if you’re out and about on that first listen. Try not to make eye contact with anyone when that drop hits.

Bakey's debut album Tribute drops on Friday, October 31 via Warehouse Project Records. Preview below and buy it on Beatport.