Arthur Baker (producer)

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Arthur Baker (born April 22, 1955) is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with

Biography

Early career

Born in

Baker's production career started off with a few disco recording sessions in Boston. Legendary disco remixer Tom Moulton, who was signed to Casablanca at the time, was required to release an album of his own as part of the deal for working for the label. Tom's brother Jerry came across the sessions written and recorded by Baker, Tony Carbone, and Larry Wedgeworth and bought them in a deal from Baker. Moulton then remixed the tracks and released them as his 1979 album "T.J.M" Baker talked about the album in an interview with Red Bull Music Academy in 2012.

"Well, when I was in Boston, I went into a recording studio...Intermedia

Gamble & Huff album. It was like doing a full album with strings on every track. I mean it was crazy, and I probably spent like 15 grand. And then Tom Moulton's brother heard it and said "Oh we love the songs, we'll buy it from you but we're going to re-record everything." So this was the first time I got f***ed in the record business. Listen up for this one! So, basically he said: "Here's the money, you'll get publishing." Because you know, I'd written all the songs. And he said : " We just want the tapes, we're not going to use them but we just want them so we can listen to them better." So of course, I gave him the multitracks, and a year later it came out as T.J.M. He'd used everything I'd done, and he sort of remixed

it or mixed it. So, I got a bit screwed on that one."

— Arthur Baker

Baker also released a single under the moniker "North End" on West End Records in 1979, "Kind of Life (Kind of Love)".

Remixer/producer

In 1981, Baker moved to New York, where he continued to DJ while pursuing a career as a producer. His first successful single was "Happy Days", which he released under the name North End on Emergency Records in 1981.

In the early 1980s, prior to digital recording equipment that would emerge a decade later, Baker and his contemporaries created remixes on

Baker went on to work for

Following these successes, Baker came to the attention of Manchester alternative dance group New Order, who co-wrote "Confusion" and "Thieves Like Us" with him (and Baker can be seen prominently in the music video of the former). The 12-inch single "Confusion" was a crossover hit on the US dance charts, and established a relationship between Baker and the band that has continued since.

Narrowly missing out on signing the Beastie Boys to his Streetwise Records label, Baker did manage to sign the group New Edition, which had success with its single "Candy Girl".

Further collaborations

In 1984, Baker worked with Hall & Oates as mix consultant on their album Big Bam Boom, and the result was a markedly urban and electronic sound for the duo. Baker co-wrote the opening instrumental, "Dance On Your Knees", with Daryl Hall. He also remixed that song and the album's other three chart hits: "Out Of Touch", "Method Of Modern Love", and "Possession Obsession". Baker also contributed three remixes to "Tease Me", the lead-off track on (Ohio Players and Parliament Funkadelic alum) Walter "Junie" Morrison's "Evacuate Your Seats" Techno-Freqs EP.

In 1985, Baker helped Bob Dylan complete his Empire Burlesque album as mixer and arranger, and with Little Steven Van Zandt organized and produced the anti-apartheid anthem "Sun City" by Artists United Against Apartheid. He was later honored by the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid for "high valuable contribution to the international campaign for the elimination of apartheid and the establishment of a non-racial and democratic society in South Africa".^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1980s and later into the 1990s, Baker worked with soul star

The Arthur Baker remix of "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo was used in the 1995 Levi's commercial "Planet".

In 2006, the

Select discography

Wally Jump Jr. & the Criminal Element

Criminal Element Orchestra

Arthur Baker & the Backbeat Disciples

Other projects

References