My Baby | Perhaps because you are on a vessel, it feels you are destined to be on a journey together.

They mezmerized the audience of Sziget, Glastonbury, InMusic and Pinkpop. The dazzling Amsterdam-based shamanic modern voodoo blues trio, My Baby finally returns to the boat this April. We had a little chat before the show.

The band was formed more than 10 years ago. Could you summarize the most memorable and significant moments during this time?

There have been many memorable moments over the years. Most recently we got to perform at Pinkpop’s main stage last summer, one of the biggest festivals in the Netherlands.
But also performing at Glastonbury, Sziget and Inmusic festival are up there.

In 10 years, there are definitely ups and downs in the life of a band. What was the most challenging period or happening during this time?

Obviously the covid break was a tough one for a band as well as for many other people.
Not being able to perform and connect with an audience feels very hollow. Its your lifeforce as a band. You can’t really survive too long without it.

Cato, what is the biggest challenge of being a female artist in the music industry?

By en large the challenges you face are not too sex/gender specific.
I’m lucky to not have bad experiences and thankfully it’s not in general but women can be a target of manipulation by others in the industry.
Stories that have come out in the media in recent times are testament to that.
But that is a socio cultural issue we are unraveling more and more.  I take interest on how the dialogue about this will develop.
In terms of being regarded for artistic merit i think there is less of a gap these days.
And many female artists are celebrated and receive the accolades they deserve.

Cato, is it easier or more difficult to make music with your brother in the band, does it make any difference?

It’s both!! Haha
It’s easier to end up quarelling but it’s also easier to get past that.

Your 5th LP was released last year. Tell me a little about the process of making a bigger album. After so many records, do you already have an established process, thanks to which you can work smoothly and efficiently? How do you divide the tasks?

We try to reinvent ourselves with every album. Here it’s no different. Perhaps with this album we were striving for it to really be a point of difference. We worked with a number of producers and you can hear some clear changes in direction.
In terms of internal band tasks. Joost does a lot of preproduction. It’s often Me (Cato) coming up with melody and some added musical form. Daniel works on lyrics with me and lays down a number of guitar ideas. Quite often most ideas are born out of jams or stuff we stumble across when playing live.

You practically go from one tour to another. How do you handle this? Do you have any „tour tactics”?

We tend to change up our setlist for every tour or even a particular stretch of the tour.
It keeps things fresh.

Do you write songs when you’re on tour and traveling all the time? Do you have time for that or do you only focus on the tour and the concerts?

We tend not to have too much time.
But we do gather ideas from soundchecks or little moments of inspiration that we can call upon when going into the studio.

Now you’ve been on tour in New Zealand until the beginning of February, and you’re back on the road in April. How do you spend your time during this short break? Do you have a method to recharge?

In recent years we split up a bit after the NZ tour.
So it’s a bit of a holiday period. Daniel of course is from NZ so he gets to have some home time.
But we try to fit in some writing and studio time where we can in those weeks.

What are you looking forward to the most in the European tour?

It’s been a long time since we got to visit some places. So being able to connect with people there again is exciting and such a privilege.

It won’t be your first time rocking the A38 Ship. What do you like about playing here?

It has a unique vibe. There’s a sense of unity when you’re aboard. Perhaps because you are on a vessel, it feels you are destined to be on a journey together.