Here's Ten: MY BABY 'Loves Voodoo!' 10th Anniversary Highlights

MY BABY have travelled far geographically and sonically since teaming up in Amsterdam in the early '10s, moving from their soul-powered debut album Loves Voodoo! to the bass-booming electronic dance grooves of 2022's sake sake sake. The Dutch-NZ trio of Daniel ‘Da Freez’ Johnson (guitar), Joost Sheik van Dijck (drums / vocals) and Cato van Dijck (lead singer and guitar) are zooming into the future while repping their roots, returning to Aotearoa for an extensive Loves Voodoo! 10th anniversary tour (including an assortment of festival appearances) from 30th December onwards. In advance of this summer's homecoming adventure, Johnson generously shares ten significant moments from MY BABY's journey together...

MY BABY
NZ Summer Tour Celebrating 10 years of ‘Loves Voodoo!’

Thursday 4th January - Butlers Reef, New Plymouth*
Friday 12th January - Totara Street, Mount Maunganui
Saturday 13th January - Yot Club, Raglan
Friday 19th January - Butter Factory, Whangārei
Sunday 21st January - Leigh Sawmill, Leigh
Friday 26th January - Smash Palace, Gisborne
Saturday 27th January - Common Room, Hastings
Friday 2nd February - The Playhouse, Nelson
Saturday 3rd February - Mussel Inn, Onekakā
Friday 9th February - The Church, Christchurch

Tickets on sale now at www.mybabywashere.com/shows
*Butlers Reef, New Plymouth tickets available HERE via UTR

MY BABY are also appearing at:

Saturday 30th December - Rhythm & Alps Festival, Wānaka, tickets via ticketfairy.com
Wednesday 3rd January - Shake & Bake, Wellington, tickets via ticketmaster.co.nz
Friday 5th January - Beach Break, Whangamatā, tickets via ticketfairy.com
Saturday 20th January - Sunsetter Festival, Auckland, tickets at sunsetterfestival.co.nz

1. In 2012 before we had even released our debut album we got the opportunity to play alongside Larry Graham of Sly and Family Stone fame, as well as his own Graham Central Station. We were in the throws of finishing our first album and some demos reached Larry while he was on tour in the Netherlands. We shared a PR agent at the time who suggested we might guest on a couple of his Dutch shows and a promo spot on National TV. Larry was impressed by the demos and said yes. It was a special moment for us as we are huge Sly Stone and Larry Graham fans. Larry is such a pivotal figure in the history of rock and popular music with his advent of bass slapping technique. It was surreal standing next to such an influential hero of ours.

2. It’s been ten years since our debut album release and fortunately it was well received and kickstarted so many things for us. It was also a very fruitful period for us in terms of developing our live act. We had to transition from being a studio project to performing live. We improvised a lot back then, creating a lot of stuff on the fly. That’s how we developed our ‘Delta Trance’ style. It’s so different once you have an audience in front of you and the energy release has to be channeled somehow and songs change shape and form to become a vessel for this energy. But it all started with that one record.

3. We toured relentlessly in those early years and also got the opportunity to visit New Zealand, which included an invite to the Luminate Festival. It’s an amazing fest set in a stunning landscape with the site bordering on the Abel Tasman national park. We were set to play a daytime slot toward the end of the festival. It had rained all day turning the area in front of the stage into a mud fest. We were a bit of an unknown quantity back then so started that gig with a moderate crowd. By the end of the set there was a naked mud dance which included Cato (not totally naked!) A memorable gig. [Click through to view the video footage]

4. Seasick Steve asked us as a support act for his show in Vienna in 2014. We struck up a bit of a friendship on that night. He was keen to have us for a whole UK tour the following year. We got to perform at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo amongst many others. This tour really launched our UK career. Shortly after we played our first shows on Glastonbury and many other UK festivals.

5. Paradiso is Amsterdam’s most famous music venue. So it was obviously a highlight to sell out our first show there at the end of 2015. We have been lucky enough to return there many times in the years to come including a ten year anniversary celebration of our debut album.

6. 2016 marked the year we got to venture out on some bigger stages of the European festival circuit. Down The Rabbit Hole in the Netherlands was one of the highlights that introduced us to some larger crowds. Fortunately this was captured on film for a TV registration. One of those gigs that feels like a defining moment.

7. Liberation Day on the 5th of May is an important celebration of freedom accompanied by nationwide festival in all major centres (in the Netherlands). Several bands get chosen each year to be ambassadors of freedom and get to play four or five of these events all the while being transported between cities by helicopter. In 2018 we had the honour and privilege to be part this special occasion.

8. One of the biggest festivals on the European circuit is Exit Festival. It takes place on the grounds of a centuries old fort in Novi Sad overlooking the Danube River. We got to play the main stage in 2018 after gaining some popularity in the Balkans. Unfortunately Serbia is still not part of the EU which makes crossing the border a potential snag. We got seriously delayed and the bulk of our instruments were not allowed to cross the border. Thankfully the festival organisers prepped the stage for us and we arrived five minutes before show time with everything ready to go. Except we didn’t have our stage outfits to change into!! It was heart in mouth stuff but got there in time and played a memorable show.

9. We have made some great memories playing in New Zealand. Possibly our most precious moment is playing WOMAD NZ in 2019. Performing at the Bowl of Brooklands in front of our biggest NZ crowd ever was a big highlight for us that year. This was when the event followed the horrific Christchurch mosque attacks which rocked the nation. The New Zealand public rallied behind the victims families and the Muslim community. This was very clear at the festival too, where the crowd and musicians alike expressed their support. It really struck everyone how important it is to be human and the togetherness that was felt was truly humbling.

10. In 2022 we played the main stage of Pinkpop, the biggest festival of the Netherlands. A special moment for us after almost ten years together. Many musical greats have headlined this stage for over 50 years. Always a great feeling joining such luminary figures on a list of acts that have played that stage.