LATEST
In late 2019, M.E. Baird was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, which was unexpected for his age. The diagnosis came just as he had commenced a national tour showcasing his latest release Time. He immediately underwent surgery just as the world was succumbing to COVID 19. Surgery was deemed successful, however, twelve months later tests revealed the cancer had spread into his tissues and bones. He has since received additional therapies and has just been told as of June 2022 he is cancer free. This is good news, for he has written and completed demos for his fifth solo album, and the recording of the new material will begin in September and is also excited about returning to live performance and touring. With the additional downtime over the last three years, he has been able to dedicate more time to his artwork and has been experimenting with combining his art and music into short audio-visual pieces.
ABOUT
M.E. Baird is an acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter and visual artist. He has also been an academic and educator in art and design, worked in film and television, painted houses, and laboured in construction. Originally from Melbourne, he has lived in many places since each a new and unique chapter in art and life and has for the last decade called the Bundjalung Nation of Northern New South Wales home.
Beginning his music career in the 1990s, M.E. Baird has gone on to write and record four critically acclaimed solo albums as well as recordings under various band names and musical monikers such as Schlock, Zen For Head, Bullet, Nylon, Lionel Lee, Lionel Lee Three and Lionel Lee's Curse. He has contributed tracks to film and television productions collaborated with some amazing people and had the opportunity to share the stage with some great songwriters, musicians and performers all of whom were to have a profound effect on his own career. The most notable were Roland S Howard, Spencer P Jones and Sarah Carroll. M.E. Baird's career has had some high moments but unfortunately has been marred by unexpected setbacks, personal struggles and some bad timing. Nonetheless, he is grateful to still be able to be telling stories in whatever art form each and every day. For M.E. Baird, to create and express oneself is an act of survival.
PRESS
"His songs are visually rich possessing a novelistic quality that is dark and warm. The music of M.E. Baird cajoles and challenges.
Images flow and tunes beguile. A treat."
★★★★ - The Music Collective
"M.E. Baird's live performances are nothing short of compelling with his deep lamenting vocal style and singular stage presence."
Holden Hill Music
"There is a haunting quality to M.E. Baird’s music, a type of gothic folk/blues noir that permeates the songs. Baird knows how to successfully balance the beauty and the despair on Time and as a result, this is an album that should fit nicely in the record collections of fans of songwriters such as Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Will Oldman."
★★★★ - The Music (Australia)
"The slowly developing, intimately held tracks, which are neither folk, nor country, but maybe a Cohen/Dylan inspired interpretation of both, are meant for the small, dark, alone spaces of your life. Being also a visual artist, there is no surprise that his songs are often described as possessing a distinct visual richness and depth where each song can be like cinematic vignettes."
★★★★ - Sydney Morning Herald
"Deeply emotive, M.E. Baird is driven by emotion. Whether in the carefully crafted lyrics, the music itself, or his lamenting singular voice, emotion drips from everywhere, it trickles down walls and pools on the floor. It aches and hurts...and it’s beautiful."
★★★★ - Rhythms Magazine
"Baird speaks of lost loves and scarred hearts, and while he paints life in a harsh light, he still finds something to hold onto, be it a memory or dream not yet faded. This dark folk at its finest, sad, bitter, and beautiful."
★★★★ - The Brag Magazine, Sydney