American singer-songwriter and producer, who grew up in Germany the son of diplomats, Dijon Duenas (monikered as just ‘Dijon’) orchestrates progressive pop and R&B, derived from Prince but absorbing contemporary influences from the likes of Bon Iver, Clarence Clarity and Frank Ocean. Dijon’s long-awaited debut album, Absolutely arrived in 2022, made in conjunction with frequent collaboration, Mk.gee, adopting a minimalist approach (a la Frank Ocean) but making creative use of the studio. Dijon is also a highly charged, emotional singer. After high-profile features on Justin Bieber’s Swag and Bon Iver’s SABLE FABLE, Dijon returned with Baby, which leans further on layered studio experimentation, implements a more creative use of voice and rhythm even if the bedrock of 80s soul and R&B remains largely intact. The album has an even more varied list of collaborators including Michael gordon (Mk.Gee), Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Buddy Ross (producer of Ocean’s blonde) and Tommy King (an experienced session bassist, who makes a significant contribution to several tracks). The album is thematically a tribute to domestic life, which maintains the sensuality but is sensitive and mature rather than erotic and yearning.
The opening track Baby! is propelled by a repeating guitar riff and a claustrophobic bass and drum rhythm that swallows Dijon’s passionate singing (which lyrically is retelling the story of his child’s birth back to his child). …Another Baby! (this time, addressed to the baby’s mother) is even more spasticated (i.e. Princeian) with a labyrinth of studio instrumentation littered across the track. Higher! is another standard neo-soul creation at its core but the instrumentation is deconstructed to the point that the production feels completely separated from the vocals. Yamaha (with a more apparent influence from Gordon’s sophisti-pop tendencies) is more straight-forward and a dead-ringer from Michael Jackson but at least the melody is up to scratch. Rewind is a in intimate acoustic ballad, perhaps influenced by Vernon. The most atmospheric track is My Man with a slow-moving rhythmic roll and keyboards but derailed by one of the more excruciating vocal performances and some digital chaos (a la Clams Casino) (lyrically about his estrangement from his father). The rest of the tracks feel more like snippets: the square-dance of FIRE!, the vocally hoarse snippet (Referee), the pulsating drone of loyal & marie (the most reminiscent of Frank Ocean), the sweet and heartfelt finale, Kindalove.
Dijon released no singles for the record, clearly intending it to be heard as a uniform whole rather than individual parts. As an album, it is a kaleidoscopic display of studio disorientation, hyperactive melodies. and vocal acrobatics. Most of the tracks are essentially simple pop songs but the trick is how to manipulate and dissect the format to amplify the emotional impact. The convoluted production is disorienting without being too distracting and resonates with the emotional complexity of the storyline.
In truth, the musical conept is not too distinct from the previous album but in this case, Dijon and his collaborators take the experimentation further and deliver an album that feels like a coherent whole. The short track lengths certainly work in the album’s favour (perhaps not commercially) as each track reinforces the next without lagging on any single idea too long.
Label: R&R, Warner
Released: August 15, 2025
Losing My Edge Rating: 7/10
Best Tracks: Baby!, …Another Baby!, (Referee)