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Photo – Carlin John Stephenson

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Praise for ROBERT BAXTER

“glossy and lush…The perfect soundtrack to escape and get lost in.” – Claire Mooney, triple j

“This is proper shape-shifting gear from Robert. Moody, slithery and seductive.” – Dave Ruby Howe, triple j Unearthed

“My crystal ball is saying that there’s BIG things on the horizon for this stellar Aussie act” – Anika Luna, triple j Unearthed

“Robert knows how to empower a crowd” – SYN Media

“one name is creating ripples in the world of creativity: Robert Baxter. A true renaissance artist” – A Modern Gay’s Guide

“confessional” – Demure Magazine

“Singer, dancer, model, actor, artist ― Robert just about does it all.” – Shepparton News

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Naarm/Melbourne-via-Yorta Yorta Country/Shepparton artist, producer, ballroom performer and all-round creative powerhouse ROBERT BAXTER (they/he/she) today shares ‘supernova’, a pensive alt-pop cut that swells with exquisite pain and love and arrives alongside a hazy yet opulent video starring Lyndon Watts (Hamilton national theatre tour). ‘supernova’ is taken from Baxter’s forthcoming debut EP you wouldn’t expect cupid to cry (out April 5) – which also features the singles ‘blue’ and ‘tokyo’ – and is out everywhere now, stream HERE.

“Am I art now that I’m shattered?”

Written by Robert Baxter with additional production from  Alex Garla (WHOISLEXI), ‘supernova’ is a continuation of their confessional lyrical style, taking inspiration from the saddest songs in the discography of artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Ryan Beatty. In a beautiful full-circle moment, the track features soft, heartbreaking piano from Baxter’s high school music teacher Ryan Black – who they credit as being one of “the reasons I got into songwriting”. A reflection on the hurt that freely giving love away can cause, and rumination on the gravitational pull of a friendship that kept getting just a little too close, the track’s sparse, twinkling production builds to an explosion of emotion in a nod to its namesake. Robert Baxter explains: “supernova is inspired by a best friend who I was repeating the same patterns with; we would get too close and then not want to ruin the friendship but be simultaneously ruining the friendship by wanting to be more.”

Richly saturated and awash with a dream-like haze, the ‘supernova’ video – directed by Robert Baxter with their friend and collaborator, performance/visual/movement artist Joyce Liu (who appeared as a dancer in Baxter’s ‘blue’ video) – is a high-concept sci-fi-meets-Greek-tragedy set hundred of years in the dystopian future. It stars Lyndon Watts (who played Aaron Burr in Hamilton) as a human named ‘Psyche’ alongside Baxter as a government-sanctioned android clone named ‘Cupid’ (also their ballroom name), who has been tasked with re-connecting humans to each other at deep personal cost. A malfunction sees Cupid fall in love with Psyche, struggling to eventually accept that the kind of love they deserve is one that won’t make them ache. Robert Baxter says, “In the future, humans are struggling to feel strong emotions, so the government developed ARQangels, clones that are built to shoot arrow beams of light that make humans feel strong emotions e.g. falling in love. Each time an ARQangel shoots an arrow they lose a piece of their energy – their life ends when they shoot 100 arrows. This music video is a short film, it could’ve been a whole movie – I had to cut the story down. I met Lyndon (Watts) through ballroom and he was so kind to take time out of his schedule to act in this video with me.”

A true performer at heart from a young age, Robert Baxter makes soft-but-mighty pop that fizzes with feeling, evoking iconic moments in early 00s movies – viewed through a queer lens and refracted with the truth of their own experiences. Heart-wrenching honesty, profound and at times painful introspection, the rush of lust, the ache of yearning and the pangs of growth echo across the seven tracks that form the lyrically-forward universe of their debut EP you wouldn’t expect cupid to cry, a diaristic excavation what it is to love – in all its forms: “I tore my heart out to wear it proudly on my sleeve – I can’t help but to feel”, Baxter says of the project. Their vulnerabilities and strengths are solidified as one and the same.

Drawing from a rich background as a dancer, actor, and runway model, Robert Baxter’s creative practice is underpinned by a profound respect for artists who speak openly about topics that are seen by others as taboo, and now steps into the spotlight to cement their identity as a musician, bolstered by their appointment as the face of youth music organisation The Push. Since making a pivotal move from beat-making in their rural bedroom to Naarm in 2022, they’ve clocked up ~160k streams, sold out two headline shows, appeared at Midsumma, Victoria Pride, Save SYN Fest, and this year’s Queer Lunar New Year plus supported Vetta Borne and MULALO among others, walked in two shows at Melbourne Fashion Week (Fashion X Theatre & Underground Runway) starred in a short biographical film created by Arts Centre Melbourne titled Together Experiences: Robert’s Story and more recently collaborated with Levi’s. Across their singles ‘Summer Is Over’ (2019), ‘Tamagotchi’ (2021), ‘Twenty Something’, ‘Just For The Night’ (2022), and 2023’s ‘tokyo’ and ‘blue’ – and its remix package blue (the remixes) featuring Scratching, chaotiic good, WHOISLEXI & Charlie Hanrahan and a collaboration with Dirty Versachi & JULAI on ‘NEOSTAR‘ (2023) – Baxter’s work has attracted support from triple j, triple j Unearthed, A Modern Gay’s Guide, Fashion Journal, Music Feeds, Demure Mag, Verve Zine, Triple R, FBi Radio, and many others.

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Robert Baxter – you wouldn’t expect cupid to cry
EP out April 5
Pre-save

Track List

blue
adonis
kiss
supernova
tied
tokyo
itnl

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Follow ROBERT BAXTER
YouTube · Instagram · Spotify · Apple Music
robertbaxter.one

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AMNPLIFY – DB