Bakar at The Wiltern

Described by Clash Magazine as an album where he has "perfected a gorgeous blend of rap, pop, R&B, and synth electronics," Halo is Bakar's sophomore album, released in September 2023. With hit songs "Hell N Back," "Alive!," and "Right Here, for Now," the 34-minute album is a critically acclaimed record from the British indie rocker. It peaked at number 15 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the Australian Heatseekers Albums. Halo is a follow-up to Bakar's debut album "Nobody's Home."

Although these two albums catapulted the career of Abubakar Baker Shariff-Farr, commonly known as Bakar, his groundwork before the release of these records honed his skills and talents. He started to make music in 2015 by uploading samples of Bombay Bicycle Club and King Krule songs to SoundCloud. Under an anonymous name, he continued to post works and projects to the site for the following few years, even though some of them are now inaccessible.

In March 2017, Bakar's first single, "Big Dreams," was officially published on his own. After being included in the official soundtrack of the 2018 video game FIFA 19, the song went on to gain fame. With over 300,000 views, Bakar's performance of "Scott Free" on the German music series ColorsxStudios, which aired online in March 2017, gave him widespread attention. As 2017 came to a close, Bakar released the non-album songs "Something I Said" and "Small Town Girl."

These successes led him to be signed to Black Butter Records and September Management. March 2019 saw the release of "Chill" and "Sold Your Soul," two non-album singles by Bakar. In August 2019, Bakar announced the release of the EP, Will You Be My Yellow?, and released its lead single "Hell n Back." Being signed to actual record labels helped him put out more songs. Thus, it is safe to say that the rest is history.

With the trajectory of Bakar's career, there is nowhere for him to go but up. This year, he will be embarking on a North American tour to promote his album "Halo." He will stop at The Wiltern on February 28. If you dig his music, you should definitely watch his show. Tickets are now on sale, and you can get yours here by hitting the "Get Tickets" link.