Folk icon Joan Baez returns to studio at 85

Legendary American folk singer Joan Baez has revealed that Donald Trump's return to the White House has inspired her to return to the studio, where she has recorded a protest song.

The 85-year-old 1960s icon, famed for her anti-war and social justice activism, will appear on a duet with American folk singer Jesse Welles, performing his anti-Trump track 'No Kings'. The track will be released within the next 10 days.

"I love singing with younger people, and that song is perfect for my voice. It was just a treat," Baez told AFP in Paris. "It's fresh; he's 33 and writing this stuff, and I haven't heard anything like that," Baez said of Arkansas-born Welles, with whom she has performed several times.

"What's needed is an anthem, something everyone can sing. They don't have to worry about all the verses. Just sing the 'No Kings, no Kings, no Kings' part," the pacifist campaigner added. Baez's last recording, 'Whistle Down the Wind', was released in 2018.

In addition to 'No Kings', Welles's recent release 'Join Ice' mocks the beefed-up Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and he has written songs referencing Trump and disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

Known for his shaggy hair, witty lyrics, and nasal voice, Welles invites comparisons to Baez's ex, Bob Dylan. "There isn't any comparison, so I wouldn't pretend there was, but similarities? For sure," Baez said. "But I'm happy to keep Dylan on the pedestal where he belongs."

The Baez-Dylan love story gained renewed attention following last year's Dylan biopic 'A Complete Unknown', starring Timothee Chalamet. Baez praised her portrayal by Monica Barbaro, the Oscar-nominated actress, who consulted her during research.

"The film was a huge thing," Baez said, noting she has been recognised more frequently on the street since its release.

Two of the world's biggest female artists, Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift, have helped introduce Baez to new, younger audiences. Swift brought Baez on stage during a 2015 California performance, while Del Rey performed with her and later wrote the 2021 song 'Dance Till We Die' about their night out together.

Baez praised Swift as "very sweet" and generous, and said she was initially sceptical about performing with Del Rey, concerned that her teenage fans would not know her historical significance. "She said, 'Well, they should know you.' I loved her for that," Baez explained. "Of the young women songwriters, she's my preference to listen to."

Outside music, Baez indulges in painting and tending her chickens at her Southern California home, while also focusing on autobiographical work. She contributed personal footage to the 2023 documentary 'Joan Baez: I Am a Noise', revealing struggles with depression, substance abuse, and childhood trauma allegedly caused by her physicist father.

After two memoirs, her latest project is a book of poems collected from scraps of paper, notebooks, and old computers, written over decades. Some pieces emerged during periods of dissociative identity disorder, a condition in which sufferers assume multiple personalities.

"I can write poetry now, but there was something special about the way it was written from inner voices here, and they can't come back," she said. AFP