At the beginning of the new century, Baes experiments with notions of structure-agency integration [after Anthony Giddens] and simulacrum [after Jean Baudrillard]. It is typical for social theory to influence the work of Baes who has made a mark on contemporary music and cultural politics in the Asian region.
Baes is known for writing music utilizing "unorthodox" musical instruments like bean-pod rattles, leaves, iron-nail chimes, as well as various Asian instruments such as bamboo scrapers, bamboo flutes, and vocal music using Asian vocal techniques. His early works in the 1980s were influenced by Maceda in the use of large numbers of performers, while in the 1990s he experimented with various methods by which the audience becomes integral in the performance.