Baths

The intricate, intimate electronic pop project of Los Angeles-area producer Will Wiesenfeld, Baths immerses listeners in atmospheric songs equally inspired by fantasy and real life. The glitchy pop of 2010′s Cerulean introduced Wiesenfeld’s soothing-yet-challenging approach, which turned darker and more cathartic on 2013′s Obsidian. With 2017′s Romaplasm, Baths’ music reached newly emotional heights, a trend that Wiesenfeld continued on 2020′s frequently confessional Pop Music/False B-Sides II. A classically trained musician, Wiesenfeld began making music at an early age while growing up in Los Angeles. He studied piano from age four until age 12, then became fascinated with electronic music ranging from Euro-pop to trance to IDM as a teen. Wiesenfeld found his true inspiration after discovering Björk’s music, and while attending Hamilton High School’s music academy, taught himself guitar, contrabass, and viola. He also developed a distinctively layered production style, mixing sounds like clicking pens and running water with electronics and live instruments. Wiesenfeld’s first project was [Post-Foetus], which released The 1st Will Wiesenfeld EP in 2007. The following year, he began crafting ambient compositions under the name Geotic. Soon, he added the Baths moniker — a tribute to his love of relaxing in the tub — to the fold. Invited by the like-minded producer Daedelus to play at the L.A. venue Low End Theory, he became a regular performer at the club and signed to Anticon Records in 2009. In 2010, Wiesenfeld had a busy release schedule: Along with remixes for Fol Chen, Shlomo, and Rafter, that year [Post-Foetus]′ album The Fabric and Geotic’s Mend arrived. It was also the year that Baths’ debut album, Cerulean — which Wiesenfeld recorded in his bedroom over a couple of months — appeared. Cerulean won acclaim for its immersive production and delicate melodies, and in 2011, Wiesenfeld built on this praise with Pop Music/False B-Sides, a collection of outtakes and previously unreleased music. Around this time, he remixed Gold Panda, Son Lux, and Lali Puna (one of his favorite acts) and collaborated with Daedelus and Dntel among others. In 2012, an extended illness left Wiesenfeld bed-ridden for months. The experience — along with his research about the Dark Ages and his desire to perform with a full band — informed his second album, 2013′s Obsidian, a cathartic set of songs that was darker and more direct than his earlier music. The record reached number 15 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums. That year, Wiesenfeld also worked with Ryan Hemsworth and Flying Lotus. In 2014, Baths issued a remix of Grizzly Bear’s “Will Calls” and the Ocean Death EP, which continued Obsidian’s fascination with love and death. For a few years, Wiesenfeld concentrated on Geotic releases, culminating with the release of the project’s official debut album, Abysma, on Ghostly in March 2017. He returned as Baths later that year, first in July with the theme song for the video game Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator and again in November with the full-length Romaplasm, an album inspired by the escapism and romance of comics, anime, and games. Along with releasing Geotic’s second album, Traversa, in October 2018, Wiesenfeld’s work as Baths during this time included remixes for WHY?, Tomas Barfod, Let's Eat Grandma, and Imogen Heap. In May 2020, he issued Baths’ Pop Music/False B-Sides II. A set of tracks recorded during the years between Obsidian and Romaplasm that featured newly written lyrics, it arrived on Wiesenfeld’s own Basement's Basement label along with a remastered reissue of Pop Music/False B-Sides. ~ Heather Phares