Nat Baldwin has an impressive résumé. He’s studied under free jazz guru Anthony Braxton, contributed to Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park as well as Vampire Weekend’s Contra.
He also has been the bassist in Dirty Projectors. Over the course of nine years, he’s additionaly recorded several solo full-lengths that are equally varied. People Changes, his fifth, is a rich addition.
The recording writing process this time out took Baldwin to a remote cabin in Maine. That sort of setting may sound familiar, and, like Bon Iver’s debut splash, this is a record with a wonderful ambiance.
Nat Baldwin | A little lost
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=60NUrXl5Snc
Unlike most of 2008’s Most Valuable Player, People Changes finds Baldwin largely on his own: just his voice and bass, with help from a few friends.
Baldwin sings in a lovely melisma, the same slippery style used by his Dirty Projectors bandmate Dave Longstreth. But while Longstreth’s voice will often crunch itself up into grotesque shapes, Baldwin keeps his airborne.
It serves as a terrific juxtaposition to the spare arrangements of People Changes. The earthen tones of his double-bass act as both anchor and trampoline for Baldwin’s voice, an instrument that flutters and swoops as it pleases.
Whether Baldwin is singing with his throat or his bow, there’s a thrilling feeling of freedom to it all.
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Nat Baldwin LIVE
presented by Kometenmelodien
Thursday, 09 February 2012 | 20:00 CET
Berghain | Am Wriezener Bahnhof | 10243 Berlin/Friedrichshain
myspace.com/natbaldwin | berghain.de
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