Nat Baldwin

In 2008 double bassist/singer-songwriter Nat Baldwin released Most Valuable Player, an album that led Pitchfork to say “…he brings fierce performances to these polished compositions.” Now 5 years later, Western Vinyl is proud to be releasing the original demos from Most Valuable Player, which were recorded in 2005 and 2006. The demo album, titled Dome Branches, features Nat’s bandmate from Dirty Projectors, David Longstreth on guitar and electronics, Djim Reynolds on guitar, Nathan Horton on drums, Tim Keiper on drums, Matt Bauder on Clarinets, Jessica Pavone on viola. Throughout these demos, there’s a remarkable raw energy stemming at least in part from the fact that Nat hadn’t performed any of the material live yet, and Longstreth hadn’t heard the songs before, so his guitar parts were made up on the spot. After studying avant-garde jazz and improvisation with jazz legend Anthony Braxton, Nat Baldwin started writing songs featuring double bass and vocals. In 2005, he joined Dirty Projectors. In addition to his work with Dirty Projectors, he has performed on Grizzly Bear’sShields, Vampire Weekend’s Contra, and Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park. In between touring and recording with Dirty Projectors, Nat made time to record his 2011 album People Changes, an album that led Pitchfork to say “…whether Baldwin is singing with his throat or his bow, there’s a thrilling felling of freedom to it all.” More recently, he’s been writing, recording, and arranging songs for a new album to be released in 2014. You can hear some of the new material live this September when Nat tours in the US and Canada.