Baths (musician)


William Boris Wiesenfeld, better known by his stage name Baths, is an American electronic musician. He was born in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles and was raised in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He currently resides in Culver City, Los Angeles, California. Southern California Public Radio described him as "LA's big new electronica musician" in 2010. Previously signed with Anticon, he now releases music through his own label Basement's Basement.

History

Will Wiesenfeld is a classically trained musician, and began learning the piano at the age of four "to compete with his brother". By twelve he had "completely abandoned it," but continual musical experimenting led him to record his first piece of music at age fourteen. He released a few projects, including an album entitled The Fabric, as his previous moniker, . He also ventured into a more ambient style with side-project Geotic, which Irish magazine State.ie called "gorgeous".
Will Wiesenfeld derives his current alias from his childhood memory of taking in art and music by dwelling on it in his bathtub, which he claims he was very fond of. Baths released the debut album Cerulean under Anticon in 2010. He recorded the entire album in two months from his bedroom. It was listed by The A.V. Club as the 21st best album of 2010. It also made Pitchforks "Album of the Year: Honorable Mention" list.
His second album, Obsidian, was released in May 2013.
On March 6, 2014, during a concert in Hong Kong, Wiesenfeld unveiled one of his latest tracks from his EP "Ocean Death", released on May 6, 2014.
On November 16, 2017, Baths released his third album, Romaplasm.
On May 29, 2020, Baths released his fourth album Pop Music/ False B-Sides II on his own label, Basement's Basement. The album was supported by the singles "Wistful " and "Mikaela Corridor".
On December 11th, 2024, Baths released a new single, "Sea of Men", and announced a 2025 release date for his forthcoming full-length album Gut.

Style

The BBC's Mike Diver claims Baths' nearest musical soundalike is chillwave musician Toro y Moi. Drowned in Sound noted Baths' use of "unorthodox" sounds layered in and around the electronics, in particular "clicking pens, vocal samples, rustling blankets and scissor snaps". British newspaper The Guardians Paul Lester commented he was reminded of "J Dilla playing around with the Pavement and Prince catalogues" while listening to Cerulean.
In a 2017 interview with Ethan Gach from Kotaku, Baths said that he drew some inspiration from anime and video games such as The [Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim] and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Discography

As Baths

Studio albums

Compilations

TitleDetails
Pop Music/False B-Sides
  • Released: May 31, 2011
  • Label: Anticon
Pop Music/False B-Sides II
  • Released: May 29, 2020
  • Label: Basement's Basement

    • Singles and EPs

  • The Nothing
  • Ocean Death
  • "Yeoman"
  • "Out"
  • "Extrasolar"
  • "Clarence Difference"
  • "Wistful "
  • "Mikaela Corridor"
  • "Be That"
  • "Slut Hymn"
  • "Projecting A Life"
  • "Do I Make the World Worse"
  • "Sea of Men"
  • "Eden"

    Music videos

  • "Lovely Bloodflow"
  • "Out"
  • "Mikaela Corridor"
  • "Projecting A Life"
  • "Sea of Men"
  • "Eden"

    As Geotic

    • Full length releases