… Read Full Bio ↴Will Wiesenfeld AKA Baths was born in 1989, in Los Angeles, California.
Wiesenfield 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 lead him to record his first piece of music at age fourteen. Under a previous moniker, [Post-foetus], he wrote four albums and three EPs. He also ventured into a more ambient style with side-project Geotic, a project which Irish magazine State.ie called “gorgeous”.
After adopting the name Baths, he released debut album Cerulean on independent record label Anticon. He recorded the entire album in two months from his bedroom. The BBC’s Mike Diver claims Baths’ nearest musical sound-a-like is chillwave musician Toro Y Moi. Pitchfork noted Baths’ influences, acts such as Björk and Flying Lotus, were “obvious” in his work.
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 Guardian’s Paul Lester commented he was reminded of “J Dilla playing around with the Pavement and Prince catalogues” while listening to the album. While a lot of his music is instrumental, it can occasionally incorporate vocals, most of them falsetto.
Cerulean was listed by the AV Club as the 21st best album of 2010. It made Pitchfork’s Album of the Year: Honorable Mention list.
Somerset
Baths Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i'm in love with it, i'm not gone yet
somerset, somerset
The lyrics of Baths's song Somerset convey a sense of nostalgia and longing for a place that is close to the heart of the singer. The opening line, "summer sets on Somerset," creates a vivid image of the end of summer, which may be associated with the passing of time or the end of a relationship. Despite this, the singer feels a strong connection to Somerset and claims to be in love with it, suggesting that it may be a place of memories, joy or personal significance. The use of repetition of the word "Somerset" in the last line of the chorus emphasizes the importance of this place and gives it a certain mystique.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of introspection and ambivalence that is conveyed through the singer's melodic and introspective vocal delivery. The music itself is understated, with slowly swirling synths and dreamy guitars that create a hazy atmosphere. Overall, the song's lyrics and sound seem to reflect a feeling of yearning for a place or time that once brought joy or meaning, but is now lost to the past.
Line by Line Meaning
summer sets on somerset
The summer sun is setting over Somerset, a place that holds special significance to the singer.
i'm in love with it, i'm not gone yet
The singer has a deep affection for Somerset and is not ready to leave it yet, despite the passing of summer.
somerset, somerset
The singer repeats the name of the place as if to emphasize its importance and evoke its essence.
Contributed by Nicholas A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.