… 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.
Tatami
Baths Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
cut out the bullet, lay with you on tatami
hold your body
kiss lightly the top of your head and whatnot
i'm the nurse you got for now
make light love like,
"how do you do,
what you into?"
boy, lay with you on tatami
mingle soul and mingle body
boy, lay with you on tatami
mingle soul and mingle body
These lyrics from Baths's song Tatami describe an intimate and tender moment between two people lying together on a traditional Japanese mat called a tatami. The singer implies that they are helping the other person heal from a wound caused by a bullet. They refer to themselves as a nurse, suggesting they are caring and nurturing towards the other person. The singer wants to make "light love" with the other person, asking about their interests and desires.
The repetition of the phrase "boy, lay with you on tatami" emphasizes the desire for emotional and physical connection between the two people. The use of the word "mingle" suggests the two are becoming intertwined and sharing a deep connection. The overall tone is very tender and supportive, with the singer offering to save the other person's life through touch.
Overall, these lyrics depict a moment of vulnerability and caring between two people lying together on a tatami mat. The singer is offering comfort, support, and love to the other person.
Line by Line Meaning
i'ma come into your hut
I will enter your world and offer my help and love.
cut out the bullet, lay with you on tatami
I will help you heal from your emotional or physical pain and be close to you on the tatami mat.
hold your body
I will comfort you and provide physical support and affection.
kiss lightly the top of your head and whatnot
I will show you tenderness and affection with gentle kisses and other forms of affection.
i'm the nurse you got for now
I am here to provide you with care and support for the time being.
make light love like, "how do you do, what you into?"
Our intimacy will be gentle and easygoing, like a friendly conversation asking about each other's interests.
save your life one touch at a time
Through physical touch and emotional support, I will help you heal and feel better, one step at a time.
boy, lay with you on tatami
I am asking to be close to you on the tatami mat, where we can be intimate and vulnerable.
mingle soul and mingle body
Our intimacy will involve both our physical and emotional selves coming together and blending as one.
boy, lay with you on tatami
Repeating the request to be close and intimate with you on the tatami mat.
mingle soul and mingle body
Repeating the idea of our physical and emotional selves coming together as one in our intimacy.
Contributed by Victoria P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.