Nat Baldwin is a musician and writer living in Portland, Maine. He began playing double bass in high school and studied jazz performance at the Hartt School of Music before dropping out to pursue his own musical interests outside the confines of academia. In 2001, he moved to Middletown, CT to immerse himself in the Wesleyan experimental music community, studying with Anthony Braxton and performing with such artists as Mary Halvorson, Charlie Looker, Nate Wooley, Tatsuya Nakatani, Daniel Carter, Jack Wright, and Jessica Pavone. His first solo album, Solo Contrabass, appeared in 2003 on Peacock Recordings, featuring studies in extended bowing techniques ranging from aggressive noise to lowercase minimalism. In 2005, Baldwin’s solo music took a turn toward linear melody and form, shaping a unique voice in the singer-songwriter tradition and releasing several critically acclaimed albums while touring extensively.

In addition to his solo work, Baldwin has been a core member of Dirty Projectors (’05-’06, ’09-’19), while also contributing to albums by Grizzly Bear, Department of Eagles, and others. His first book, The Red Barn, a collection of experimental short fiction, was released in 2017 on Calamari Archive, Inc, while concurrently finishing a BA in English at the University of Southern Maine. In 2019, Baldwin’s interest in non-linear musical forms and textural abstractions returned to the forefront of his creative output. AUTONOMIA I: Body Without Organs will be released on Shinkoyo in February 2020, marking the beginning of a series of new solo work.

Double bassist Nat Baldwin’s AUTONOMIA I: Body Without Organs represents a departure from the rich body of solo work he’s amassed as a songwriter and core member of the band Dirty Projectors. It instead marks the return to his roots as an improvisor equipped with a unique arsenal of extended techniques, picking up where his potent, albeit little known, first album Solo Contrabass (Peacock Recordings, 2003) left off. The saxophonist and composer Jackson Moore, a longtime colleague (and author of the Solo Contrabass press release), commented appropriately upon hearing this new work, "it feelDouble bassist Nat Baldwin’s AUTONOMIA I: Body Without Organs represents a departure from the rich body of solo work he’s amassed as a songwriter and core member of the band Dirty Projectors. It instead marks the return to his roots as an improvisor equipped with a unique arsenal of extended techniques, picking up where his potent, albeit little known, first album Solo Contrabass (Peacock Recordings, 2003) left off. The saxophonist and composer Jackson Moore, a longtime colleague (and author of the Solo Contrabass press release), commented appropriately upon hearing this new work, "it feels like we froze you in a block of ice and just thawed you out because you were the superhero we needed.” 

Jono Stewart is a composer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Richmond, Virginia. He is best recognized for his work as a bass guitarist and as a leader of groups with unorthodox concepts that focus on ensemble composition. His projects have explored ideas including improviser's orchestras, sound games, and the incorporation of extemporary multimedia elements in dynamic group installations. He is proud to have received a musical education from New York University ('16) and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts ('12).