Thomas Bartlett is a singer, songwriter, and keyboardist known for his work as a producer, an in-demand sideman, and leader of his melancholy art pop project
Doveman. While
Doveman issued four albums between 2005 and 2009, the alias resurfaced on later releases, including remixes. Also a member of '90s folk outfit
Popcorn Behavior in his teens, his first album under his own name was a collaboration with composer and fellow pianist
Nico Muhly, released in 2018. Examples of
Bartlett's production credits include
Glen Hansard,
Rhye,
the Magnetic Fields, and
Mandy Patinkin, while his performances can be heard on recordings spanning
Ed Sheeran,
Joshua Bell,
David Byrne, and
Father John Misty. He's also toured as a sideman for
the National,
Bebel Gilberto, and
Antony and the Johnsons, among others.
A native of Brattleboro, Vermont,
Bartlett formed the folk group
Popcorn Behavior with childhood friend
Sam Amidon (fiddle) and his younger brother Stefan Amidon (drums). At the time, their ages ranged from ten to 13. The group released three albums -- their 1993 debut, 1997's
Journeywork, and 1999's Strangest Dream with fourth member Keith Murphy (guitar, mandolin) -- before
Bartlett moved to London, England, where he studied piano with Maria Curcio. After a year, he relocated to New York City to enroll at Columbia University, though he eventually dropped out when he found work playing with bands including
Chocolate Genius and
Elysian Fields. Meanwhile, he got a gig as a music critic for Salon.com and put together a weekly download series, which evolved into their daily Audiofile feature in early 2005.
Along with
Dougie Bowne,
Jacob Danziger, and
Peter Ecklund,
Sam Amidon contributed to
The Acrobat,
Bartlett's first
Doveman album. Released by Swim Slowly Records in July of 2005, the debut highlighted
Bartlett's hushed vocals and moody mix of folk, jazz, classical, and ambient music influences. The follow-up,
With My Left Hand I Raise the Dead, arrived via Brassland in 2007 and featured most of the same lineup, but without
Danziger, and with
Shahzad Ismaily. A year later, the third
Doveman LP,
Footloose, reworked select songs from the 1984 film musical in the project's distinctly downcast style. The still intimate
The Conformist followed on Brassland in 2009 with nearly two dozen guests, including
Glen Hansard,
Norah Jones, members of
the National, and members of the chamber ensemble
yMusic, as well as
Amidon,
Bowne, and Eckland. In 2010,
Bartlett contributed a remix to the
Tegan and Sara collection Alligator Remixes under the
Doveman moniker.
During the span of the four
Doveman albums,
Bartlett toured and recorded with
the National,
David Byrne,
Hansard's
the Swell Season, and
Antony and the Johnsons, among others. Known to fellow musicians as a singer/songwriter but also valued as an accompanist, over the next couple of years he performed on recordings by
Iron & Wine,
Sharon Van Etten, and
Rufus Wainwright, to name a few. Appearances on albums by
Yoko Ono,
Joshua Bell, and
the National followed in 2013. By then, he was also producing for the likes of
Bell X1 (
Chop Chop),
the Gloaming (
The Gloaming), and
Dawn Landes (
Bluebird), as well as for solo
Hansard (
Rhythm and Repose,
Drive All Night) and
Amidon (
Bright Sunny South).
In January 2016,
Bartlett reacted to the death of
David Bowie with a
Doveman cover of
Bowie's "Lazarus." It was performed by
Bartlett with
Hansard on vocal harmonies. A year later, he provided keyboards and piano for
Ed Sheeran's number one album ÷. Also in 2017, a
Doveman remix of
Sufjan Stevens' song "Futile Devices" was featured on the soundtrack to Oscar winner Call Me by Your Name. Another
Doveman remix appeared on
Stevens' The Greatest Gift mixtape. The first half of 2018 saw the release of both
Diary: January 27, 2018 and
Peter Pears: Balinese Ceremonial Music for Nonesuch Records. The former was the first in a series of albums he produced for
Mandy Patinkin (featuring his name and photo on the front cover alongside
Patinkin's); the latter was a collaboration with
Nico Muhly, also under
Bartlett's own name and featuring his vocals. ~ Marcy Donelson