Nataly Dawn

Born in 1986 to parents working as missionaries, Nataly Dawn Knutsen—who performs as the female member of the eccentric, video-sharing indie pop pair Pomplamoose—passed most of her early life across Europe. After formative time in France and Belgium, she relocated to California and enrolled at Stanford to pursue studies in Art and French literature, where she crossed paths with musician Jack Conte and together they launched Pomplamoose. Her initial solo release, the collection Her Earlier Stuff, came out in 2009. Two years later she contributed vocals to the track “Letter from a Fan” on Barry Manilow’s conceptual album 15 Minutes. Also in 2011 she launched a Kickstarter drive to finance her next project, reaching the target within three days; the following year she signed with Nonesuch Records, which then issued the record. Titled How I Knew Her, the album—an intricate fusion of chamber rock, blues, folk, jazz, and pop noir shaped by the styles of Regina Spektor and Rufus Wainwright—appeared in early 2013.