Dosh grew up in the Twin Cities. At a young age he also took piano lessons and then discovered FM radio in the early '80s. Dosh began drumming at age 15. By the time he left home for Simon's Rock College at age 16, he had decided music would likely be his profession, however, he subsequently got a degree in creative writing.

Throughout the '90s, he played with a number of bands on the East Coast. When he moved back to Minneapolis in 1997, he started his own band, as he had begun to compose his own music. He also worked at his alma mater, Lake Country School, teaching percussion, driving the school bus, and assisting classroom teachers. Immersing himself in the local scene, Dosh played with many bands over the next five years: Nasty Goat, Best Red, Animals Expert At Hankering, Iffy, Vicious Vicious, "T," and Lateduster; all this time, recording tape after tape of original music on a 4-track machine.

Dosh's work with Andrew Broder in Lateduster and Fog gave him an experience that helped him begin to perform solo. In 2002, he released his debut recording, Dosh CD, which he had recorded himself, mostly in his basement. The CD developed a following in the local Twin Cities scene.

After playing many shows, City Pages voted him second on their annual "picked to click" list.

Dosh CD was re-released internationally in September 2003 on anticon. records, and was reviewed in the Village Voice, Urb, Flaunt, Xlr8r, The Big Takeover, and a number of online magazines.

Dosh is also known for the incorporation of his family life into his work. His EP, Naoise is named after his son. On "Naoise" is "Happy Song for Tadgh," a reference to Naiose's half-brother, Tadgh. He is also known for writing a song for his future wife at the time called, "I Think I'm Getting Married."

Martin Dosh is currently touring with Andrew Bird, and contributed significantly to his 2007 album, Armchair Apocrypha, co-writing songs like "The Supine" and "Simple X".