Tom Huizenga | January 12, 2023
Marc-André Hamelin has a marvelous, curious mind. While we chatted before his Tiny Desk concert, he snooped around the CD shelves near my desk, commenting on a few rarities and sharing his own eclectic tastes, including a crazy YouTube mashup of all 15 Shostakovich symphonies stacked on top of each other.

The Boston-based Montreal native is regarded as one of his generation’s most technically astounding pianists, but he’s no empty virtuoso. His interpretations are probing, precise and warm — keen to bring out humor when necessary. He routinely performs the world’s most treacherous repertoire with his characteristic ease. I’ve witnessed him practically reduce a concert grand to matchsticks, and I’ve heard him tenderly caress a late Schubert sonata.

Hamelin’s colossal breadth of repertoire is on display in this smart set of pieces. He begins in the 18th century with the off-kilter antics of C.P.E. Bach — a rondo that stops, starts and swerves with the spirit of improvisation. His limpid rendition of William Bolcom’s “Graceful Ghost Rag” (from 1970) emphasizes the bittersweet harmonies with unhurried elegance.

Hamelin saves the rock and roll for last — a piece of his own based on what he calls “possibly the oldest popular song in existence.” Filtered through his lightning-fast fingers, the medieval tune “L’homme armé” struts mischievously, cascades swiftly and expands to a thunderhead of glorious sound.

SET LIST:
C.P.E. Bach: Rondo in C Minor
William Bolcom: “Graceful Ghost Rag”
Marc-André Hamelin: Toccata on “L’homme armé”

MUSICIANS
Marc-André Hamelin: piano

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Tom Huizenga
Director: Joshua Bryant
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Editor: Sofia Seidel
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #markandrehamelin

Bob Boilen | January 6, 2023

Jake Blount has an astonishing imagination. While a concert of folk tunes could simply be a singer and perhaps a fiddle or banjo, the young proponent of traditional music brought eight bandmates and told the NPR crowd that they were here to play “Black folk music from the future.” Most of the songs are from Jake Blount’s late-2022 release, The New Faith, on Smithsonian Folkways. It’s a dystopian Afrofuturistic concept album that reinterprets traditional Black spirituals.

His band includes the voice of Tiny Desk alum Kaia Kater, rap from Demeanor, fiery electric guitar from Augustus Tritsch and fiddle from George Jackson. It’s a talented crew with a mission to bring the voice, banjo and vivid imaginings of Jake Blount to fruition. “I spent many months during the pandemic alone in my bedroom coming up with these utterly oddball parts that these wonderful people have done a great job learning,” Blount explains. “This is the first time we’ve presented this music with the full instrumentation ever and it means so much to be doing it here.”

SET LIST
“The Man Was Burning”
“The Downward Road”
“City Called Heaven”
“Give Up the World”

MUSICIANS
Jake Blount: vocals, banjo, tambourine,
Kaia Kater: vocals
Resa Gibbs: vocals
Integriti Reeves: vocals
Demeanor (Justin Harrington): rap vocals
George Jackson: fiddle, vocals
Augustus Tritsch: electric guitar, banjo-uke
Huck Tritsch: drums
Nelson Williams: bass

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bob Boilen
Director: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel
Editor: Sofia Seidel
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #jakeblount

Robin Hilton | January 10, 2023
On many levels, this breathtaking Tiny Desk from dodie felt like the ultimate cathartic release. The English singer and her band arrived after more than a year and a half of planning and COVID-related delays; and, this was the final performance we had behind the desk in 2022, capping our long-awaited return to the building after more than two years of pandemic disruption. A lot of us who were lucky enough to see it in person were pretty teary-eyed by the end.

But it was also a release because the music and the way dodie and her band pulled it off were both so magical. Bassist Jillian McKenna is a dodie fan from Canada who joined the band just for this performance after answering a callout on Instagram. The three backup singers are friends who flew in from Los Angeles; the string section was a mix of dodie’s touring band and DC-based artists and fans of Orla Gartland can see her move from piano to guitar and floor tom during the set. dodie herself, who played everything from piano and clarinet to ukulele, and the rest of the band flew in from England solely for the Tiny Desk, arriving on Saturday and flying back Monday not long after playing.

Together, they filled the NPR Music office with songs that radiated with love and life, perfectly recreating the playful, kaleidoscopic spirit of dodie’s 2021 debut album Build a Problem and last year’s Hot Mess EP. Strikingly melodic, whimsical and wistful, dodie’s deep reflections on trauma, letting go and moving on were the perfect close to a year when it felt like we could finally exhale and come together again in song.

SET LIST
“Hot Mess”
“Special Girl”
“When”
“Lonely Bones”

MUSICIANS
dodie: vocals, piano, clarinet, ukulele, guitar
Orla Gartland: piano, guitar, floor tom, vocals
Ross Craib: drums
Jillian McKenna: bass, vocals
Nick Monopoli: viola
Katt Newton: cello
Elena Abad: violin
Nataly Merezhuk: second violin
Jules Brave: backing vocals
Gaba: backing vocals
Anthony Gargiula: backing vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Robin Hilton, Bob Boilen
Director: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Pierre Kattar, Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Hannah Copeland
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Joshua Bryant
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#dodie #tinydesk #nprmusic

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Bobby Carter | October 28, 2020
Superstar songwriter Ty Dolla $ign has too much history with NPR Music and too many hits under his belt to deliver us just any ol' Tiny Desk from home. He assembled a roster of frequent collaborators (including Skrillex) under one roof to perform some jams from his new album, aptly titled Featuring Ty Dolla $ign, as well as a few of his chart-topping singles.

While many know Ty as pop's go-to feature artist, the Los Angeles native has steadily crafted his own diverse catalog, with more than a dozen albums, mixtapes and EPs to his name. With Featuring, he flips the script, roping A-list pop stars — like Post Malone, Nicki Minaj, Future and Young Thug — into his own world, using them to define the Ty Dolla sound.

This Tiny Desk (home) concert was a long time coming. Ty visited the NPR Music offices last year, where he performed an emotional tribute to Mac Miller, and it's something we'll never forget, but he wanted to start fresh and focus on the music of Featuring. Fast forward more than a year later, and we finally have that full-length Ty concert so many of you have been asking for.

SET LIST
"Temptations"
"Something New"
"Or Nah"
"Paranoid"
"Ego Death"
"Your Turn"

MUSICIANS
Ty Dolla $ign: vocals, guitar, drum machine
Skrillex: DJ, guitar, samples
Ant Clemons: vocals
Joe Cleveland: bass
Mike Moore: drums
Camper: keys
Brandon Chapman: guitar

CREDITS
Mixing Engineer: Rafael "Fai" Bautista
Production Manager: James Stuckmann
Recording & Mixing Engineer: Ruben "Jigga" Pinto-Castillo
Monitor Engineer: Roderick "Rock" Vincent
Director: Amber Park
Production Company: her Productions
Director of Photography: Ben Goodman
Production Designer: Evaline Huang
Editor: Jessi Casprowitz
Supervising Editor & Post Producer: Aaron Bencid
Edit House: Slice Edit
Producer: Bobby Carter
Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

this one took a LONG time... i guess i gotta do that carti video now... which i might not do tbh but who knows maybe i will maybe i wont

It’s the first volume of a series of recordings by The Who’s innovative bassist John Entwistle dating back to the 1990s. John "The Quiet One", who passed away last year, with his refined technique, changed the use of bass into a solo instrument and was voted in 2011 by Rolling Stone as "The greatest bassist of all time". The album features the legendary drummer of the Who, Keith Moon, a great friend of John.

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of late Elvis Presley, has died, her mother confirmed in a statement. She was 54-years-old. CNN's Chloe Melas and Stephanie Elam share their perspective after seeing her at the Golden Globes just days earlier. #CNN #News