Amaia: Tiny Desk Concert

Anamaria Sayre | April 23, 2026
Spanish singer Amaia is walking contradiction. She’s a multi-instrumentalist, easily traipsing between piano, chair flute and — not featured in this Tiny Desk performance — her signature harp. But all of this hardly compares to a voice that dances between ferocity and softness.

The opener here, “C’est La Vie,” jumps from charged piano to luxuriant strings — a perfect embodiment of her musical duality. “Zorongo,” a mashup of canon classics “Zorongo Gitano” and “Rumores de la Caleta,” lets loose the tremor of flamenco. Her set leaves Spain for a moment with the bachata-fueled “Auxiliar.” Last year’s Si Abro los Ojos No Es Real aimed to incorporate more global Latin elements and experimental production; this Tiny Desk version of “Giratutto” presents that edgier side of her sweetness.

Back at the piano, Amaia closes with a tribute to a park in her hometown. It’s a tender reminder that, even as she plays with her sound, that she will always return to Pamplona.

SET LIST
“C’est La Vie”
“Nanai”
“Zorongo”
“Auxiliar”
“Giratutto”
“Yamaguchi”

MUSICIANS
Amaia: vocals, piano, chair flute
Victor Martinez: guitar, percussion, music director
Luis Martinez: guitar, electronics, percussion
Anika: violin, charango, percussion, background vocals
Zazo: keys, viola
Pedro Campos: bass, keys
Abril Saurí: drums, background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Ben de la Cruz
Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Alina Edwards
Photographer: Michael Zamora
Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Felix Contreras
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #amaia

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NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts is a popular video series featuring live, intimate music performances by diverse artists, from major stars to up-and-coming musicians, recorded in the small workspace of Bob Boilen’s NPR office in Washington, D.C.brought to you by SloppBoxx.Com.

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