Tag: NPR

Sheldon Pearce | October 25, 2023 Before Nile Rodgers & CHIC set the Tiny Desk off, the icon established a sort of mission statement for the group’s sound: “If we can funk in this, you know we can funk.” They surely can. In stints since 1972, CHIC has assured its position as funk ambassadors — a position its members clearly relish — and no space is resistant to their grooves. When Rodgers asks singer Kimberly Davis to show the audience “how we do it in the CHIC organization,” she launches into high-powered vocals that vaporize every note. And when he [See More…]

Anamaria Sayre | October 20, 2023 Maluma, baby. Literally. The Colombian superestrella’s debonair smile and mesmerizing vocals were as captivating as ever during his El Tiny performance, yet nothing could draw the spotlight away from the three little words proclaimed boldly across his chest: “Papa de Paris.” Of all the titles Maluma has donned — Don Juan, Papi Juancho — none have ever been worn with more pride. Maluma on becoming a new dad and using music to defy stereotypes about Colombia “Esa cancion … se la compuse a alguien y es bien bonito tenerlas aquí,” the singer said in [See More…]

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad. Felix Contreras | October 13, 2023 The Tiny Desk had a considerable pop sheen when vocalist Becky G took her place alongside a backing band featuring a string quartet. The stripped down sound of some of her biggest hits offered a rare view of her artistry. “BAILÉ CON MI EX” is the perfect example of an unforgettable hook. It had the NPR staff audience bopping in place for what she described as a “warm up” for [See More…]

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad. Stefanie Fernández | October 11, 2023 “La gente tiene la patita del conejo / y yo tengo a Benito completo,” Ivy Queen quips, lighting a candle featuring Bad Bunny at an El Tiny altar to reggaeton (“People have the rabbit’s foot / I have all of Benito.”) Even her jokes flow. Thanks to far more than luck, “La Caballota” has carried and passed the torch since the ’90s with an ironclad sense of self and unwavering [See More…]

Marissa Lorusso | October 10, 2023 Any good singer who gives half a thought to the health of her instrument knows that hydration is crucial for functioning vocal cords. But when Caroline Polachek — whose left-of-center pop music makes great use of her mellifluous voice — stops for a water break in the middle of her Tiny Desk concert, she doesn’t pull out some crappy plastic bottle. No, she drinks from a chalice. That seems like precisely the right vibe for a performance by Polachek. Her songs are filled with vivid, extravagant imagery — headless angels, smoke floating over volcanoes, [See More…]

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad. October 6, 2023 | Isabella Gomez Sarmiento Villano Antillano kicked off her Tiny Desk Concert with a Britney Spears-approved message: Dump. Him. “Yo Tengo un Novio,” off the Puerto Rican rapper’s debut LP, La Sustancia X, called out the toxic, controlling expectations of one of her ex-jevos. Through her sharp Caribbean flow, Antillano broke down the confines of monogamy in her first song before casting light on drug use and escapism as a means of queer [See More…]

Stephen Thompson | September 29, 2023 What you’ve got here is a perfect 20-minute distillation of The Sam Smith Experience: The Grammy-winning 2014 ballad that kicked off the singer’s career (“Stay With Me”), a sleek dance-pop banger (“How Do You Sleep”) and a chart-topping dollop of debauched hedonism (“Unholy”) bundled together with “Lay Me Down,” in which Smith performed a gorgeous duet with LaDonna Harley-Peters. From the stately to the louche and bawdy — Smith even introduced “Unholy” with a perfect summation of their recent artistic direction: “Let’s get saucy!” — it’s all here. Performing with an 11-person choir and [See More…]

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad. Stefanie Fernández | September 27, 2023 “Amar y perder es mejor que nunca haber amado,” DannyLux sings — “To love and lose is better than to have never loved.” His reflection is hushed and hesitant, and, maybe even more wisely, a little unconvinced: “Crеo que no entiendеs / Que esta situación me está cambiando,” he croons. (“I don’t think you understand / That this situation is changing me.”) He’s really good at laying these paradoxes out [See More…]

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento | September 19, 2023 This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad. No Venezuelan party is complete without tequeños. Whether it’s a wedding or a baptism, the cheese-filled treats are a must-have at every snack table — so it makes sense Rawayana pulled up to “El Tiny” with a box to share. Kicking things off with hits [See More…]

Suraya Mohamed | September 14, 2023 On an August evening in Seoul, South Korea, a newly formed production crew was setting up cameras and microphones as the eight-member session band warmed up and rehearsed. Most of the musicians had flown in from the U.S. just for this performance; a few were already based in Seoul. The special occasion was one of the first concerts for Tiny Desk Korea, a brand new series based halfway around the world from NPR’s offices in Washington, D.C. It was an exciting moment for everyone in the room as we awaited the arrival of Kim [See More…]