what to include in cogs tip free

Sept. 13, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- Lookman Adekunle Salami, who writes and records as L.A. Salami, is a storyteller and a poet. His songs are deliberate meanderings on the mundane and the poignancy in everyday life. And in the way Bob Dylan took his guitar and harmonica to accompany his rarely repeating ramblings, L.A Salami embraces a similar aesthetic, albeit as a black Englishman instead of a white Minnesotan.

His opening song at the Tiny Desk, "Day to Day (For 6 Days a Week)," runs about six minutes, with over 600 words. He seems to rattle them all off effortlessly, with compelling, complicated rhymes that never repeat and phrases such as:

"Went to work for the NHS -

Mental health, people depressed.

Met Joanne - Scared of living,

Afraid of dying, terrified of being.

Then met Paul, a schizophrenic,

Shaking limbs, paranoid fanatic -

Unwashed 10 days in a row -

So afraid almost paralytic."

L.A. Salami released one of my favorite albums of 2016, Dancing With Bad Grammar, which was produce by Matt Ingram, known for his creative work with artists as diverse as Laura Marling and FKA Twigs. So if you have a penchant for broadside ballads, and observations of our times reflected through the mind of a brilliant songwriter, take a look at L.A. Salami.

Set List

"Day To Day (For 6 Days A Week)"

"Terrorism (The ISIS Crisis)"

"My Thoughts, They Too Will Tire"

Musician

Lookman Adekunle Salami (vocals, guitars, harmonicas)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographer: Morgan Noelle Smith; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Sept. 12, 2017 | Jacob Ganz -- Two songs into his Tiny Desk concert, Jack Antonoff revealed a bit of stagecraft behind his performances with Bleachers.

"My manager says, 'When you play for 1,000 people, don't talk to one person. It's only cool for them,'" Antonoff said. It was offered as an apology — he had just finished aiming a monologue about the link between dancing and crying at a single NPR staffer in the audience — but it was also a perfect encapsulation of the connection Antonoff's songs create. Bleachers makes truly conversational pop, songs that sound expansive but retain a sense of intimacy, even when aimed at the masses.

At the Tiny Desk, Antonoff, along with pianist Mikey Hart and multi-instrumentalist Evan Smith, pared away much of the pomp that can turn Antonoff's layered studio productions into neon-lit melodramas rollercoastering toward catharsis. On three songs from this year's album Gone Now impeccably re-arranged for a smaller space, it was impossible to miss the cracked longing at the heart of Antonoff's work.

"If you ever see Bleachers live, it's two drum sets and it's big and it's kinda like this big statement that I could hide behind the tears with this big rock show. But the songs are written like this," Antonoff said before launching into a version of the '80s-drenched single "Don't Take The Money" that was all feathery keyboards and spoken word verses — plus a brief quote from Queen's 1984 hit "Radio Ga Ga. "

Not that he could resist a well-placed gimmick. "Don't Take The Money" was the only song of the day to include drum sounds, which came from a cassette tape in a boom box over which a microphone had been draped. He started the song by hitting play on the cassette, but it took three tries to nail the ending in time with Hart. For this group, seeing the flaws is part of the charm.

Set List

"Everybody Lost Somebody"
"Don't Take the Money"
"Foreign Girls"

MUSICIANS

Jack Antonoff (vocals, keys); Evan Smith (vocals, keys, sax); Mikey Hart (vocals, piano)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Colin Marshall, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Bob Boilen | Aug 2, 2017 - The high-energy blast that musicians often reserve for their finale is the starting point for Diet Cig.

The band's boundless, leaping pop is exhilarating and pleasantly exhausting to watch, with drummer Noah Bowman propelling the high kicks and constant pogo bounce of guitarist and singer Alex Luciano. With a candied voice, she sings of being on the cusp of adolescence — but underneath that bright veneer Alex sings truth to power, and about what it means to be a punk in a skirt, dealing with disrespectful souls. "I think you're the kind of guy / who would meet me at a party / and forget my name / and try to take me home all the same," she sings on "Sixteen."

These songs, which crackle like Pop Rocks — and in this case stomp, as Alex dances on my desk — retain a simple fun that makes them memorable, without undermining their gravity.

Swear I'm Good At This is available now.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/swe...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Swear-Im-Good-...


Set List

"Sixteen"
"Tummy Ache"
"Harvard"

Musicians

Alex Luciano (vocals, guitar); Noah Bowman (drums)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Bronson Arcuri; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; PA: Morgan Noelle Smith; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 8, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- When I listened blindly to nearly a thousand songs while attempting to make my schedule of bands to see at this year's SXSW music festival, one of the few tracks that leapt to the top was "Arizona" by Frances Cone. I wasn't alone. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson also singled out this now Brooklyn-based band for the way it wraps its storytelling in a catchy, pop parcel.

Led by singer and songwriter Christina Cone, the band is set to release Late Riser, its second full-length album, later this year. The first track the group performed for this Tiny Desk concert is its just-released single, "Unraveling," a tale of falling apart, of life becoming so overwhelming that the song's character simply stops and lets go.

With each verse of "Unraveling" the saga builds to a climax and then a calm. It's this sort of craft that makes Frances Cone stand out. Think Lucius, another band that captured my attention years ago for similar reasons. In fact, Dan Molad, the drummer and producer for Lucius, mixed that first Frances Cone song that grabbed my attention, "Arizona." This is wonderfully literate pop that won't hit you over the head, but might gently find a home in your heart.

Set List

"Unraveling"
"Arizona"
"Leave Without You"

Musicians

Christina Cone (keys, vocals); Andrew Doherty (electric bass, electric guitar, vocals); Adam Melchor (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals); Alex Baron (drums)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; PA: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 2, 2017 | Lars Gotrich -- Paramore's After Laughter captures the moment between rapture and its comedown, the glitter wiped away, left with skin rubbed raw. It's a record, more than a decade into the band's career, that not only exposes the sparkling pop that's always lit Paramore's songs, but also deals with the ache of growing up and growing apart. When Hayley Williams sings, "Tell my friends I'm coming down / We'll kick it when I hit the ground" from the '80s-tastic jam "Hard Times" at the Tiny Desk, the stark dichotomy is laid bare by the band's stripped-down performance that still packs a small synth and Zac Farro's drum machine into its Afro-pop-flecked textures.

Backed here only by guitarist Taylor York, "26" is Williams' letter to a younger self, to still believe in dreams, knowing its costs. Paramore's quieter songs have never quite shown this depth of understated devastation and determination, and Williams reflects that nuance in a voice that scales the end of the line, "And they say that dreaming is free," with just the slightest trail of regret.

These songs extend After Laughter's themes, racing across the spectrum of hope, with "Fake Happy" as a soaring anthem to expressing your truest self (and calling out those playing pretend). At the Tiny Desk, the shimmering guitars and synths almost become tropical, as if the band's all taken a big swig of Drake's "Passionfruit" and started a lowkey jam among friends.

Set List

"Hard Times"
"26"
"Fake Happy"

MUSICIANS

Hayley Williams (vocals), Taylor York (guitar), Zac Farro (drum machine), Logan MacKenzie (keys), Joseph Howard (bass), Justin York (guitar)

CREDITS

Producers: Lars Gotrich Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Maia Stern, Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Christina Ascani/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Sept. 15, 2017 | Lars Gotrich -- Snail Mail's sleepy songs have a way of waking you up. They rumble at a steady pace like a scrappy rock band playing to a small room, but then Lindsey Jordan, who just graduated from high school this past spring, drops a line like, "So if you look death right in the face, don't thank him / Because there's nothing and there won't ever be." You can feel the room nod in solidarity, and you could feel the NPR Music office do the same when Snail Mail performed "Slug."

Encouraged by punks in the Baltimore scene, Jordan started Snail Mail at 15 and released the quietly stunning Habit EP via Priests' in-house label last year. She's quickly found fans in Helium and Ex Hex's Mary Timony (who also happens to be Jordan's guitar teacher) and just went on tour with Waxahatchee and Palehound. Oh, and she once made blueberry pancakes with me on a short-lived NPR cooking show because clearly my kitchen is the path to success.

Jordan's joined in this performance by what's become her consistent live band (drummer Ray Brown and bassist Alex Russell), giving weight to both "Slug" and the soaring coming-of-age anthem "Thinning." Because we often ask bands to turn down for the office space, she jokes, "I guess I don't really know what we sound like because we're so loud. Now we're quiet and Ray's using the mallets and my guitar's all the way down — I was like, 'We sound like this?'"

Jordan closes the set solo with a new song, "Anytime." It is, perhaps typically for Snail Mail, slow and sad, but the alternate guitar tuning and Jordan's drawled vocal performance gives this song about a crush an aerial motion, like acrobats sliding down a long sheet of fabric.

Habit is out now via Sister Polygon. Snail Mail goes on tour with Beach Fossils in October.

Set List

"Slug"
"Thinning"
"Anytime"

MUSICIANS

Lindsey Jordan (electric guitar, vocals); Raymond Brown (drums); Alex Russell (bass)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: James Willetts, Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Marissa Lorusso; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 20, 2017 | Abby O'Neil -- Mr. Lif and Akrobatik are two emcees whose names rock bells among true hip-hop heads. The duo of Boston natives first teamed up as The Perceptionists in the early aughts to release Black Dialogue on El-P's Def Jux label in 2005. Their side project went into indefinite hiatus soon afterward, but now Lif and Akrobatik are reunited on their new LP, Resolution. While Lif has been touring and writing with downtempo icons Thievery Corporation for the greater part of the last seven years, Akrobatik's last solo album (2014's Built To Last) rightfully received a warm reception from critics and connoisseurs.

Their conscious ethos is perfectly encapsulated by Ak's lyrical run on "A Different Light," where he raps: "But I'm above all of the melodrama / When they go low / We go high / Michelle Obama." The song tells the story of Ak's near-death experience with a pernicious aortic dissection, as well as the betrayal of a close friend during his convalescence. Akrobatik took the high road, and that ironclad stoicism lights the path for this crew. On the same track, Lif laments love lost while rhyming his way to healing catharsis following an unmanageable heartbreak.

With sharp, heartfelt lyricism, The Perceptionists critique the current political climate on "Out Of Control" and rhyme about the symbiotic human relationship with technology on "Lemme Find Out." In a world that often appears to be spiraling out of control, their Tiny Desk set provides a much-needed breather.

Set List

"Out of Control"
"Lemme Find Out"
"A Different Light"
"Early Morning"

MUSICIANS

Tommy Benedetti (drums); Van Gordon Martin (guitar); Lean Thomas (keyboard); Ashish Vyas (bass); Jeffery Haynes (vocals); Jared Bridgeman (vocals)

CREDITS

Producers: Abby O'Neill , Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Maia Stern; Production Assistant: Aleli May Vuelta; Photo: Christina Ascani/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 21, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- One look at (and listen to) the cross-dressing, Asian rock band SsingSsing and you would hardly think they're singing music inspired by traditional Korean folk. But SsingSsing isn't like any other band I've ever seen or heard.

The group sings a regional folk style called minyo and the gender bending look has to do with shamans not glamour. As singer Hee-moon Lee describes it, "In Korean traditional art, male shamans, called baksu, have the body of a male. But as mediums, they need more than a single sexual identity, because they're channeling both male and female spirits. When I act a female character and sing, I have to overcome the fact of my being a male sorikkun (singer), and try my utmost to bring a more neutral, unisex feeling to the performance. It sounds silly, but I feel like going back to the sensibilities of my youth, when I liked Madonna, helps."

The understated music, the small dramatic gestures and the costumes all combine for one of my most memorable Tiny Desk Concerts of all time.

Set List

"Minyo Medley"
"Nanbongga (Song of Beloveds)"
"Saseol Nanbongga (Narrative Song of Beloveds)"

MUSICIANS

Hee-moon Lee (vocal), Da-hye Choo (vocal), Seung-tae Shin (vocal), Young-gyu Jang (bass guitar), Tae-won Lee (electric guitar), and Chul-hee Lee (drums)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Beck Harlan, Kara Frame, Bronson Arcuri; Production Assistant: CJ Riculan; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 16, 2017 | Stephen Thompson -- The audience for Hanson's first Tiny Desk concert could be cleanly sorted into two distinct camps: the curious and the committed. The curious were the ones who'd inquired about whether the band would play its 1997 smash "MMMBop" (answer: nope), or wondered what Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson have been up to since the '90s (answer: touring constantly, putting out records, starting their own label, raising families, launching a music festival, developing a line of Hanson Brothers-branded "MMMHops" beer). As for the committed? They were psyched.

For those who haven't kept up, Hanson has maintained a lovingly ravenous fan base. The night before this performance, the brothers played to a joyous sold-out crowd at Silver Spring, Maryland's 2,000-capacity Fillmore — and, it turns out, some of those 2,000 folks work at NPR. (A few even had friends fly in for the occasion.) We tried to get the committed as close to the Tiny Desk action as possible, because the vibe in the room was special.

This year marks Hanson's 25th anniversary as a band, and it's been 20 years since the release of Middle of Nowhere, the album that made stars out of the Hansons when Isaac was 16, Taylor was 14 and Zachary was 11. With a greatest-hits collection just out — it's called Middle of Everywhere — this was a perfect time to catch up on a few post-"MMMBop" career highlights. That meant opening with "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" (from 2010's Shout It Out) and ducking back to 2000 for the title track from This Time Around before closing with Hanson's charmingly infectious new single, "I Was Born."

Oh, and as the tagline at the end of the video cryptically notes: "To be continued..." We'll just leave it at that.

Set List

"Thinking 'Bout Somethin'"
"This Time Around"
"I Was Born"

Musicians

Isaac Hanson (guitar, vocals); Taylor Hanson (piano, vocals); Zac Hanson (percussion, vocals)

Credits

Producers: Stephen Thompson, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kara Frame, Alyse Young, Nicholas Garbaty; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 25, 2017 | Robin Hilton -- It's hard to think of an artist who's brought more joy to more people, across more generations — and in more ways — than Steve Martin. In the 1970s, he won the hearts of young children for his playful appearances with The Muppets while simultaneously charming legions of older fans with his subversive standup routines. Later, as an actor, he wrote and starred in some of the most memorable comedies (and a few dramas) of all time, while writing books, plays and even a Broadway musical.

Throughout his 50-year career, one constant in Steve Martin's life has been the banjo. It was a staple of his early standup shows and even fans who only wanted to laugh couldn't help but marvel at his playing. Over the years, he's continued to perform and record with country and bluegrass luminaries like Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and others.

These days Martin is working on music full-time. He's just released a stellar bluegrass album he recorded with The Steep Canyon Rangers called (perfectly) The Long-Awaited Album, a record filled with often hilarious story songs and world-class performances.

Martin's set with The Steep Canyon Rangers at the Tiny Desk was at times thrilling, particularly his opening solo for the song "So Familiar." But it was also playful, comical and a joy to witness. At the end of the typical three-song performance, the group graciously decided to do one more called "Caroline," a hilarious, first-person account of how not to handle a breakup.

Set List

"So Familiar"
"All Night Long"
"On The Water"
"Caroline"

Musicians

Steve Martin (banjo, vocals), Woody Platt (guitar, vocals), Mike Ashworth (percussion), Mike Guggino (mandolin), Charles Humphrey (bass), Graham Sharp (banjo, vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle)

Credits

Producers: Robin Hilton, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Bronson Arcuri, Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Beck Harlan; Photo: Christina Ascani/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Oct. 6, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- Landlady's music is more than sonic exploration, it's an adventure. The Brooklyn-based band's songs are the initial creation of leader Adam Schatz, who observes the world with fresh, almost alien eyes. The songs can feel a bit drugged-out – a bit high and full of curiosity – but never overly intoxicated or out-of-touch.

The opening track for Landlady's Tiny Desk performance, "Cadaver," has its origins in a friend of Schatz's who went to medical school, and the years she spent examining a single cadaver over and over and even more specifically about a tattoo on that cadaver's buttocks.

Landlady is also a band of brilliant musicians who carefully craft their playing to serve the songs. Each player on their own might seem to be making quirky sounds or playing odd rhythms, but together they create head-turning tunes.

For their Tiny Desk Concert they came in as a foursome but also recruited the Washington D.C. string quartet, Rogue Collective to flesh-out their sound on the third song, "Electric Abdomen." That cut, which seems to be about being uncomfortable in your own skin, sounds like it came from a long-lost tape from The Beatles during a session for Abbey Road, full of wonder and, like this Tiny Desk performance, worth digging deep into.

Set List

"Cadaver"
"Solid Brass"
"Electric Abdomen"

Musicians

Adam Schatz (keys, vocals); Will Graefe (guitar, vocals); Ryan Dugre (bass, vocals); Ian Chang (drums, vocals); Alexa Cantalupo (violin); Livia Amoruso (violin); Deanna Said (viola); Natalie Spehar (cello)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Colin Marshall, Maia Stern, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Sept. 29, 2017 | Bob Boilen -- A man in a black cape holds a sitar like a guitar all while singing a dreamy tale about wanting to be a dog. Well actually a "dawg."

Welcome the world of Dawg Yawp, the musical concoction of Rob Keenan and Tyler Randall, where drones and toy pianos are likely to collide with heavy metal electronics and a well-placed melody.

It's also a vessel for humor, experimentation and foot-stomping fun, whether that stomping is to an original techno beat or a classic bluegrass tune. In fact it was the duo's cover of "East Virginia Blues," a song made famous by the Stanley Brothers that first won my heart when I heard them replace the more traditional banjo with a sitar.

These two Cincinnati high school friends create endearing tunes with roots in fingerpicking folk tunes but with a sense of adventure. Listening to their debut, self-titled album is like listening to kids music made for grownups. It's both clever and wonderfully weird. They always put a smile on my face.

Set List

"I Wanna Be A Dawg"
"Can't Think"
"East Virginia Blues"
"Lost At Sea"

MUSICIANS

Tyler Randall (sitar, vocals, guitar, synthesizers, drums); Robert Keenan (guitar, vocals, synthesizers)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith, Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Maia Stern; Editor: Niki Walker; Production Assistant: Marissa Lorusso; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Sept. 27, 2017 | Abby O'Neill -- Reggae has long been the most vivid musical escape for me. Its soul-cleansing riddims always feel familiar and cozy, like rushing into your lover's arms after a significant time away. This is especially true for roots reggae, whose staccato guitar licks, billowing bass, and sonic splashes on a canvas of negative space, are like salve for the soul. The mid-tempo pulse varnishes heads with Kool-Aid grins and daydreams of living beachside amid nature's unrestricted beauty.

Given all that, you can understand why I've been obsessed with Chronixx lately. At a time when dancehall has been dominating the Jamaican soundscape, its refreshing to hear the man born Jamar McNaughton carrying the roots-revival torch for a younger generation and expanding upon the footprint left by his world-renowned predecessors.

Chronixx and his band Zincfence Redemption paid a long-awaited visit to the Tiny Desk to perform three songs from his sophomore album, Chronology.


Set List:

"Skankin' Sweet"
"Majesty"
"Spanish Town Rocking"

Musicians:

Jamar McNaughton "Chronixx" (vocals); Evan Mason (keys); Stephen Coore (guitar); N'Namdi Robinson (guitar); Hector Lewis (percussion); Adrian Henry (bass); Oliver Thompson (drums)

Credits:

Producers: Abby O'Neill, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista, Morgan Noelle Smith, Bronson Arcuri; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Bob Boilen | July 28, 2017 -- Intensity in songs often expresses itself as volume – a loud guitar, a scream, a piercing synth line. But in the case of Aldous Harding it's in the spaces, the pauses, and her unique delivery. Watch her Tiny Desk Concert and you can see this in her facial expressions and body posture.

The first song she performs,"Imagining My Man," is about what she calls the "tender and frightening thoughts that come with being in love," and what you witness while watching her are often painful, pensive expressions that are as important to the song as the notes being played.

Aldous Harding is a singer from New Zealand who's inspired by British folk singer Vashti Bunyan, but making something truly unique and her own. Party, her second album, is full of deeply personal songs with memorable melodies and spare instrumentation that linger in my head long after the headphone batteries have drained. It'll certainly be a favorite on my year-end list.

Aldous Harding's musical partner for the Tiny Desk is Jared Samuel, a keyboardist who was so impressive at SXSW this year in the band, Invisible Familiars. It's his deft accompaniment on these songs that shapes the texture and pulse of them, adding tension to already taut tunes. Aldous Harding's music isn't universal, but if you lean toward loving the poetic, the melodic and the mysterious, you'll likely love it.

Party is available now.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/par...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Party-Aldous-H...

Set List

"Imagining My Man"
"Blend"
"Horizon"

Musicians

Aldous Harding (guitar, vocals); Jared Elioseff (keyboard, vocals)

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista; Video Editor: Bronson Arcuri; PA: Jenna Li; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510292/ti...

Nov. 10, 2017 | Bob Boilen --For Laura Burhenn, 2016 was a tough year and she wasn't alone. We lost David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Prince (and so many more beloved artists). And then there were the elections and subsequent inauguration, which were devastating to many. But what transpired next for anyone dismayed by those events was inspiring: The Women's March united many who were in despair, while giving purpose and focus to what for them was an unthinkable outcome in the election of Donald Trump.

Then came the songs – nine new ones Laura wrote with Patrick Damphier, inspired by the many marches around the country, listening to the news, seeing social media, talking to friends and taking it all in. The result is The Mynabirds' politically charged 2017 album Be Here Now.

I first met Laura Burhenn ten years ago for a songwriting project she did with John Davis, her then bandmate in the duo Georgie James, here at NPR called Project Song. I was thrilled to discover her talent. Her current band, The Mynabirds, are Tiny Desk alum, Laura having played her first Tiny Desk Concert in the spring of 2010.

I'm not one to repeat artists at the Tiny Desk. I'm more into discovering and challenging new bands to play in this intimate and awkward setting. But this project was so different and Laura had ideas about how to make it even more special from what she'd done back in 2010, so I couldn't resist.

While recording this album, a travel ban was issued affecting six Muslim-majority countries. She wrote a song for refugees inspired by the ban and got in touch with friends back in Omaha at the Refugee Empowerment Center. It is there she learned of the Umoja Choir whose members include resettled refugees from The Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia and they ended up singing on her record. Laura also started a GoFundMe campaign for them to record their songs. Now some of those choir members have come to the Tiny Desk for a powerful set of songs. They're joined by another Tiny Desk alum: Jessica Lea Mayfield. It's an inspired project that I'm excited to share.

Set List

"Golden Age"
"Shouting At The Dark"
"Hold On"
"Wild Hearts"

MUSICIANS

Laura Burhenn; Emily Moore; Patrick Damphier; Jessica Lea Mayfield; Diendonne Manirakiza; Michael Boggs; Eric Esron; Alexia Kauffman; Adriana-Lucia Cotes

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Alyse Young, Nicholas Garbaty; Assistant Editor: Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

Sept. 22, 2017 | Felix Contreras -- If the Tiny Desk offers one lesson, it's that greatness doesn't diminish with less volume. The lesson doubly applies here.

During their performance, Bomba Estereo's Simon Mejia (bass and keyboards) observed that it was the quietist the band has ever played; they rose to the occasion with an intense performance that reflects their earliest days working smaller venues in Columbia.

Band leaders Mejia and Li Saumet (lead vocals) have been consistent in their devotion and homage to Afro-Colombian music throughout their five albums, and steadfast in their fantastic mash-up of electronic music, creating a sonic signature that has become popular around the globe.

But you won't hear that on this video.

What you'll hear is the power of their songwriting and arranging with this stripped-down presentation— which helps remind us of why we fell for this band in the first place.


Set List

- "Soy Yo"
- "Somos Dos"

MUSICIANS

Liliana Saumet (vocals), Simon Mejia (bass/keys), Andres Zea (drums), Efrain Cuadrado (percussion), Jose Castillo (guitar)

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Beck Harlan, Nick Michael; Production Assistant: Kara Frame; Photo: Emily Bogle/NPR.

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Oct. 18, 2017 | Bobby Carter -- Thundercat, born Stephen Bruner, is willing and able to shape-shift to fit into just about any box you show him — he just won't stay in there for long. Whether fusing his talent for jazz while a bassist with punk legacy act Suicidal Tendencies or as a member of Snoop Dogg's band — maybe running a little too far with a solo here and there — the focus seems to eventually drift his way.

After releasing two brilliant solo albums, he was plucked to work on what eventually became one of the most important works of art released this decade: Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly. Capitalizing off of the new exposure, he quickly released the EP The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam. That was followed about two years later by Drunk, his most solid project to date.

I didn't know what to expect in the days leading to the performance, but I was hoping to get what I thought a Thundercat experience would be like. All boxes ended up checked: He arrived wearing a neon pink hoodie with his signature logo plastered about, kickboxing shorts, white chancletas, playing a Nintendo portable gaming console. He and his bandmates Dennis Hamm, Justin Brown and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, all master musicians in their own right, polished off some bacon croissant sandwiches and proceeded to give us three of the best of what Drunk has to offer.

Set List

"Lava Lamp"
"Friend Zone"
"Them Changes"

MUSICIANS

Steven Bruner (vocals, bass); Dennis Hamm (keys); Justin Brown (drums); Miguel Antwood Ferguson (violin)

CREDITS

Producers: Bobby Carter, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern, Alyse young; Production Assistant: CJ Riculan; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR.

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Stephen Thompson | August 7, 2017 -- Maggie Rogers became a viral star on the strength of a video in which Pharrell Williams raves about a demo of what's become her signature song, "Alaska." Since then, Rogers has signed a label deal, toured extensively and released a sweetly approachable, inventively arranged EP called Now That The Light Is Fading.

For her Tiny Desk debut, Rogers performed all three of the EP's best-known songs, opening with the recent singles "On + Off" and "Dog Years," the latter of which she calls "a song for all the pups." Then, after dismissing her band, she treated us to a few warm words about public radio before introducing "Alaska" — a song whose buoyantly clever arrangement translates beautifully to the solo acoustic treatment she gives it here. She needn't have buttered us up; we were already all in.

Now That The Light Is Fading is available now.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/now...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/That-Light-Fad...

SET LIST

"On + Off"
"Dog Years"
"Alaska"

MUSICIANS

Maggie Rogers (vocals, guitar); Grant Zubritsky (bass, synth); Alan Markley (keys); Dana LaMarca (drums).

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Tsering Bista, Kara Frame; PA: Jenna Li; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

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Sept. 5, 2017 | Bobby Carter -- "Classic Man," the 2015 debut single from Nigerian-American MC Jidenna, caught everyone off guard. The song found him teetering between rapping and singing about elegance, politeness and Nat "King" Cole, and the melody felt irresistible. Then there's the look: He rocks thrift-wear tailored to a T. The song eventually went double platinum and earned a Grammy nomination. Jidenna followed it with a few more club bangers before releasing his debut album, The Chief, earlier this year. A tribute to his father, a Nigerian chief, the record is peppered with African rhythms and themes.

Jidenna and his band recently visited NPR to perform three reworked selections from The Chief. They excitedly explored every nook and cranny of the Tiny Desk in search of props, eventually settling on a toy, the magic microphone, a tambourine and a bottle of whiskey. Jidenna bounced straight through "Trampoline" to "Long Live the Chief," in which he explains why his threads are always so sharp:

You can either sink, swim or be the captain
Get the last word I'ma get the last laugh in
Now they say, "Jidenna, why you dressing so classic?"
I don't want my best-dressed day in a casket

Finally, the band pauses, glides into the arresting harmonies of "Bambi," and finishes charming the socks off the entire room.

Set List
"Trampoline"
"Long Live the Chief"
"Bambi"

Musicians
Jidenna Theodore Mobisson (vocals); George Peters (percussion); Andrew Brown (bass, keys); Jordan Hemby (drums); William Gittens (guitar)

Credits
Producers: Bobby Carter, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith, Tsering Bista; Production Assistant: Jenna Li; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

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Aug 21, 2017 | Abby O'Neill | Three-time Grammy winner DJ Premier, one of the definitive architects of New York hip-hop, brought a new type of life to NPR's Tiny Desk: our first concert helmed by a DJ.

A packed house of head-nodding journalists grooved through their lunch hour to a nine-song medley of iconic Premier productions while decompressing from the unrelenting grind of the news cycle. The set list rested on the undeniable footprint of Preemo's classics, but this was more than just another DJ mix. His touring outfit, The Badder Band, overlaid Premier's blends with an undulating electric bass courtesy of Brady Watt, a steady accent on the one from drummer Lenny "The Ox" Reece and boisterous horns from Mark Williams and Jonathan Powell.

But it was Premier who remained front-and-center, commanding the crowd like a true party rocker. With throwbacks ranging from Gangstarr's "Step into the Arena" to an amped rendition of Jeru The Damaja's "Da Bitches," embellished by The Badder's jazzy horns, Preemo concluded the set with a "Moment of Truth," featuring the exalted rhymes of his posthumous Gangstarr partner, Guru.

Tiny Desk concerts are short by design, so naturally the format could barely scratch the surface of Premier's vault of street anthems, done for the likes of the Notorious B.I.G., JAY-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Big L, M.O.P., Mos Def, Group Home, Jeru the Damaja, AZ, Snoop Dogg, and many more. Even after a career spanning almost three decades, the man born Christopher Martin has managed to stay authentic to his analog grit and sample-chopping integrity, as if he were still an underdog.

SET LIST

"Premier Production Medley"

- KRS-One - "KRS-One Attacks"
- KRS-One - "MC's Act Like They Don't Know"
- Das Efx - "Real Hip-Hop"
- Nas - "Nas Is Like"
- Jeru The Damaja - "Da Bichez"
- Gang Starr - "Step In The Arena"
- Gang Starr feat. M.O.P. - "1/2 & 1/2"
- Royce Da 5'9 - "Boom"
- Gang Starr - "Moment Of Truth"

Musicians
DJ Premier (producer); Brady Watt (bass); Mark Williams (trombone); Lenny "The Ox" Reece (drums); Jonathan Powell (trumpet).

Credits
Producers: Abby O'Neill, Bob Boilen, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Kara Frame, Colin Marshall; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

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