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RM of BTS: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert Hotney 7 Streams • 4 years ago

Stephen Thompson | December 2, 2022

Now that we’re back to recording Tiny Desk concerts in the office, home concerts mostly happen under special circumstances: when the artist is overseas, for example, or otherwise unable to get to Washington, D.C., when we’re recording. Given that BTS’s RM (aka Kim Nam-joon) is based in South Korea, we let it slide — not least because his team put together one of the most impressive Tiny Desk facsimiles we’ve seen yet. What really sets it apart is the huge array of shelf-bound ephemera, which is bound to have the BTS Army sleuthing in the YouTube comments. What’s a random tchotchke and what’s an Easter egg? Study the set closely!

RM timed his solo Tiny Desk debut — which follows BTS’s home concert from back in 2020 — to coincide with the release of his first official studio album, Indigo. But he kicks off the set with an older track, “seoul,” which first appeared on his 2018 mixtape mono. From there, he showcases the first two tracks from Indigo: the rap-driven “Yun” and the funky “Still Life,” both of which are inspired by RM’s love of and fascination with painting. The studio tracks feature Erykah Badu and Anderson .Paak, respectively, both of whom get shoutouts in this set. But here, the focus never drifts away from the star at center stage — no matter how closely you might squint at the stuffed animals, housewares, clocks and toys (not to mention Big Mouth Billy Bass!) behind him.

Now, if we can just get him to visit the real Tiny Desk…

SET LIST
“seoul”
“Yun”
“Still Life”

MUSICIANS
RM: vocals
DOCSKIM: keyboard
john eun: guitar
Jaeshin Park: bass
JK Kim: drums

CREDITS
Director: Oui Kim (OUI)
Producer: Yeonjin Kim (OUI)
AUDIO:
JEONG WOO YEONG
Son Yu Jeong

CREW:
Huiwon Song
Sunyoung Kim
Hyeri Shin
EumKo
Youngwoo Lee
Eunil Lee
Sungju Min
Kihun Kim
Seungjong Lee
Yuntae Ko
Kidung Kim
Kiyong Eom
Donghyun Lee
Doosoo Choi
Yujin Jung
Sangjoon Lee
Kieun Lee
Kihyun Lee
Seonghyeon Heo
Insol Yun
Hyeongeun Kim
Yujin Ko
Daeun Han
Jae Yoo
GANi
Leehyun Kim
Yeonhwa Cha
Daye Shin
Daniella Kim
Saeyong Oh
Lee Jung Min
Lee Hyeon Ki
Jeong Dae Seong
Jinho Jeong
Rachel Um
Jennie Lee
Rosa Kim

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bob Boilen
Video Producer: Kara Frame
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Tiny Production Team: Suraya Mohamed, Bobby Carter, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Hazel Cills, Marissa Lorusso, Ashley Pointer, Jill Britton, Sofia Seidel
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #rm #bts #nprmusic

Symba: Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 9 Streams • 4 years ago

Sheldon Pearce | October 28, 2022
The Bay Area rapper Symba is a capable storyteller, but he is best known for his bars. "Can I rap for y'all?" he asks after performing "Can't Win For Nothing." "'Cause that wasn't really me rapping; that was me guiding y'all through a bad day. Let me spit some lyrics." Fair enough. He did tear through a L.A. Leakers freestyle, during a visit to Power 106 in 2020, turning many heads and even earning Dr. Dre's hard-won approval. But in his Tiny Desk concert, he demonstrates a keen ability to supplement his charged, freestyler's energy, balancing high-octane wordplay with crisp scene-setting. Donning a Reese Cooper varsity jacket, a white tee, ripped jeans and assorted jewelry, and backed by a band sporting black, Symba brought an even greater intimacy to his songs of determination.

The concert opens with a few standout singles: He sets the tone by swaggering through "Don't Condone," gleefully brandishing his King James cosign, before diving into the solemn misadventures of "Can't Win For Nothing." His small, six-person ensemble brings warmth and color out of his beats, particularly on the Dre-produced "Never End Up Broke," which breaks down into a lush alternate arrangement fit for the Blue Note jazz club.

After warming up, Symba works through several gripping cuts from his recent project with DJ Drama, Results Take Time. As he closes out his set with stirring renditions of the legacy-pondering "GOAT" and the status-affirming "Never Change," we bear witness to the truth of the album's title. When he raps, "I took the long route, not the wrong route," it feels like a prophecy fulfilled, proof that talent is always reinforced by work ethic.

SET LIST
"Don't Condone"
"Can't Win For Nothing"
"Never End Up Broke"
"Sacrifices"
"GOAT"
"Never Change"

MUSICIANS
Symba: vocals
Simon Martinez: guitar
Irvin Washington: keys, band leader
Raymond Nesmith: bass
Julian Coleman: vocals
Ebony Joi: vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Abby O'Neill
Director: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Andie Huether
Audio Mix: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Editor: Maia Stern
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Michael Zamora
Audio Assistant: Hannah Copeland
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #tinydesk #symba

The Lion King: Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 10 Streams • 4 years ago

Josh Rogosin | November 11, 2022
Actors and musicians on Broadway have a grueling performance schedule: eight shows a week with only Mondays off. Yet the band and cast of The Lion King were ecstatic to spend their one free day traveling from New York to Washington, D.C. to celebrate 25 years of the iconic musical with a performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk.

Many of the songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice will be familiar — like the Oscar-winning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Hakuna Matata.” But the cast also treated the enthusiastic Tiny Desk crowd to songs written just for the stage. “They Live In You” wasn’t in the original movie, but is sung in the show by Mufasa (L. Steven Taylor) to his cub Simba (Brandon A. McCall). The young lioness Nala sings “Shadowland'', another gem from the musical sung by Pearl Khwezi (the first South African cast in the role).

Infused throughout the music of The Lion King is spine-tingling African rhythm and language. It’s as captivating as the groundbreaking costume design by director, co-writer and artist Julie Taymor. The team at Disney Theatrical sent the masks of Simba and Nala in time to be prominently displayed on the desk during the concert. Examining their details up close gave me chills — just like the ones I felt watching the show at the New Amsterdam Theatre, way back in 1997 when the musical first debuted.

SET LIST
“Circle of Life”
“They Live in You”
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
“Hakuna Matata”
“Endless Night / Shadowland”
“Circle of Life” (Reprise)

MUSICIANS

CAST
L. Steven Taylor
Tshidi Manye
Brandon A. McCall
Pearl Khwezi
Lindiwe Dlamini
Mduduzi Madela
S’bu Ngema

MUSICIANS
Jim Abbott: keyboard, guitar
Anders Bostrom: flutes
David Kuhn: bass
Rolando Morales-Matos: percussion
Juan Carlito Mendoza: drums

Music Arrangements
Jim Abbott

The Lion King Broadway Resident Director
Rufus Bonds Jr.

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

#tinydesk #nprmusic #thelionking

Kirk Franklin: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert Hotney 4 Streams • 4 years ago

NPR Music's Tiny Desk series will celebrate Black History Month by featuring four weeks of Tiny Desk (home) concerts and playlists by Black artists spanning different genres and generations each week. The lineup includes both emerging and established artists who will be performing a Tiny Desk concert for the first time. This celebration highlights the beautiful cornucopia of Black music and our special way of presenting it. We hope you enjoy.

Bobby Carter | February 25, 2021
Kirk Franklin, set up with his band and choir in a corner of Uncle Jessie's Kitchen, makes a declaration. "I know you're at home right now, in your draws, listening to some Jesus music. It's ok. Jesus loves you in your draws!" The Arlington, Texas studio, named after a long time close friend, features a large photo of the iconic "I AM A MAN" protest signs from the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike on the wall. The jubilant energy that Franklin and company emit, juxtaposed with a visual reminder of the strife that Black people have endured is illustrative of the importance of gospel music in the Black community.

For nearly 30 years, Franklin has been widely regarded for revolutionizing gospel. He incorporated secular music, particularly hip-hop, while preserving the message and integrity of traditional gospel. Here, he and his powerhouse choir pace through a decades-long, sixteen Grammy award winning discography of faith, praise and encouragement while cracking plenty of jokes. I cannot recall a more moving Tiny Desk home performance.

All month long, we've presented artists that speak to the diversity and complexity of Black music--where we've been, where we are and where we're going. For the final show, we take it back to the spiritual roots and there's no one more fitting to cap things off than Mr. Kirk Franklin.

SET LIST
Love Theory
Silver and Gold
Melodies From Heaven
I Smile

MUSICIANS
Kirk Franklin: vocals, keys
Melodie Pace: vocals
Darian Elliot: vocals
Michael Bethany: vocals
Eboni Ellerson: vocals
Deon Yancey: vocals
Tia Rudd: vocals
Shaun Martin: keyboard
Matthew Ramsey: bass
Terry Baker: drums, percussion

CREDITS
Video: Clear Scope Media
Audio: Michael Havens Reese Brooks

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Bobby Carter
Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Art Director: CJ Riculan
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Kara Frame, Maia Stern
Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #kirkfranklin #gospel #tinydesk

Randall Goosby: Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 5 Streams • 4 years ago

Tom Huizenga | September 6, 2022
Violinist Randall Goosby has arrived – and not just at the Tiny Desk. The young Juilliard graduate is racking up debuts with the world's most important orchestras, he just pocketed the $25,000 Avery Fisher Career Grant and he can boast none other than violin legend Itzhak Perlman as his mentor. Not bad for 26 years old.

We know Goosby's star is on the rise, but the way his career got off the ground is worth mentioning. Goosby is an alum of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, which, for 25 years, has helped launch many prominent musicians of color, including composers Jessie Montgomery and Carlos Simon, pianist Lara Downes and opera stars Davóne Tines and Will Liverman. Goosby, at age 13, was the youngest to win the Sphinx Concerto Competition.

Sphinx was also where he first performed neglected music by Black composers. "With each passing day," Goosby told NPR last year, "you can almost see this wave of reckoning, and people starting to realize the magnitude of the body of work that we've not paid attention to."

Joined by the discerning pianist Zhu Wang, Goosby begins with the Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's "Deep River," the bittersweet spiritual whose melody floats with uncommon beauty in this performance. Listen for the perfectly placed high note at the end. Goosby then tips his hat to Antonin Dvorak, the composer who suggested that American composers look to the music of African Americans for pure inspiration. The two young musicians close with "Estrellita," a bon-bon of unrequited love from Mexican composer Manuel Ponce.

With his secure technique, natural phrasing, gorgeous tone and smart programming, Randall Goosby has everything it takes to craft a major career.

SET LIST
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: "Deep River" (arr. Maud Powell)
Antonin Dvorak: Sonatina for Violin and Piano, IV. Finale: Allegro
Manuel Ponce: "Estrellita" (arr. Jascha Heifetz):

MUSICIANS
Randall Goosby: violin
Zhu Wang: piano

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Tom Huizenga
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Director: Kara Frame
Series Creator: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Editor: Joshua Bryant
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Pierre Kattar
Audio Assistant: Natasha Branch
Production Assistants: Jill Britton, Joby Tanseco
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Maia Stern
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#TinyDesk #NPRMusic #RandallGoosby

Cat Burns - Go (BRITs 2023 Rising Star Session) Hotney 25 Streams • 4 years ago

⁣‘go’ performed live, filmed for the 2023 BRITs Rising Star shortlist.

Listen to 'Go’ Here: https://catburns.lnk.to/cbgo

Follow Cat:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@catburnss?lan...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catburns/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/catburns
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catburnsmusic/

Stay updated on Cat's website: https://catburns.com/
SUBSCRIBE to Cat’s channel: https://bit.ly/2A2su5w

Lyrics:

Ooh
Ooh
Tried calling yesterday but got your voicemail again
Rushed over to your Uni hall, saw her leaving your place
You said you fucked up on a night out
You drank way too much, you're feeling bad now
You're tryna figure out how to worm your way out
Well, look at what you've done
You said you'd never do
You fucked it for yourself
This is the end of me and you
So don't call this number anymore
'Cause I won't be there for you like I was before
I should of listened to my friends
They always know best
They said you were just like all the rest, so
I'll sing it loud in case you don't already know
Pack up your shit and go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go
Pack up your shit and go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go
You said it was a one time thing
You don't know what you were thinking
That it didn't mean a thing
You promise it won't happen again
So when you get fucked up on a night out
How many times have you played around?
Was a fool, didn't see the signs
I guess my friends were always right
Well, look at what you've done
You said you'd never do
You fucked it for yourself
This is the end of me and you
So don't call this number anymore
'Cause I won't be there for you like I was before
I should of listened to my friends
They always know best
They said you were just like all the rest, so
I'll sing it loud in case you don't already know
Pack up your shit and go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go
Pack up your shit and go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go
I can't trust you anymore
Look what you've done
You've turned this heart cold
And I don't know if I can love again
But I know for sure we can't be friends
This is the end
Stop calling this number anymore
'Cause I won't be there for you like I was before
I should of listened to my friends
They always know best
They said you were just like all the rest, so
I'll sing it loud in case you don't already know
Pack up your shit and go, go, go, go (go)
Go, go, go, go (go)
Go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go (I should of listened to my friends)
Go, go, go, go ('cause they always know best)
Go, go, go, go, uh
I'll sing it loud in case you don't already know
Pack up your shit and go

#CatBurns #Go #BRITs #BRITAwards

Omar Apollo: Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 2 Streams • 4 years ago

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Tiny Desk is celebrating Latinx Heritage Month with an "El Tiny" takeover, featuring Jessie Reyez, Susana Baca and more musicians from all corners of Latinidad.

Fi O’Reilly | September 15, 2022
What a way to get our second annual El Tiny series going! Omar Apollo kicks off Latinx Heritage Month with a full-band rendition of "En El Olvido," backed by Las Mariachis Lindas, as he channels a childhood spent listening to Juan Gabriel into his performance of the Mexican corrido.

In the eternal wisdom of Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre, it's not a Mexican party until someone starts crying, and Apollo embraces esta melancolía as the band slips into the easy R&B number "Evergreen." "We're about to get more sad," he says to the crowd with a grin.

Despite the heartbreak and unrequited love songs, there's a sense of ease in this Tiny Desk concert — an easy camaraderie among the group as the members sing through "Evergreen" and "Petrified" before finishing with the (slightly) more upbeat "Endlessly." El corazón puede estar adolorido, but in community, the pain never seems hopeless.

As Apollo's Tiny Desk comes to an end, he offers the audience a homework assignment for self-improvement, for putting the negative behind you and making yourself available to participate in building community: "I want y'all to think about something,” he says. “I want you to go home, I want you to meditate and I want you to just burn the bridge." He laughs. “I’m playing!” But as his and the band’s joyful energy attests, in the world of Omar Apollo, there’s only room for building each other up.

SET LIST
“En El Olvido”
“Evergreen”
“Petrified”
“Endlessly”

MUSICIANS
Omar Apollo: vocals
Jonah Feingold: guitar
Jackson Shanks: drums
Manny Barajas: bass
Harrison Hawkins: keys, music director
Astyn Turrentine: vocals
Phylicia Hill: vocals
Brian Antonio Gazo Martinez: vocals
Fabian Anthony Chavez: saxophone
Marcus Clayton Paul: trumpet
Silvia Estrada: guitarrón
Mayra Martínez: guitarrón

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Director: Kara Frame
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Editor: Joshua Bryant
Animator: Alanté Serene
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Pierre Kattar
Audio Assistant: Hannah Copeland
Production Assistants: Jill Britton, Alanté Serene, Joby Tanseco
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Maia Stern
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#TinyDesk #NPRMusic #ElTiny #OmarApollo

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