NPR TINY DESK CONCERT
Fred again…
- LIVE: Fred again…The Tiny Desk Concert / April 10 / 2023 (26:45 mins)
- Fred again..’s Actual Life: Kurated No. 162
UK electronic singer-songwriter and producer Fred again.. at NPR’s Tiny Desk studio Easter Monday
FRED AGAIN..VERY LIVE, DIRECT AND ‘SOLO’
Making a big splash at the Tiny Desk
“I am so so so excited for this. I spent weeks practising this and learning instruments I hadn’t played for years to try n make this as special as I possibly could. EVVERRRYYYY thing you hear in this I play totally live. And there are some sounds I really couldn’t believe we were able to make like this.
Its one of my favourite things ive ever been a part of @tinydesk” ~ Fred again..
In a deft and energetic almost-one-man-show fred again..’s musical magic was on display earlier this week proving why he’s the current emotional heart beat of electronic music. Pulling seven selections from his latest album – Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9, 2022) the multi-instrumentalist DJ moved between instruments around the Washington DC Tiny Desk studio sampling sounds and building tape loops for the short set.
Fred sang his intimate and soulful vocals, played piano, vibraphone, marimba, and electronics.
He teleported several collaborators via a small screen set up in the studio and wired their contributions into the mix.
Tiny Desk staffer Teresa Xie wrote: “When Fred again.. first proposed a Tiny Desk concert, it wasn’t immediately clear how he was going to make it work — not because he lacked creativity, but because translating purely electronic music at the Desk is a daunting task for anyone. How would an artist, whose performances take the form of DJ sets in front of massive audiences, curate an intimate and unique experience?
“But what the British songwriter and producer came up with is a reminder of what a Tiny Desk is at its best: an opportunity for artists to challenge themselves in such a way that it almost feels like they’re making new music, all while sticking to what feels true to them,” Xie continues. “For Fred again.. that meant re-learning the marimba, playing the vibraphone, singing at the piano and looping sounds and beats — all at the same time.”
At the time of writing the performance had 1.6 million views.
15 April 2023
