Fred again..: Tiny Desk Concert
Teresa Xie | April 10, 2023
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. 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. He began his set with “Kyle (i found you),” recreating the song’s melody on the marimba while clips of featured poet Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre reciting the work “Love In The Time of Undeath” appeared on-screen. Sitting at the piano, he faded the remnants of “Kyle (i found you)” into “Roze (forgive),” which features Fred again.. triggering vocals sampled from the artist I am Roze, whose powerful facial expressions were magnified on a screen.In a surprising pivot, the primary vocals on the following track, “Me (heavy),” came from Fred again.. himself, with no manipulation, creating a vulnerable sense of intimacy in the space. A flurry of looped piano keys marked the transition to “Delilah (pull me out of this),” with guest vocals pulled from pop singer Delilah Montagu’s 2021 track “Lost Keys.” By his set’s end, concluding with “Faisal (envelops me),” Fred again.. was back at the piano finally resting after moving seamlessly through a jam-packed Tiny Desk.
SET LIST
“Kyle (i found you)”
“Roze (forgive)”
“Adam (interlude)”
“Me (heavy)”
“Berwyn (interlude)”
“Delilah (pull me out of this)”
“Faisal (envelops me)”
MUSICIANS
Fred again..: vocals, piano, vibraphone, marimba, electronics
Special thanks to: Guante, I Am Roze (they/them), Aminé, Delilah Montagu, Berwyn, Faisal, Lucy Hickling, Gareth Nunns, Jamie Tinsley, Tony Friend, Tobias Miorin
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Director/Editor: Sofia Seidel
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Videographers: Sofia Seidel, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant
Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Maia Stern, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Pilar Galván, Teresa Xie
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
#nprmusic #tinydesk #fredagain
This tiny desk set is going to become the most viral set on the channel 🎉😮
@Adam Lewis work dosent equal vibes. Jacob collier should show that for u lol.
@Adam Lewis Mac’s music simply sounds better and is pleasing to more
@Che Ashe Probably, even though Fred Again is putting waaaaay more work into this performance compared to Mac sitting down.
Nothing will ever beat Mac Millers
I swear this man has a million variations of each of his tracks that he can just seamlessly conjure out of his brain at his whim and interweave effortlessly into an authentic one-time performance. The dude is living in his music.
Facts on facts
The dude IS music
I feel like Fred is the culmination of so many shared ideas from the world of electronic music. He’s the producer we all wanted to be.
Well said
That’s exactly what crossed my mind; this is gorgeous.
Agree. A lot of electronic music the last 10 years has breaks just so you know when the drop is. I think Fred has created a new template which brings out soo many emotions you cant wait for the break so you can hug someone.
Fred’s music is what I imagine goes through someone’s mind as their life is flashing before their eyes. Timeless music.
From my experience, it’s what you feel when you have an outer body experience. When your life is flashing before your eyes it’s much more frantic. When you think you’ve died there’s this period of stillness and weightlessness that I would align with Fred’s music for sure.
accurate way to describe this
before they die.
It’s like seeing your whole life before your eyes and realizing you almost exclusively remember love. All the feelings for the people and places were different types of love. That’s what it feels like to me. “Your love envelopes me.”
I worked at NPR and had the opportunity to see a number of tiny desks IRL,and this really is on a different level. Pure art.
This is first YouTube comment I have ever left on a video but I could not resist. Fred has single-handedly reshaped the culture and the way I personally view music as an art. No cliche boundaries, no rules, no creativity boxes but rather absolutely beautiful way of expressing his uniqueness by being such a diverse artist. As someone who produces the music as a hobby I have had rough patch recently of feeling demotivated and constantly hitting writers block but this is beyond inspirational! Thank you for your hard work and everything you do Mr Frederick. Cheers mate.
@Hear Me Now! I kind of agree, I think any kind of creative block is actually you not belieiving in yourself or your ideas – or not trusting the process either so giving up on something when it doesnt sound/look like what we think it should, instead of finding ways to make it work. sometimes its actually good to take a break from something, find inspiration somewhere else. But ultimately I think we are all creative beings, but the people that become successful are people that never give up.
I don’t think writers block exists, just lack of motivation because when the motivation is there the music flows.
Outstanding comment 🎉
This is my first comment too and after reading yours I just went through your SoundCloud and Spotify and actually loved your work!
And for this I love Fred even more! Connecting people, inspiring artists and creating true masterpieces! ❤
P.s. I am hoping to come back to this comment in a few years when you are famous like Fred, with the “big smile on my face” 🙂
From boiler room to tiny desk. So pumped to see Fred Agains journey as an artist and human being.
@shani hey
you will love his loft radio session.
Hybrid season
❤
Get you a man that can do both
This is ABSOLUTELY mind blowing! So raw and innocent. You can see it in his face he is putting everything into the emotion of the set to carry it…. To then also PLAY the actual “Tiny Desk” 😲. Looking for sound in everything he touches or knows 👏 Thank you for the inspiration Fred.. Again..
Props… there’s a lot of moving parts when you put together a live performance of this type. Lots of levels, triggers, etc… this was done so well.
Lots of loops he has to get perfect, too. Inspiring performance!
This is magic, man. I’m not a particularly emotional person, I seldom cry or even shed a tear. But I’m listening to this and I can’t help but be moved to tears. There’s something in Fred’s ability to choose the most evocative vocal samples from real life people, building emotional energy with his music, but leaving enough room for you to fill in the gaps with your own stories. I really have a tough time putting to works the artistry on display here. Thank you so much.
Exactly what I wish I could have said.
Tears steaming down my face too.
it did it to me too. because beautiful.
They are some great words there in reflection of some great music and a great artist.
Beautifully said!