Whilst I'm sure that large number of the internet would still be in agreement that Anderson .Paak holds the trophy for the greatest Tiny Desk Concert of all time; I must say that there have been a fair few contenders for the title this past year.


ERYKAH BADU 
The Queen of Neo-Soul back with a pretty rare performance. I have never seen Erykah play either "Rimshot" or "Green Eyes" live but to see them both back-to-back in such an intimate setting and hearing them fit together so seamlessly was quite emotional for me. She's always had a penchant for strong, emotive performances that come across relatively effortless, and this time was no different in that respect. However, something in her TDC broke through to me in a way that I find rarely happens via video alone. This stuck in my memory immediately when thinking of TDCs to choose.



DANIEL CAESAR
After listening to Freudian last year I could not get enough of Daniel Caesar's voice. Such a distinctive and soulful sound, and similarly to Erykah Badu he always makes it look so effortless. As he leans nonchalantly over the piano, singing a story that you can only assume is his own, however could speak towards generations, you can't help but be swallowed up by Daniel's presence. I'm yet to see him live but after this little snippet I can only imagine what a unique experience it must be.



GOLDLINK 
At What Cost was one of my Top 10 favourite albums last year and I absolutely loved what Goldlink's done with it here with a live band accompanying. A lot of the time with Tiny Desk Concerts, artists will opt to perform more stripped down versions of what they bring to their live shows. However, in this instance Goldlink has amped it up a little bit using a mixture of live instruments and backing vocalists, and has reworked the song arrangements to bring a completely new layer of depth to the album tracks. it gave the songs that I already love a new lease of life and it felt like one of the more original TDCs I've seen this year.





PJ MORTON
Okay well immediately when anybody brings a 10-piece string section with them to play a 3 song set in an office, you have to take notice. Now to have them play together as flawlessly and organically as they do; there's where they earn the accolades. This performance made me want to listen to his latest album Gumbo even before the first song was over. It's a crying shame that it took until this year for me to listen to PJ's brilliance but I'm here now and boy am I listening. It has a classic yet relevant feel to it, one that I know will resonate for years to come.




Having leaned more towards soulful concerts, special shoutouts must go to Dermot Kennedy, Julien Baker, August Greene, Haley Heynderickx, Jamila Woods, Lo Moon, Jorja Smith and Superorganism for their concerts. It's so clear that there is a staggering amount of talent that we have access to right now and it's growing by the minute.

In 2019, I would absolutely LOVE to see TDCs from Janelle Monaé, PVRIS, Maribou State, Skinny Pelembe and Ezra Collective. I suspect that we may see TDCs from Blood Orange/Dev Hynes, BROCKHAMPTON, Nao, Childish Gambino, RAY BLK and Florence + The Machine. Either way, if any one of these names was to pop up on my YouTube Recommendations list in the coming months, I will happily continue vouch that NPR's music curator is doing an absolutely stellar job. Alongside COLORS, NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts have been making it very easy for me to fall into the deepest holes of YouTube browsing. I pray that next year will be no different.

Well, well, well. The last time I saw an artist that was such an integral part of the soundtrack to my childhood was probably at Lauryn Hill a few years ago, and similarly to that show, seeing someone in the flesh, playing these songs that you know so well, that take you back to so many different moments in your life - was very surreal.

Having six incredible albums to choose from, Erykah Badu definitely wasn't short of material and if I'm honest, she could've just played through Baduizm in its entirety and she wouldn't have heard people complain, but the more I think about the setlist, the more perfect it feels to me. She played me through some of my absolute favourites and delivered them with such ease. To be honest I think that was the most striking thing about her set - yes, the level of performance was outstanding, band and all - but my goodness did she make it look easy. As talented as the band was, they could've comfortably overshadowed an amateur, but everytime Badu's voice crooned above the music there was no questioning whose show it was. Stand outs for me have to be "Appletree", "Soldier", "Danger", "Love Of My Life", "Back In The Day", and "Out My Mind, Just In Time", and that's the narrowed down version.

At one point during her set Badu walked through her album roster speaking about the thoughts behind each one and whom they were most intended to reach. As she went through the list it was crystal clear that she'd succeeded in reaching all those intended as heads nodded in agreement and "90's babies" piped up. Being a 90's baby myself I thought to myself that it's insane to know that just after I was born, Erykah was making music for me to listen to then, and resonate with 20 something years later. I'm not sure how many names we have buzzing around in today's mainstream that will be able to have such an effect, but I expect that another 20 something years down the line, my children will be bopping along to Baduizm and I'll still be finding new meanings in Erykah's lyrics.

As for the set itself, yes, there were some things that left room for want - the timing was off, meaning that Erykah had to cut her last song "Soldier" short and couldn't come out for an encore due to the venue curfew, and the heat was very intense in the arena. However, despite leaving the crowd wanting more, and the exhausting level of heat; this didn't dampen fans' spirits, cheers and applause never faltered, and speaking for myself, it's not a night that'll be forgotten any time soon.

Overall Rating - 8/10

It feels like forever that I've been waiting for new material from Lianne, so when I heard this single (in fact the opening track on the record) last month I was ecstatic. Going by that you can guess how I felt when she dropped the video for the single a few hours ago...

LIANNE LA HAVAS - UNSTOPPABLE

So recently I've been thinking about all the artists that I haven't yet seen live and who I would have on my bucket list of bands/artists and then I thought - "Is there any artist/band that I would see, just so I could hear them play one song live?" Turns out that there are quite a few. There are plenty more I have in mind but here are just a few of the ones that I came up with.

1. MODERAT - Bad Kingdom

There have actually been a few awesome songs out/stuck in my head this week, so I have to definitely give mention to "Bipolar Sunshine - Future (feat. Goldlink)" and for old times' sake "Erykah Badu - Bag Lady". However, the song that I've been either humming along to or belting out everyday since I heard it is this...

MARMOZETS - Hit The Wave

So, Notting Hill Arts Club is fast becoming one of my favourite places in London and it's all thanks to New Shapes. They've gone two for two, first Superfood and now Mapei - might have to start looking for apartments in the area!

Earlier this week (12/08/14) I headed over to the venue ready for another cool set but this was way more than I could've ever expected. First of all, I was actually under the impression that it was Charlotte OC's headlining show and Mapei was supporting. However, when I walked in and saw Charlotte walking around the club getting ready to go up, I figured that she was the support. Having seen her a couple of months ago at Field Day here, I already knew how fabulous Charlotte was, but even still, she blew me away. Opening with one of my favourite songs of hers "Hangover" and playing through the rest of her huge hits, again she had the crowd screaming by her final song "Colour My Heart" - I'm sure she made a lot of new fans that night. Generally it was a pretty intense set, she is consistently great live - absolute marvel! Tough support to follow. Quick shout out to Dashy Dashy DJs again - absolutely smashed it! Tune after tune and no time to rest. Love these guys.

Originally I was going to write about Mapei as a "new discovery" but when I found out about this gig I thought I'd just wait until afterwards to write about her in this gig review. I'd only heard her two songs "Don't Wait" and "Change" before coming to the gig and they didn't the least bit prepare me for the awesome show I was about to witness. Mapei stepped onto the tiny stage with her two back up dancers joining her bassist and drummer and already the atmosphere was heated. Her dancers were great - seriously added to the atmosphere. Even though I was on my own after a few songs I found myself full out dancing as if I was up there on stage with them. Also, I didn't know that she rapped so much, she really reminded me of old school artists like Lauryn Hill throughout the set and her outfit was very Erykah Badu inspired. Amazing stage presence and a really calm aura. And then of course there's her band.  Her band were on FIRE! Her bassist was amazing, switching between his bass (a very nice bass at that) and his keyboards and playing both fantastically. Then her drummer shone when given chance for a solo - the crowd couldn't blink as fast as his hands were moving! I had such a good time - extremely enjoyable set! Every song that she performed, I liked - I just can't wait until her debut record Hey Hey out on the 23rd of September. The best first impression of USA's new star, Mapei.

Overall Rating - 8.5/10


Here are some pictures from the night...