mxmtoon: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

January 15, 2021 | Bob Boilen
"Hi, I'm mxmtoon, and I'm doing my Tiny Desk at the world's biggest desk!" And so it begins, from an eerily empty New York City office building, mxmtoon sings songs filled with dreams and anxieties. Much of the music comes from her recent 2020 EPs, Dawn and Dusk. Those EPs included collaborations with Carly Rae Jepsen and Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus. For this Tiny Desk (home) concert, her sweet voice and ukulele are accompanied by Nicole Wakabayashi on piano and Cale Hawkins on guitar.

It's been almost two years now since we first played the Oakland-based mxmtoon on All Songs Considered. She was just 18 then, singing about crying in her "prom dress" (which I'm thrilled she is performing here). Her melodies are simple, with the words up front mighty and personal. One of the first songs she released is called "Feelings Are Fatal," which she also performs. It's a candid song about emotions and why we're often afraid to share them. It's a model for what mxmtoon does so well: humble, honest songs, sung here behind a massive desk.

SET LIST
"Fever Dream"
"Prom Dress"
"Feelings Are Fatal"
"Wallflower"
"Bon Iver"

MUSICIANS
mxmtoon: vocals, ukulele
Nicole Wakabayashi: piano
Cale Hawkins: guitar

CREDITS
Video: Derrick Belcham
Audio: K. Marie Kim

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

[luckyhenry]

Such clarity in her tone. Minimal vocal embellishments - straight note singing enables an easy listening experience.

[ambarchavez]

Her voice is so clean, nice, refreshing, beautiful!!. And she writes things that I feel identified with, what else can we ask from an artist.

[CupPlastic]

I swear Tiny Desk has the best sound engineer/s! This sounds absolutely amazing.

[KaiOfAspen]

this is SO well mixed. the guitar is so clean and the piano is somehow ambient and clear?? 10/10

[shush]

I love how many people are discovering mxmtoon here!

[PentameronSV]

0:00 - *Fever Dream* (3:22)
3:31 - *Prom Dress* (6:52)
7:11 - *Feelings Are Fatal*
9:24 - *Wallflower* (12:40)
12:50 - *Bon Iver*
[16:09 - Tiny Desk Team]

[dulce]

the softness of her voice is so calming i wish more people would’ve discovered her by now

[solarsatori]

Her: Hi, i'm M X M toon
Me a dyslexic: has been calling her mixmoon for months

[Jazlindoll]

Ugggghhh this felt like watching a close friend perform her songs at the local coffee shop you guys go together

[luminousluma]

Revisiting the Dawn & Dusk era for the nostalgia...

[devinloew]

Fever Dream feels like an existential awakening to me in this context. Therapeutic

[ethandoors]

This feels like a warm blanket on a chilly, rainy day. Wonderful.

[mattgomez]

Good lord, her voice is smoother than the top of a buttered pancake.

[ILOVEJOJOVEVO]

it's maia's world we're just living in it

[nishnosha]

I'm so proud of Maia omg. myself and a friend of mine would sing her songs together back in 2017/2018 and to think that Maia's now on Tiny Desk is just

[sacriste]

She was one of my favorite artists of 2020 in Spotify. Her recorded music is a demonstration of how good pop music can be.

[galenavang]

When the time stamp thingy for Bon iver says Bony Bear XD thats so beautiful

[Hell_mars]

I’m so glad people are getting to know her more and we get to hear her voice way more then before ❤️

[iheartbish]

I rarely connect with a musician so quickly...i adore these lyrics, her voice, and the sound. BEAUTIFUL!!!!

[Kawkkee]

Glad to hear her in this tiny desk concert! Her music has been accompanied me through the whole 2020, and will continue in 2021 :)