Sech: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Tiny Desk is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with an "El Tiny" takeover of the (home) concert series, featuring J Balvin, Camila Cabello and several more musicians from all corners of Latinidad.

Stefanie Fernández | October 4, 2021
The first florid trills of piano wash in, and Sech is here to celebrate reggaetón in its home. The scene: the light-soaked Biblioteca de la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá Roberto F. Chiari.
Sech arrives with a book he places on the table. His blazer bears his name, the isthmus of Panama and its flag, and the likeness of Panamanian Yankee great Mariano Rivera and his jersey number, 42 (the namesake of Sech's most recent album). He approaches the mic for a silky version of "Playa" that, like the rest of his Tiny Desk set, is nearly entirely acoustic.

Sech's discography is itself a place of learning for the Latin pop industry he has reinvigorated. The history of reggaetón often dwells disproportionately on Puerto Rico in the 1990s, overshadowing its creation by Black Panamanians in the 1980s with plena and reggae en español, born from Jamaican reggae and dancehall and iterated in Río Abajo, Sech's hometown in Panama City. "Otro Trago" introduced Sech's honeyed, melodic vocal range as a promising young player in an industry enamored with its own reductive powers. In Sech's hands, reggaetón is given the care of a people's history.

Music fills every corner of the library, from the violin-DJ-bass trio nested in the second-floor balcony, to the background vocals, keys and drums (anchoring the whole thing in lush, acoustic dembow), to Sech and his guitarist and producer Jhon el Divertido in the forefront. The sterile fluorescents among the stacks shift to disco lighting for the bitter ex-text "911," which eventually melts into an a cappella chorus. It ends on a melancholy violin riff that blooms seamlessly into the jazzy opening of "Sal y Perrea." Sech might be singing about stalking an ex's social media or pointing a newly single woman toward tequila to forget some payaso, but his modern textbook feels timeless in this hybrid arrangement, showing — as well as telling — the story of dembow and its power to heal.

SET LIST
• "Playa"
• "911"
• "Sal y Perrea"

MUSICIANS
• Sech: vocals
• Michael Ward: DJ
• Abdiel Morales: drums
• Rasta Lloyd: bass
• Jhonattan Reyes: guitar
• Omar Perez: vocals
• Anabel De Jesus: vocals
• Marie Camille Alerte: vocals
• Florlenz Alerte: vocals
• Julio Montes: vocals
• Joshue Ashby: violin

CREDITS
• Video: Moises Morales, Andrés González
• Audio: Guillermo "Memo" Bailey, Ramón González, Eduardo "Cerebro" Fernandez
• Gaffer: Guillermo Yanguez
• Grip: Eric González
• Assistant Camera: Antonio Zaenz, Abdiel González
• Backline: Ricardo "Yoshi" Castillo

TINY DESK TEAM
• Producer: Anamaria Sayre
• Video Producer: Maia Stern
• Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
• Alt.Latino 'El Tiny' Team: Felix Contreras, Reanna Cruz, Anaïs Laurent, Stefanie Fernandez
• Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
• Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
• Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #tinydesk #eltiny #sech

[Sech]

Gracias NPR❤️ me encantó cantar con ustedes

[jereberrios]

Nuevas facetas de Ibai: guitarrista de Sech.

[caballoblanco]

Este Tiny Desk merecía al menos un par de canciones más, Sech es mucho talento!!!

[MelechhRAW]

Playlist:
0:00 Playa
3:41 911
7:29 Sal y Perrea

[athannon]

sech es el divino del reggaeton actual.

[jorgeaugustoparradomingues]

Tremendo artista se gastan los Panameños, grande Sech, buenísimo Tiny Desk. (Chile)

[valerycantogarcia]

Con audífonos es arte, no autotune, no playback, simplemente orgullosa ❤️❤️🇵🇦

[cass.bienesyraices]

Que orgulloso deben sentirse los Panameños, porque yo lo estoy de Sech como latino (México). Que pedazo de artista con el micrófono.

[justdevine]

I have no idea what he's singing about not quite this fluent but I'm diggin' his sound. Thanks NPR and Happy Hispanic Heritage month.

[bomp]

Bro, necesitamos más reggaetón acústico, esta mierda es excelente. Tanto éste tiny desk como el de ozuna, escucharlo con audífonos es precioso... Ojalá puedan seguir haciendo cosas así...

[latinmusic_record]

Que nivel de sech...aquí no sale cualquiera....Los artistas de computadora jamás superarán esto....

[skimbasegod]

In search of good music NPR helped me find Sech📍even though it’s not in English it’s a vibe!

[justdevine]

Love his jacket.nice tribute to #42 and Panama.

Remember to read the description box guys, it includes a wealth of information.

[elpollo]

Cero autotune 👏👏👏👏👏 la gente de PTY siempre representando el bloque!!!!🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦

[carolinamoraleszambrano]

el mejor tiny desk de un reggaetonero ❤️tremenda voz

[jumngie]

Panameño en tiny desk! 🤍 que orgullo!!!

[DuniaRomero]

Como panameña 🇵🇦 y amante de muchos estilos musicales me siento BIEN orgullosa de esta producción de Sech en Tiny Desk. Simplemente perfección. Absolutamente todo: arreglos musicales, vestuario, sonido, producción, escenario, todo.

Muchas felicidades a todo el equipo que lo hizo posible y gracias a Sech y su banda por dejar esta bandera bien en alto 🇵🇦

[ninellsanchez]

Grande Sech 🇵🇦 la transición de “me olvide” con “sal y perrea”, el vestuario y la biblioteca de la ACP ♥️✨

[itsJonathanFranco]

Que grande, como se nota que entiendo el significado de la esencia de un Tiny Desk

[TheMafer]

Que belleza la jacket. Viva Panamá. Felicidades Sech.