Roomful Of Teeth: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Mix a bit of yodeling with Tuvan throat singing, add in a pinch of Sardinian cantu a tenore, fold in compositions from cutting-edge composers and you have the vocal group Roomful of Teeth. This eight-voice ensemble, which includes the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, is gleefully dismantling the traditional definition of ensemble singing right before our ears (and teeth!).

Musical descendants of the innovative extended vocal techniques of Meredith Monk, the Teeth tend to make sounds — some sweet, others alarming — that you probably haven't heard from a group of humans.

In Australian composer Wally Gunn's "The Fence is Gone," verses emerge from an infrastructure of "oh-ha" syllables and a simple drum pulse, ending with women's voices, tight in harmony, like a chord from a Casio keyboard. In Rinde Eckert's "Cesca's View," imagine a lonely cowgirl on some windswept plain. Estelí Gomez gets her yodel on, beautifully, while the three other women vocalize in close, barbershop-style harmony. It literally ends on a high note.

To finish, Teeth founder and director Brad Wells contributes "Otherwise." Warm, rounded tones in male voices contrast with a steely sheen from the women and a high drone like a Tibetan singing bowl. The harmonies take a tangy, almost Bulgarian turn, then we get something truly otherworldly. A pulsing, slightly creepy Sardinian "bim-bom" vocalise buzzes like a gigantic cicada. Dashon Burton's operatic baritone soars above it all. The agility of the voices and multicolored blend they achieve are extraordinary.

As the applause faded away, one of the Teeth said, "Thanks for letting us yell at you." No, I think it's we who are grateful — and perhaps a little stunned. --TOM HUIZENGA

Set List
Wally Gunn: "The Fence Is Gone" 0:00
Rinde Eckert: "Cesca's View" 4:30
Brad Wells: "Otherwise" 8:22

Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Tom Huizenga, Maggie Starbard; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Colin Marshall, Maggie Starbard, Susan Hale Thomas; Assistant Producer: Susannah Whittle

[TheJazzPoetAmy]

I am from the jazz standard, cabaret tradition. I've also sung in choirs and with bands. This blew me away. I learned long ago to never limit my musical experience and appreciation by leaning on the familiar. This is astonishing stuff! The ability to make sound with one's own body is a small miracle. These people rock the boat, and I could NOT be happier!

[vgreddog]

I have been obsessed with Roomful of Teeth since I first heard Caroline Shaw's "Partita." This group is so good.

[keenansaiz]

wow! their vocal capabilities are so diverse and incredible. The yodeling song gave me the chills. Incredible compositions and vocalists. Anyone who loves chamber music, throat singing, experimental accapella, will recognize how skilled these people are. I was blown away! 

[purplevolution]

one of my favorite things to do is watch the way they look at eachother while they sing. this is genuine music making.

[alhambralions]

We just got home from a Roomful of Teeth concert. Our feet haven't yet touched the ground. We were incredibly moved - lifted, even- by what we heard, and felt. Being in a small theater with this ensemble was like being inside a pipe organ. The amount of practice, coordination, imagination and talent required to make this music is unfathomable. If you have the opportunity to see them perform, do so.

[rebeccasniffen]

They came to my school and sang with my choir, and I sang with them and for them, then saw them perform that evening. They're an Amazing group :)

[thebananafactor]

I've been waiting for this one. Dissonant. Resonant. Did not disappoint. Thanks to the composers, performers, and NPR.

[ThomAvella]

I shudder to think what some of the people in this comment section would think of other sorts of contemporary classical music. This is quite tame compared to a lot of what's out there. It's still awesome though.

[jackaslope]

when it first started I was like "eh"

and then the huge wave of sound hit me and I changed my mind very quickly 

[ricksaunders]

Fascinating stuff! Thanks NPR for giving my ears a challenge. Keep 'em coming! Cheers!

[oaruizlopez]

Amazing. Great to performance and music. All those open harmonies with all those great moments of harmonic tension as well. Loved it. My baby boy was just smiling and harmonizing with it. HARMONY!!!!

[peetvanwyk]

I can consume copious amounts of that Balkanny stuff, bring more, God bless you!!

[discoteque]

Wow! Amazing! Thanks NPR for bringing this amazing band. Human voice can definitively be astonishing. If you are a musicuan or have your ears educated, then you will sure appreciate the value of their vocal harmonies and different colors. 

[lyrix]

Love Caroline Shaw! First heard of her in the 'Meet The Composer' podcast and I've been really enjoying listening to her compositions since then. :)

[beadkritz]

I was completely entranced by the voices and the expressive faces of the singers. Exquisite! Marvelous!

[ThePauseMenuVlog]

Thank you NPR. Music is for everyone. If you dont like a certain song or band you dont have to listen. But those who open their minds to new things are better for it. Thank you again

[abhishekh]

I don't understand how people find this so unlistenable, it's pretty damn cool.

[godfreyfrancesco]

Lots of people talking about whether this music is subjectively "good" or "bad", but nobody is talking about the quality of performers here and the unity of them as an ensemble. It's difficult to listen to something new, I'm sure. But, imagine trying to learn how to sing something "new"

[musicartgeek]

I come here occasionally to re-experience this. Tonight was, once again, not a disappointment. Wow.

[underthatch]

I wouldn't listen to this style of music regularly but it definitely has a place in the whole musical landscape and I enjoyed listening to something so very different to the norm. Fascinating actually. Not sure how they notate or follow the music ;)