Jorja Smith: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

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Watch Jorja Smith play "On My Mind", "Teenage Fantasy" and "Blue Lights" at the Tiny Desk.

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June 11, 2018 | Sidney Madden -- It's a good thing the weather was gloomy the day Jorja Smith rolled in for her Tiny Desk concert. Even though the skies threatened rain and thunder, the overcast light lingering in our dimmed office space allowed the teardrop pendant lights, hung from the ceiling by her lighting team, to cast the desk in a warm, honey-hued glow. And while the nimble guitar strings and double-time drums of her supporting band was enough to dizzy the focus in the room, it was the U.K. singer's slow, silky cadence that anchored the performance in tranquility.

As Smith worked her way up the scales to each high note in "On My Mind" (a track usually sung over a reverberated garage beat) and "Teenage Fantasy" (a ballad to love lost written when she was 16), there wasn't an ounce of pressure evident in her face or body language. When she closed her eyes to deliver the rap verse of "Blue Lights," the anti-injustice song that first positioned her as a SoundCloud darling in 2016, a hush fell over the room in awe of her precision.

Though Smith's boldface collaborations to date range from Drake to Kali Uchis, her debut album Lost & Found is free of featured acts. Much like this Tiny Desk performance, those 12 tracks show off Smith's talent in a minimalist way — musing about life and love with the ambiguity and sense of agency that only comes with newfound freedom.

After she finished, but before retreating to the comfort of Supreme sweats, Smith and her band bestowed the Tiny Desk with a blue lava lamp signed by every member. Keep an eye out for that Easter egg in future episodes.

Set List

"On My Mind"
"Teenage Fantasy"
"Blue Lights"

MUSICIANS
Jorja Smith, Femi Koleoso, Benjamin Totten, Mutale Chashi, Amane Suganami

CREDITS
Producers: Sidney Madden, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Beck Harlan, Bronson Arcuri; Lighting: Tyler C. Trofatter; Production Assistant: Bobby Carter; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.

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nprmusic

That drummer absolutely murdered every sequence. 🙅🏿‍♂️

deshaundozier

I have such a bittersweet relationship with the tiny desk concerts because every artist sounds so amazing and unique here but I go back and listen to the same song in iTunes and most of the time it’s too digitized and missing the soul of the music like they show so beautifully here. But I truly hope Tiny Desk never stops it’s a true gift to music!!!

bhcomedynrock

what makes this tiny desk isn't just the singing but the absolutely CLEAN instrumentals

dhruvholla

she needs to make a live album, groovy and jazzy like this…band is insane

inayaa

Whoever chooses the artists at NPR has insanely good taste 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

joycechahinepiano

That drummer is phenomenal. Not only does he effortlessly display a mastery of both technical ability and creativity, he manages to play so appropriately for each song. Lovely fresh little grooves while keeping it simple when necessary. Never too much, never boring. You can't teach that kind of drumming.
I fell in love with Jorja a long time ago but this drummer has stolen my heart. Pure class.

jamesnaughton

0:00 On My Mind
3:47 Teenage Fantasy
7:56 Blue Lights

timeasafrankova

The drummers timing on “on my mind” is incredible.

marvinpetersen

I see everyone freaking out how beautiful Jorja is. Yee, sure. BUT this band is amazing. Pure talent on every instrument and extremely well played together. Kudos to the them!

vester

Imagine being born that beautiful and with a great voice too.

themasterkey

That guitar lick in on my mind sounds majestic. Drummer killed it. DONT SLEEP ON THE BASIST.

icommentonreactions

She's looking so nonchalant, which gives you the impression that what she's doing is easy. She's super talented. The way she controls her voice is amazing.

talitam.

Literally looks like she doesn’t even have to try to sing as beautifully as she does.

gwsmiles

The thing I love about Tiny Desk is that every performance is so different.
This is equally is beautiful because it’s not like a copy of any other song.

allanjensen