Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: Dedicated Men Of Zion, Labess, Sofia Rei & DakhaBrakha

Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: Dedicated Men Of Zion, Labess, Sofia Rei & DakhaBrakha with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

January 11, 2021 | Bob Boilen

The Tiny Desk is teaming up with globalFEST this year for a thrilling virtual music festival: Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST. The online fest includes four nights of concerts featuring 16 bands from all over the world. From Monday, Jan. 11, through Thursday, Jan. 14, we’ll be streaming new performances at 8 p.m. ET on NPR Music’s YouTube channel and NPR.org.

Every January, I attend globalFEST at a New York City nightclub and see some of the most fantastic music I'll experience all year. Now, given the pandemic's challenges and the hardening of international borders, NPR Music and globalFEST is moving from the nightclub to your screen of choice and sharing this festival with the world. Each night, we’ll present four artists in intimate settings (often behind desks donning globes), and it's all hosted by African superstar Angélique Kidjo, who performed at the inaugural edition of globalFEST in 2004.

For our opening night, we have the gospel sounds of the Dedicated Men of Zion, the flamenco and Gypsy jazz-influenced North African sounds of Labess, the award-winning vocalist and songwriter Sofia Rei, who blends Argentine and other South American folk traditions with experimental pop and electronic music, and Tiny Desk alum DakhaBrakha, a Ukranian rock band overflowing with joy and energy. Below you’ll find short descriptions about each act, written by the globalFEST team.

0:00 WELCOME

2:30 DEDICATED MEN OF ZION

15:32 LABESS

28:07 SOFIA REI

43:40 DAKHABRAKHA

57:53 FAREWELL

DEDICATED MEN OF ZION

Dedicated Men of Zion come to you from their backyard barbecue in North Carolina, bringing with them an electrified version of sacred Gospel soul music. This family band (all related through blood or marriage) has been isolating together during the pandemic, and the members are excited to play together as an uplifting note during difficult times.

SET LIST

"Father, Guide Me, Teach Me"

"Can't Turn Me Around"

"It's A Shame"

LABESS

When we look at global arts, it's amazing to see how many traditions and nations can come together to make music together. Nowhere is that clearer than the music of Labess, an Algerian and Canadian band that is performing and recording their set from France and Colombia, proving that music has no boundaries even in times of isolation.

"Labess" means "everything is fine" in Arabic, and their flamenco and Gypsy jazz-influenced North African chaabi (folk) music brings that message to life.

SET LIST

"Yal Maknin"

"Yemma"

"La Vida Es Un Carnaval"

SOFIA REI

Recording from her apartment in Brooklyn, award-winning vocalist and songwriter Sofia Rei provides a concert that blends Argentinian and other South American folk traditions with experimental pop and electronic music. This mix of tradition and modernity is even present in her setting, which blends traditional iconography with robotic 'saints' and exuberantly grown plants with sound boards and looping pedals.

SET LIST

"Un Mismo Cielo" (The Same Sky)

"Negro Sobre Blanco" (Black On White)

"Escarabajo Digital" (Digital Beetle)

DAKHABRAKHA

Recorded from Ukraine, DakhaBrakha returns both to globalFEST and Tiny Desk. Their first globalFEST performance was in 2014, and their time with Tiny Desk in 2015 remains a favorite. We've had them in our spaces, so it's a real treat to see them in theirs, the Dakh Theater in Kyiv, where the band formed and where they've crafted their amazing catalogue of songs. Coming together, their performance maintains the energy and joy that define their music, bouncing off each other musically and emotionally.

SET LIST

"Komora"

"Vynnaya ya"

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Bob Boilen

Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith

Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin

Associate Producer: Bobby Carter

Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Maia Stern

Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey

Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

GLOBALFEST TEAM

Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, and Bill Bragin

2021 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin, and Viviana Benitez

Event Producer: Ian Thake

Host: Angélique Kidjo

Social Media Manager: Valerie French

Publicity: Brendan Gilmartin, Chart Room Media

Legal Services: Tamizdat

Legal Services: Duane Morris

Producer: THE OFFICE performing arts + film

Video Production: MODEMA Studios

THE OFFICE performing arts + film consists of Diane Eber, Rachel Chanoff, Laurie Cearley, Olli Chanoff, Erica Zielinski, Gabrielle Davenport, Catherine DeGennaro, Noah Bashevkin, Lynn Koek, Bruna D'Avila, Chloe Golding, Kyla Gardner, Zion Jackson, Tess Peppis, Scout Eisenberg

MODEMA Studios consists of Jammal Lemy (director and editor), Matt Deitsch (producer), Theo Braun (audio), and Gary Blake (editor)

Special Thanks: Joshua Feigenbaum, Mona Golub, Steven Kirkpatrick, Daniel C. Smith, Ken Umezaki

globalFEST 2021 funders include The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Québec Government Office in New York