Naia Izumi: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
- May 14, 2018 | Bob Boilen -- I am so proud of our 2018 Tiny Desk Contest winner, Naia Izumi. The band he brought and the songs they played for this winning Tiny Desk Concert made us all even prouder.
Naia was chosen after we reviewed nearly 5,000 video entries. And the talent that came to us through all those submissions was astonishing. Naia Izumi won us over with his mind-boggling and unique style of guitar playing - a combination of tapping on the fingerboards and soul-filled whammy bar-note bending. And his multi-octave singing range blended so eloquently with his guitar stylings.
"Soft Spoken," the song he submitted, felt singular and unparalleled to our panel of judges which included past Tiny Desk contest winner Tarriona "Tank" Ball, Tiny Desk alum Sylvan Esso and Gaby Moreno, along with NPR family members Talia Schlanger (WXPN), Russ Borris (WFUV), Toki Wright (The Current) and the All Songs Considered team of Robin Hilton and myself. It's a song, as I hear it, that speaks to the power inherent in the gentle and quieter voices that are often drowned out by the outspoken and boisterous ones. Its title was originally "Soft Spoken Woman" and, as we later learned, Naia had identified as a woman for nearly seven years. More recently, as he said in an interview with Washingtonian Magazine, "I'm not into that anymore because I just want to relax with biology and be comfortable with what I have."
Naia is often a one-man band playing on the streets with a drum machine. But for his Tiny Desk Concert he brought bassist Adam Matijasevic and drummer Kynwyn Sterling. He'd met Kynwyn after submitting one of his songs to a math rock Facebook group. And that's the thing: Naia's music draws from so many spheres of sound. There's that punctual, rhythmic, mathematical pulse to what he does, but there's also a fluid, almost African Kalimba sound in there as well. They're two sounds I wouldn't often think of as coexisting.
We're about to go out on the road with Naia Izumi to 10 cities. We'll be joined by some of the other Contest entrants that captured our attention and they'll share the bill alongside Naia. And though there is only one Contest winner, we discovered so many other great talents that we hope to feature in the future.
Remember that the spirit of the Contest is intended to bring out the best in you, to gather with friends and to create. Thank you for being a part of something so filled with magic. It was an honor to watch what you created.
SET LIST
"Soft Spoken"
"As It Comes"
"Soul Gaze"
MUSICIANS
Naia Izumi (vocals, guitar), Adam Matijasevic (bass), Kynwyn Sterling (drums)
CREDITS
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern, Niki Walker, Beck Harlan; Production Assistant: CJ Riculan; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.
There are days when I think I play the guitar, and then there are days when i realize that I just own a guitar. This is one of those days.
lol
one of which days? there are days when you think you can play and days when you realize you just own a guitar and that day was one of those days. One of WHICH DAYS??? one of the days you think you can play or one of the days when you realize you just own a guitar? ANswer this post I have to knooowwwww uuuggggghhhhhhhh
Yeah but a high degree of proficiency isn't necessarily more conducive then artistic vision is to making good music.
my banjo owns me...
@@Sharingan6138 im pretty sure he/she meant that the day they made that comment was a day they realized they only own a guitar!
Damn. The use of the volume knob swells and pitch changes during his solo. Great display of creative and technical ability. Congrats to him !
Karl Rupp Yeah, and it goes perfectly with the soft spoken vibe of the track. Good solo, indeed.
Capital E for Expression... and Effectiveness... and an A for Affecting.
Guitarists clicked the video to judge his playing. :v
that vibrato and almost delay sound reminds me of john martyn's "small hours"
and the tone knob wahs! unf
His solo on the first song is perfect! Instant fan.
This is what u call a hidden gem
This is brilliant, another worthy winner.I also love the drummers expression. "I can do this in my sleep. Allow me to demonstrate."
Gerry Gaughan 😂😂😂
Nina Simone trouble in mind
Hahah we all get the blind stare from time to time. Drumming is a pretty all-brain-consuming activity.
I’ve hung out with her once, she’s an amazing drummer!
occasionally she also looks like she is saying "I can do this and read the spines of those books on the wall at the same time. Allow me to demonstrate."
This is like soul mixed with math rock (e.g., the guitar tapping), nice!
Michael couldnt have said it better myself
Throw some blues in there as well. This musician is insanely talented.
True , very mellow and nice style , it is sweet and smooth like butter
they call it neo soul. another cool artist is shalfi
His voice is soft and raw while still conveying the pure emotion behind his music. No one deserved this Tiny Desk opportunity more than Naia Izumi, congratulations to a truly talented musician.
Such a cool origin story, too
Yep! Hobo Johnson and The Lovemakers also blew up because of it as well!
Prog tapping on TDC, how could I have not seen it sooner. What a masterpiece
The judges have not failed in picking the Tiny Desk Winner for the past 4 years. They're all creatively brilliant.
Adriana Auten totally agree!
I'm a 70 year-old rocker who used play guitar semi-professionally in the 1960s (and I still do play). This is the sort of music that I would never like in a million years - until I actually heard this! This guy is unbelievably original and talented. Time I changed my guitar style somewhat, I think!!
You should definitely look into the math rock genre if you like the way this guy plays.
Should've included "Tiny Desk Contest Winner" in the title and this would gotten a lot more views
So much can happen in a couple of years. I discovered this girl before my social media hiatus and she was something I had never seen. Playing these weirdest of songs in the streets. Now she is a he and performing in Tiny Desk. Everything else is still the same if not better. Unbelievable and the bestest!
What?
Christo Boshoff please check the info of this video. I never had any idea and I'm just happy to see her more comfortable with himself now.
BTW, in Finnish we can't play with these words like this, since we only have a single pronoun for the ladies and the gentlemen. It makes things a lot easier.
Anyways, none of this matters - I was overwhelmed by her talent a couple of years ago and so happy to see, he's killing it even more now.
Jukka Ollikainen he...he used to identify as a woman and now indentifies as a male
Naia was a guy who then was transitioning to a woman and after a few years decided to stop the transition.
@@olilerno Stopping the transition doesn't mean you stop identifying to the gender you wanted to biologically transition to. Trans people looking cis exist as well.
I would LOVE to see this guy collaborate with some of the West African musicians out there right now (Bombino, Rokia Traore, Vieux Farka Toure, etc). They would melt our faces.
Him and Vieux Farka Toure is a collab I never knew I needed in my life until your comment.
WHAT a round of applause at 4:55!! I've never heard such appreciation at Tiny Desk
Thank you for showing us this incredible artist. NPR is one of the only major music outlets that promotes artful music.
Riffs for days
Great to see Naia Izumi getting credit. Kynwyn Sterling is also a super cool drummer.
I love playing w/ Kynwyn any chance I get homie for life !!!!
Daymmm he is good . This took my stress away in like 2 sec
This is terrific. Congrats Naia!
That Drummer is smooooth
Thank you, wonderful musicians
Can't stop listening to Naia! Such talent
I want to listen to this all day every day, amazing
Thank you for for making this possible. Thank you to the band for broadening my horizon.
I so love that guitar playing, OMG!
Had to come back to see this again. Great job, Naia!
What a unique style! Love it!
Congratulations to Naia and the rest of the band. Great performance!
This is so effortlessly incredible.
What a raw talent, impressive!
I’ve been following this cat for a bit and I am so glad to see where he is going. Super talented and inspirational.
NAIA I always knew that you were beyond talented. This is awesome.
You got it boy! ✊ Love youre voice and the way you play! Thanks for the music! 👏👏👏
I want to give Naia such a big hug and thank you for sharing this talent. ♥️
Naia deserved this so much. Been following for years and love the work that this person has put out into the world. Been Grinding on the streets for TOO LONG. Keep going!
Thank you Naia (and company) for this great set. I hope you have great success, you clearly deserve it!
I am so happy for naia! I remember seeing them on coffee and riffs and it was truly memorizing
50 seconds in and im already sickened by how fantastic this guy is
Excellent selection for the winner of this year.
Just great. So pleased with this.
Awestruck. Thank you Tiny Desk for bringing us genius!
Message to Naia and the band. AMAZING.
Incredible I say....Unique and super talented....melodies beautifully executed, wow!!!
I never get tired of watching this artist! Perfection‼️🎯💯
Wow! Soulful and absolutely unique. Thank you so much for giving Izumi a spotlight; his music is a gift.
What a great performance (and great taste in guitars too). Talk about "showing up and throwing down!" This live performance was every bit as good as Naia's record albums! I am so excited to go see Naia live!
I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms. I don't know if I've ever been this awestruck on the first listen of a three song performance. This is simply one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard
Love your sound. I just met your Mom today. She is so proud of you. And for good reason. You're very talented . Keep up the good work.
Well deserved. This is an outstanding performance. My mouth is wide open just watching awesomeness.
Lovely person. Unbelievable performer. Genius. Instant fan.
He's so humble and shy but has so much to be confident about. What an amazing human.
Thank you! So much appreciation and gratitude for being true to your soul and creating music that is pure. You've given me hope...
so much groove, I love his free style of playing
Naia Izumi continue this path because humanity needs your refreshness. Its a blessing to hear your music. God bless.
Clearly still developing his art. So much thete to work with. Love this guy. Love that drummer too. I can see those two sticking it out
this is SOOO GOOOD
Uniquely magical🙌🏾🙌🏾
I appreciate this guy's spirit.
A genius at work.
So good to see Naia getting some well deserved chance to get known. Still remember when I came across his post on above mentioned Facebook group and went 'wow! this is good!!!'. Keep it up!!
"As It Comes" randomly popped in my head. It's been a couple weeks since I've watched Naia's Tiny Desk. Needless to say, his music has had a delightful impact on me!
Cogratulatio ns naia for winning your tiny desk entry I'm happy for you and will continue to support everything your doing great guitarist and singer keep the struggle going for all of us musicians.
It took exactly 5 seconds for Naia to blow me away. Amazing skills.
Wow wow wow... velvet voice and the best attitude!
great talent!!! SHOW MORE MUSIC.
Congratz!!!! It is truly great to see him make it. :)
This guy showed me that in fact there is always something to create, he made my musical and musics tastes that I had as the coolest seem outdated, just great.
This dude puts on a killer show anywhere, even on many street corners in LA/Hollywood. A true performer and inventive creative. Happy for you man!
Fantastic. Kynwyn rocks.
This was a blessing
There is so much talent out there. This great welcoming of individual expression is much appreciated. We live in a time where such talents are often resented. How mind boggling! I am thankful for all your efforts here at Tiny Desk. The negative comments and disparagements below are more a reflection on the Commenters than the Artists. So sad that these critical narcissists cannot see their role in the sad negativity and darkness they cultivate.
What are you on about?
I can count these "disparagements" by "critical narcissists" on my fingers. Most other comments are positive. It's even reflected in the dislikes, where ~1% of people disliked this video. The response is overwhelmingly positive and you're still trying to fight against a critical minority.
You claim to welcome individual expression but you shit on criticism without a second thought.
Awesome! I've been following him on Instagram for a long time. It was a cool surprise to see he had a Tiny Desk concert.
so *AMAZING*
Soft Spoken has one of the most tasteful and emotional solos I’ve ever heard. Beautiful
I am so glad he won the contest. I watched his video "application" to be on tiny desk and it was astounding.
so proud of you man! you're one hell of a guitar player i just wish i could play that way this guy is a genius so play he plays math rock
As it comes , sounds like a song from heaven for me💝💝💝
Great voice ❤❤❤❤
Wow, I'm impressed!
I love it and watch this program very well.
I listen to the music regardless of old and new genres ,but I'm surprised that there are a lot of more splendid musicians.
I didn't know him ,but came to like him instantly .
How to play the guitar is unique.Very cool and new style !!!
Very talented
Really good winner, very enjoyable to listen. It fells sweet and warm even the complexity of the riffs and metrics. His voice remember me Jeff Buckley's style and mojo. Drummer and bassits are a very tight base. I really loved the drummers technique.
INCREDIBLE .........
What a great find!
Naia is an awesome talent but the whole band is great. Love to hear more from them. And I hope he can be more confident with his vocals as I'd like to hear the lyrics more.
Amazing!!
This is freaking good.
What a unique playing style!!!
Saw this guy's entry for the Tiny Desk Concert. So glad he made it through.
Amazing. Period.
Good vibes here ❤
This is amazing. Fresh and original.
I want to continue playing my saxophone like he plays his guitar. Soulful and organic to his own.
Beautiful guitar
That guitar work is insane
Amazingly talented
Very very very talented. He finally got his shot
🔥🔥🔥NAIA🔥🔥🔥 good pick once again NPR, thx
Amazing (all of them)✌🏾❤
Great vibes!