This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover.
Think about the burden of not solely being a well-known and revered musician but in addition an indelible icon of your nation’s people custom. That’s the mantle that Carlos Vives carries for his native Colombia. Throughout his flip behind the Tiny Desk, he takes on the position with a deep sense of satisfaction and musical mastery.
In 1995, Vives launched La Tierra del Olvido, a landmark recording that launched the world to Colombia’s vallenato type. Thirty years later, this efficiency revisits a few of these songs with a 12-piece band that hardly matches in our area. The instrumentation of this band — that includes a number of members who’ve been with Vives for many years — displays the affect of Europe (accordions), Africa (alegre drums) and Indigenous cultures (gaita). There’s historical past on this music, all of which will get equal area throughout the fiery opener “La Cachucha Bacana” — there’s even an electrical guitar solo! Even when the music slows down, the deep-seated groove is unattainable to withstand.
SET LIST
- “La Cachucha Bacana”
- “Diosa Coronada”
- “Ella”
- “Agua”
- “La Tierra del Olvido”
- “Pa’ Mayte”
- “Fruta Fresca”
MUSICIANS
- Carlos Vives: vocals, harmonica
- Daniel Cadena: guitar
- Andrés Leal: guitar, tiple, cuatro
- Luis Ángel “El Papa” Pastor: bass
- Mayte Montero: gaita, maracas
- Kike Cuao Jr.: legüero, guacharaca, percussion
- Darwin Escorcia: caja, alegre
- Adrian Viáfara: cununos, clarinet, background vocals
- Carlos Iván Medina: keys
- Christian Camilo Peña: accordion
- Melissa Mejia Flomin: background vocals, percussion
- Paola Lacera: background vocals
- Rashid “El Bombón” Zawady: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Felix Contreras
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Sequence Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Body, Sofia Seidel
- Audio Engineers: Josephine Nyounai, Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez
- Manufacturing Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Zayrha Rodriquez
- Sequence Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Govt Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Sequence Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
