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The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Suraya Mohamed | January 7, 2022
Enter into esperanza spalding’s safe space for healing through music and song with a Tiny Desk (home) concert of selections from her Songwrights Apothecary Lab, (S.A.L.) project. A constant iteration of evolutionary ideas, her songwriting workshop is both a bold examination of human existence and resilience and a guided research collaboration with a collective of musicians and researchers in the practices of neuroscience, psychology and music therapy.

“All Formwelas (songs) from the S.A.L. are created through our research, divination, intuition, musicianship, taste, inspiration, and collaborative effort to design songs that enhance a specific salutary affect,” spalding writes on her project site, along with brief descriptions for each of the three Formwelas performed here.

“Formwela 3”:”a re-membering with the sun’s vast and perpetual blessing as evidenced by one’s own aliveness and capacity for creating within self and community an un-corruptible home-planet”

“Formwela 4”: “the articulation of needs streaming oxygenation through your ancestral vessel/vein of infinite life”

“Formwela 8”: “a sound at ease, with no urge to move from that comfort place”

spalding’s performance here is outstanding, and her top notch band, Loving presences (aka singers) and the Magical dance presence (aka dancer) add a dimension of creativity that amplifies the music’s message and nourishes the spirit. Green-screened walls explode to reveal a constellation of imagery that complements the flow of this seductive music. Be sure to watch until the end.

SET LIST
“Formwela 3”
“Formwela 4”
“Formwela 8”
“Formwela 3”

MUSICIANS
esperanza spalding: vocals, bass
Vuyo (Vuyolwethu) Sotashe: vocals
Safa Ishmel-Muhammad: vocals
Corey King: vocals, guitar
Matthew Stevens: guitar
Leo Genovese: piano, Farfisa, Rhodes
Aaron Burnett: saxophone
Francisco Mela: drums

LOVING PRESENCES
Donna Hope: vocals
Jeff Tang: vocals
Lileana Blain Cruz: vocals
Mariza Scotch: vocals
Lisa Lamothe: vocals
Diery Prudent: vocals
Adobuere Ebiama: vocals
Shamel Pitts: dancer

CREDITS
Director: Adrien GYSTERE Peskine
Producer: esperanza spalding
Recorded and mixed by Fernando Lodeiro
Concept, Direction, Creative Direction, Sets, Editing, Foley, Choreography: Adrien GYSTERE Peskine
Production: Héloïse Darcq
Additional Production, Set Design: Anthony Peskine
Additional cameras: Jessica Cochran, Daniel Santos, Meg Stacker
Assistant Sound Engineer: Quinn McCarthy
Sudan Pyramids Footage: Alexis Peskine
Wardrobe: JOJO ABOT
Recorded at The Creamery Studio

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Video Producer: Kara Frame
Audio Mastering: Andy Huether
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Bobby Carter, Maia Stern, Josh Rogosin, Joshua Bryant, Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #esperanzaspalding