Stephen Thompson | December 5, 2022
Belgian dance-pop superstar Stromae puts on one of the best live shows in the world ā hereās a two-song set from 2015, presented as evidence ā but his stage presentation is tough to strip down. To say nothing of the light show, Stromaeās throbbingly impeccable arrangements involve the extensive use of pre-recorded tracks, all of which are frowned upon at the Tiny Desk. So, given a simple three-word assignment (āno preset soundsā), his team set about re-creating Stromaeās music so that it could be performed in real time.
This involved more gleaming tech than we could have ever imagined when we launched Tiny Desk concerts nearly 15 years ago ā veritable banks of laptops, mixers and synthesizers, with multiple producers working out of frame ā but damned if every sound in this set wasnāt crafted and played live on the spot. Stromae and his team had to come a day early for hours of setup and rehearsals, and even the bandās clothing was handpicked from the singerās fashion line, but what they produced felt loose-limbed and organic in the spirit of the series.
It helps that, as heard on this yearās outstanding Multitude, Stromaeās songs draw from a deep well of lived emotion. Backed by three members of the Bulgarian womenās choir Yasna Voices, Stromae kicked off his set with āLāenfer,ā a wrenching acknowledgement of suicidal thoughts. The songās chorus, translated to English, reads, āSometimes Iāve had suicidal thoughts and Iām not proud of it / Sometimes you feel itād be the only way to silence them / All these thoughts putting me through hell.ā
From there, Stromaeās song selections conveyed lighter moods, but even his most danceable tracks contain undercurrents of darkness and conflict: āSantĆ©ā is a toast to those who canāt celebrate, āAlors on danseā (from 2009ās Cheese) embraces dancing as a way to drown out lifeās hardships and āMon amourā attempts to reassure a lover against a backdrop of infidelity and dysfunction. On its own, each track is a heady cocktail of painstaking craft and hard-won joy. Taken together, they form a portrait of a world-class showman at the height of his powers.
SET LIST
āLāenferā
āSantĆ©ā
āAlors on danseā
āMon amourā
MUSICIANS
Stromae: vocals
Manoli Avgoustinatos: keyboards, charango, vocals
Yoshi Masuda: keyboard, vocals
Simon LeSaint: drums, vocals
Florian Rossi: keyboard, vocals
Yasna Voices NY Bulgarian Womenās Choir, directed by Vlada Tomova
Mimi Berkova
Larkin Grimm
Vlada Tomova
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bob Boilen
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Pierre Kattar, Sofia Seidel
Production Assistants: Jill Britton, AlantƩ Serene
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Kara Frame, Ashley Pointer, Teresa Xie
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
#stromae #tinydesk #nprmusic
@nprmusic
2 months ago
WIN A TRIP TO SEE A TINY DESK CONCERT! Enter here for your chance to win by supporting the content you love: bit.ly/tiny-desk-giveaway (enter before 3/28/24 at 11:59pm PT!) Now the fun fine print stuff... No purchase or donation required for entry. Void where otherwise restricted or prohibited by law. Must be 18 years or older and a resident of the 50 us states, D.C. or Canada (excluding Quebec)) to enter. Entry deadline is March 28, 2024 at 11:59:59pm pt. Odds depend on the number of entries received. ARV of total prize: $2,300. Max. 10,000 entries per person. Official rules, including an alternative free method of entry, can be found at propeller.la/support/1936/official-rules.
36 |