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.

Felix Contreras | January 12, 2022
It’s fair to say Mon Laferte is a musical chameleon. The Chilean vocalist’s output of late has covered a vast swath of musical styles from Latin America, from big-band mambo to electronic dance club jams with a hint of reggaeton, and a few stops in between. The secret to the successes of these stylistic changes is the level of imagination and creativity she infuses in each turn.

So, it didn’t surprise me that her contribution to our Tiny Desk (home) concert series is a visual treat as much as it is a musical one. The opening strains of “Tu Falta de Querer” introduce a cabaret-styled small orchestra and a character who appears to be left at the altar of a small intimate colonial church. She’s in torch-singer mode throughout the four-song performance; take these lyrics from the first cut: “Ahora domiré / Muy profundamente para olvidar / Quisiera hasta la muerte, para no pensar / Me forro pa’ quitarme esta amarguara” (“Now I'll sleep very deeply to forget I would like, until death, not to think. I erase you to take away this bitterness”)

The 10-piece small orchestra is a combination of Mexican folkloric music and European chamber music, mixing the ukulele-like jarana, an oboe, a tuba, and the violins often used in mariachi. The arrangements are the perfect vehicle for Laferte’s impassioned combination of blues and ranchera vocals.

There is much to appreciate in Laferte’s celebration of the spiritual (the church setting) and the passions of everyday life (her torch singing). In fact, I can’t think of many other vocalists who would be able to pull this off with as much grace, style and artistic vision as Mon Laferte does.

SET LIST
"Tu Falta de Querer"
"Por Qué Me Fui A Enamorar de Ti"
"Se Me Va A Quemar El Corazón"
"Placer Hollywood"

MUSICIANS
Mon Laferte: vocals
Sebastián Aracena: guitar, docerola
Tonatiuh Mejía: piano
Diana Gaby: tuba
Obed Calixto: guitar, docerola, jarana
Santiago Ortiz: percussion
Alonso Sánchez: flute
Ismael Fernandez: clarinet
Arielle Amezcua: oboe
Braulio Hernandez: bassoon
Obed Vazques: horns, spoons
Alex Soto: vocals Auro: vocals
Cancamusa: vocals
Carmen Ruíz: vocals
Daniel Quién: vocals
Ele Huex: vocals
Eli Moya: vocals
Grtsch: vocals
Irina Índigo: vocals
La Morra De La Vihuela: vocals
Lorena Gutiérrez: vocals
Mati Santos: vocals
Maxulyses: vocals
Mica Schlieper: vocals
Rulo: vocals
Vivir Quintana: vocals

CREDITS
Director and Editor: Camila Grandi
Production Manager: Fernanda Casillas
Producer: Florencia Quinteros
Production Assistants: Pamela Diaz, Jimena Garate
Assistant Director: David Castañón
Color: Sergio Bejarez
Director of Photography: Sebastián Cantillo
Camera 1 AC: Sofía Ramos
Camera 2 AC: Javier Silvestre González
Camera Op: Pablo Bernst
Photographer: Fija Mayra Ortiz
Gaffer: Gustavo Calderón Rodriguez
Steadicam: Enrique Moncada
Camera Manager: Guillermo Vidal
Digital Imaging Tech: Juan José Olivares
Art Direction: Josechu Garrido
Swings: Julio Santos, Eric Jasso
Musical Production and Direction: Manu Jalil
Mixing Engineer: Abelardo Rivera
Mastering Engineer: Chalo González
Musical Arrangement: Manú Jalil, Marco Uriel Jiménez
Recording Engineer: Manú Jalil, Juan José León
Location: Bajo La Montaña

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
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

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