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Toro Y Moi: Tiny Desk Concert

Don't see the video above? Click here.

Chaz Bear, who performs as Toro y Moi, is going to do what he feels. In preparation for his Tiny Desk concert, we were given two possible sound scenarios: aim to recreate the heavily electronic and lustrous aura that birthed his latest LP, Outer Peace or strip away the bells and whistles for an acoustic performance. The game-time decision was the latter and fans were treated to brand new iterations of these songs.

Toro y Moi's discography conveys that same unpredictability and showcases his affinity for a wide span of genres. While largely known as an early pioneer of chillwave, Outer Peace is anything but. It's hard-hitting, funky and directly to the point, as is this Tiny Desk concert. Stripping down such heavily produced songs could risk revealing weaknesses. In this case, the rhythms move just the same. Removing the Auto-Tune, synths and effects make way for some insightful songwriting that's often hard to hear in the recorded version.

"Life is only wishing we could load it
Level up, you've got to make a bonus
Mystic staring at his phone for oneness
Silver or black mirror, what's the difference?"

With shaker in tow, Bear sat front and center at a stool to deliver four of my favorites from Outer Peace, including "Ordinary Pleasure," with bongo assistance from Foots of Foot and Coles.

SET LIST

  • "Laws of the Universe"
  • "New House"
  • "Freelance"
  • "Ordinary Pleasure"
  • MUSICIANS

    Chaz Bear: lead vocal; Andy Woodward: drums; Tony Ferraro: piano; Patrick Jeffords: bass; Foots: bongos, shaker

    CREDITS

    Producers: Bobby Carter, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Beck Harlan, Bronson Arcuri; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Corrected: April 30, 2019 at 12:00 AM EDT
    A previous Web introduction to this story stated that performer Chaz Bundick goes by the name Chaz Bear. The musician changed his name legally to Chaz Bear in 2016.
    Bobby Carter is a leader on the Tiny Desk Concerts team for NPR Music. He's brought an ever growing roster of big names and emerging artists through NPR's HQ to squeeze behind the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen and record standout performances, including Usher, Mac Miller, Noname, Anderson.Paak and H.E.R.
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