Clear, Beautiful and Direct: Mxmtoon, Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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.

January 15, 2021 | Bob Boilen

“Hi, I’m mxmtoon, and I’m doing my Tiny Desk at the world’s biggest desk!” And so it begins, from an eerily empty New York City office building, mxmtoon sings songs filled with dreams and anxieties. Much of the music comes from her recent 2020 EPs, Dawn and Dusk. Those EPs included collaborations with Carly Rae Jepsen and Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus. For this Tiny Desk (home) concert, her sweet voice and ukulele are accompanied by Nicole Wakabayashi on piano and Cale Hawkins on guitar.

It’s been almost two years now since we first played the Oakland-based mxmtoon on All Songs Considered. She was just 18 then, singing about crying in her “prom dress” (which I’m thrilled she is performing here). Her melodies are simple, with the words up front mighty and personal. One of the first songs she released is called “Feelings Are Fatal,” which she also performs. It’s a candid song about emotions and why we’re often afraid to share them. It’s a model for what mxmtoon does so well: humble, honest songs, sung here behind a massive desk.

SET LIST
“Fever Dream”
“Prom Dress”
“Feelings Are Fatal”
“Wallflower”
“Bon Iver”

MUSICIANS
mxmtoon: vocals, ukulele
Nicole Wakabayashi: piano
Cale Hawkins: guitar

CREDITS
Video: Derrick Belcham
Audio: K. Marie Kim

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bob Boilen
Video Producer: Maia Stern
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Kara Frame, Morgan Noelle Smith
Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

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