Banks: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
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- čas přidán 3. 11. 2014
- Tiny Desk Concerts often require creative and logistical transformations, from electric bands going acoustic to big bands squashing into a tiny space to many players gathering around a single microphone. But the setting is particularly challenging for vocalists, especially those accustomed to heavy production, effects or - in the case of recent guest T-Pain - generous dollops of Auto-Tune.
T-Pain's effects-less set grabbed more attention at the time, given the extent to which digital alterations are expected of him, but this performance by Banks is, in its own way, an even greater high-wire act. Banks' terrific full-length debut, Goddess, is constructed out of layer upon layer of electronics, beats, samples and other means of submerging the singer's voice in swirling accoutrements. With assistance from keyboardist/guitarist John Anderson and percussionist Derek Taylor, she's not all alone behind the Tiny Desk, but her expressive voice is fully exposed here.
Kicking off her three-song set with "Beggin For Thread," Banks sets the scene in vulnerable, breathily seething fashion before opening the throttle in her choruses. On record, she's placed at the center of lavish productions, each suitable for throbbing remixes and banks of swirling lights. At the Tiny Desk, though, she serves notice that she's a powerful singer in her own right - and that heavy production needn't be the product of necessity. --STEPHEN THOMPSON
Set List:
"Beggin For Thread" 0:01
"Alibi" 4:23
"Brain" 8:04
Credits:
Producers: Bob Boilen, Maggie Starbard; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Becky Lettenberger, Maggie Starbard; Assistant Producer: James Clark; photo by James Clark/NPR - Hudba
please, invite her again so she can sing songs from The Altar.
Yes! My thoughts EXACTLY!!!!
and III !
YES!
ord?
The Billboard performance slays that...
Banks is EASILY one of the most creative, beautiful and under-rated artists out there.
i never know who she's singing about but i know he ain't shit
YES!
Esta Fortaleza yes bitch😂😂🤘🏻🤘🏻
hahahaha, best comment I've read all day
he aint shiiiiit
You better say it....HA!
she seriously should release an acoustic album, this shit's amazing.
+Julian needssomereggae Yeah i actually much prefer the acoustic versions over the originals.
YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!
+Julian needssomereggae Agreed. This is wayyy better than her album.
Brickhaus NOOOO THE PRODUCERS KKNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING!!!!!!!
Julian needssomereggae your profile pic is sssooooo fucking creepy !!
But yeah I totally agree lolsz
This girl released one of the best albums of 2014 if you ask me.
I love how she like almost loses herself, then remembers and comes back in.
Queen. So in love with her spirit .
Incredibly sexy
i will never ever get bored of this album. gives me mad nostalgia and makes me feel just some typa way.
To this day, Goddess does something to me mentally and physically that no other album does. It really puts me in a state of mind where it’s half nostalgia, half reflecting. That album truly captures such a specific point in my life.
Me too❤
Can we please take a moment to appreciate how confident she is when she's singing, but as soon as the music stops and the crowd starts clapping, the intimacy of the performance makes her bashful. She is so precious.
Here in 2024…. gosh this album hit so hard when I was 18. Still speaks to me the same. She is a GODDESS.
I'm impressed she can maintain her lower pitch live, not a lot of artists can.
Also, can we talk about her face?? She looks amazeballs.
she always look awesometastic ♥
Most people's lower register is trash
@@shankapa3182 shes a reptilian
There’s no talk g. Just look
This performance of "Brain" is breathtaking. She makes a CHOICE to sing, break, lose herself a bit, and FEEL these lyrics she is singing. While I am sure she could make it perfect and polished, she CHOOSES not to, to make it more real and raw. That to me is real musicianship. A lot of people below can't seem to grasp that...
it's pure art. poetic beauty
@Martin H I agree, I don't get the top comments, because she sounds great to me, I'm not sure how she could make it more polished, are they talking about hearing her breathing or something because that's just how it is with a live performance.
I'd say, they can't seem to grasp the whole idea of music then which is all about propagating emotions, moods from one to another. It's not about being polished, fine-tuned, perfect, glossy, it's about being natural, meaningful, emotional.
I actually like the fact that she doesn't sound perfect. It's part of her whole style. She even admits in interviews that she's no way close to a professional (singing wise,) but she learns as she goes. I personally love Banks and her style.
I think she underestimates herself. Her tecnique is really good, actually. Try listening to her without watching her, then it becomes quite evident, what an amazing singer she is. She just does not have a lot of attitude, yet.
@@Joantiech Yeah, she has an attitude now! She slays❤
@@Joantiech I love her attitude. Makes her special
what a voice. what a face as well...
Yeah nice voice. Your Drowning cover is awesome btw.
Indeed Sarah! I'm in love with this girl's music and you!! :*
Your face and voice ain't half bad, either!
says the girl with both
If your the girl on the picture, BANKS isnt even lookin halfgood as you.
Brain is definitely one of my favorite songs, phonically and lyrically
Yes it's amazing production. My top 5.
I come back to watch this pretty much every other day
That vibrato at 10:20 damn. the vocals on this woman are phenomenal
This woman is damn near perfection. I love everything about her.
+rockwjz She's not near perfection. She's definition of the One. Same here, though.
I've watched this so many times... It makes me wanna cry when she belts stuff out. She's a goddess.
she really is a 'goddess' hehe.
hgrey grey nice pun.
Elizabeth Hailand *Slow clap*
+Elizabeth Hailand SHE IS!!! ♥
However, you got this.
I come back to this almost weekly. TOOOOOOO good!!!!!!!
Her hand gestures are amazing.
AURORA wants to have a word
She's natural in her gesture
@@thesassynerd shes a reptilian shapeshifter thats why it looks that way
@@at_oussama both of are Gemini..
that's why Banks is writing 'Brain'. Mercury is all about intelligence and communication
..
When she belts out Brain... Jesus... she's simply amazing!
I love how shy she gets after she finishes a song
wowww. she killed me when she went an octave up at end of beggin for thread.. ive always loved her music and ive always loved the raw emotion of the tone of her voice but i didnt know she was that talented.. i just really liked the recordings but this is fucking amazing in every way
At 3:17 when she let loose. Oh god that was amazing.
sure
I wish we could hear more of that singing.
not expected😱
Lucas Chagas Paes Menezes has i
Floored me
her highlight and contour looks so damn good! slay banks
Just saw her live for her III tour. She’s evolved as an artist, invite her back!
would die to see her do sawzall and hawaiian mazes on here! that album is top tier
The little smile she does at the end of every song I can't! She goes from like a hard stare down to that smile and it kills me!
I've probably listened to Brain like a million times, the lyrics and everything are so emotional and when I finally saw her live I literally died. She is amazing!
Hell yeaahh
its my favorite song of hers
brain was my instant fav when i first listened to the album and is still my fav. ughhhhhh it's so simple, only two verses, but so packed with emotion and meaning and AMAZINGNESS!!!!
You literally died? Well... welcome back!
😂 hahahaha the Goddess resurrected me with a hug & a kiss on the cheek
I really like the style she uses on the last song. The vibrato and anger she uses really add definition to the song. It's lit.
how the fuck is this flat? she goes from falsetto, to low range, to high range, she does a million runs throughout the performance. she has a lot of technique and control of her voice. i like it how people that clearly dont know shit are commenting on here like they're fucking mozart. please do your research.
Preach!
Amen to that👏
Word!
I agree for the most part about the hyper-critical nature of music consumption over the internet. Everyone's a critic when it is so unwarranted. Even watching singing competition shows make me cringe now. People who haven't the first clue on what makes a voice are giving their opinions when they could just as easily push someone to injure themselves.
But with Banks music it's more of a spoken word onto pitch than anything.. so naturally there shouldn't be much of a pitch issue. I mean.. she's singing mostly in a register that's below her speaking voice. You can hear how hard it is on her voice, though. She sounds pretty hoarse. Probably smokes. Pretty hard for chicks to get that low. When she finally sings in something similar to a mix it sounds much better. You can tell she was a raw talent discovery and has recently started seeing a vocal coach. Notice how she angles her vowels to be very narrow? Listen to around the lines around 3:45 and onward. Almost sounds like "Strehhhped Dehhhn to" etcetc.. That's on purpose. It's like a temporary band aid when someone like Banks here is already popular, isn't really trained, but needs to figure out how to get through a tour without destroying her voice. You eventually keep some of that vowel narrowing, but when you learn to mix properly you're able to pull off the chest power and just keep that tiny bit of connection with an abundance of air flow. She has a long road ahead of her in that department. Her vibrato isn't a real vibrato. She conjures it from her throat instead of the diaphragm. A lot of people do this. It ends up sounding like a warbling than that beautiful fluctuation of volume and air flow.
I'm rambling. But if anyone's interested just google Speech Level Singing. Been doing it for nearly a decade now and if I've learned one thing it's that: going to a vocal coach is like going to a gym. You don't walk in and walk out with muscles. It's a long process. And people who are good singers still work with coaches to continually maintain their "muscle growth" and continue to "gain muscle growth". It's horribly ignorant when people look down condescendingly on people who take lessons. They have no idea what it takes to keep a voice healthy and survive singing for an hour every night. Most people couldn't read a book out loud for an hour every night without going hoarse.
Trevor Koch
That's a very interesting and thoughtful comment you made. Thanks Trevor. I'm interested in your thoughts on how someone like Florence Welch keeps from blowing her vocal cords out.
She's one of those artists you just want everyone to like but she's just not everyone's cup of tea. That's what ends up making her so special. But I always dream one day she would go mainstream except everyones tastes change to fit her so she can stay the same 🖤
Love it when an artist, especially one who's music is quite electronic/layered/sampled in album form, can strip it right back and still be amazing just from the power of their voice. . Banks is awesome!!
NPR, can you guys please ask her back for a second concert? I'd love to hear stripped down versions of songs from 'The Altar'
And from III!
Brain is so amazing! She's a wonderful performer 😍 I'm crying!
I'm in love with Alibi and Under The Table. But I will always love This is What It Feels Like and Brain because those were the first songs I heard of hers.
Same
This is what it feels like is one of my favorite song ever by her
Anyone else focusing on her contour and highlight gimme dem cheekbones
ugh same kept staring at her glow
exits8481 y
Hah
H
Nuukkju
Kuukjkj
Ju
I
U
gimme
Yassssss
Hehe yea
I love her voice, that vibrato is so frickin cool
She sounds amazing. So soulful, it's the little imperfections that make it dope. Obviously flew right over the heads of a lot of these folks in this thread. Banks is the TRUTH!
her low notes are so simple and deep and sexual then she hits tHOSE HIGH NOTES AND DAMN GIRL SKLJDFLSKFS
by far, the coolest chick out right now. a true artist. honest, vulnerable, heart-felt lyrics and swagger for days. I love this girl.
Banks has always had that amazing voice. She never disapoints in her song writing or her vocal talents. Shes been one of my favorite female artist since the first time i ever heard her.
looking back on these performances, I love how her stage presence/confidence has grown immensely
Love her stuff all together but LOVE her live like this.
Seriously jealous she's classically beautiful and talented singer song writer with an edge.
More modern beautifully I'd say. People less look highlightey and contourey in the classical days
Love that she seems to be putting her all into this and gets emotional too, her trying to gain composure between songs was interesting to observe and somewhat unexpected, like she was trying really hard not to break down crying. I much prefer this acoustic version than the studio version, gets the raw emotion out than being hidden behind the beats.
she's got 3 new songs, totally enough to do another taping here.
yes. gemini feed would be amazing
Little 14 year old me discovered banks and 21 year old me hasn’t stopped listening to her almost everyday. She changed my life
Her voice is unreal. IN LOVE.
When she finally let it all out there and gave pure emotion in beggin for thread is what did it for me
Did anyone else get goosebumps? Her music is great as it is but it feels raw and powerful when it's played live. Amazing job!
If you genuinely didn't enjoy this, go watch her acoustic version of "Change", it'll change your life. I thought this was perfect. I'm obsessed with Banks. She has an original sound, and it'll play out well if she keeps at it. Her style is different, which obviously from the disgusting comments some don't appreciate, but I feel it'll work out for her career. People like Lorde, and Lana, Banks is similar to them.
same here lol
I heard "Change" on her album and absolutely fell in love, but after hearing the acoustic version, it did change my life haha! She's just that amazing.
OMG I COULD NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE
I'm change I swear I'll change I swear. That song made me CRY. Love her. This album helps me through break up of my life. Front to back it's ALL the conflicting emotions you go through in a break up.
I love the music. And Banks seems to be all herself, I really enjoy that kind of authenticity, because it is rarely seen nowadays; most artists just succumb to peer expectations over time.
All the best for you Banks, you're amazing.
What a darlin. I love artists that can draw me into a style of music I'm not predisposed to. Like when you're so not into a certain genre but then you discover someone who just does it so well.
when she just completely loses control in her last song... im so in love
“Her last song”?! Her name is BANKS, the song is called BRAIN. If you were a real fan, you’d know that.
@@clarateranmontalvo54 chill buddy lol
I've been there since the beginning and seeing how much she's grown is truly memorizing. Her music moves, its inspirational and most of all it's unique. Each song has a different best you never heard before. Her voice can fluctuate on different tones which makes my soul vibrate. I love Banks so much. Her music has helped me through the dark times of my life. I can listen to her music everyday without ever getting tired of it. You cannot compare her to anyone else in the music industry. She's her own person and I'm grateful i stumbled upon her music on pandora :)
The only thing at the beginning was God and we doubt even that part...
Oh fuck, most underrated artist right here. Best part is she just loves her craft
I would love to see another BANKS tiny desk concert and hear her perform music from her new album III
She has a unique style, voice, vibration, it's something new. I like it!
Brain is one of my favourite songs of all time. Such punch. Gets me every time.
BANKS IS A INSPIRATION TO ME AND A LOT OF WOMAN AND PEOPLE IN GENERAL WITH HER MUSIC, SHE SINGS FROM NOT ONLY HER HEART BUT HER SOUL AS WELL!!! HER MUSIC SPEAKS OF LOVE,LOSSES,HARDSHIPS,N JUST OF LIFES DAILY TRIALS OF FEELING OF LIVING!!! I LOVE HER MUSIC N AM FULLY INSPIRED THANKS, ITS BEEN A LONG TIME NEEDED FOR A ARTIST LIKE HER!! THANKS BANKS, U N UR BUDDY R TRUELY AWSOME N UR HARD WORK IS FINALLY PAYING OFF
I've been listening to this for about a year and it never gets old. I wish I could delete it out of my memory and hear it for the first time again. I felt it in my soul. Especially Brain, its lyrically amazing.
banks is such a badass. album is phenomenal.
3:19 SO MUCH CHILLS
SAME. I kept rewinding it
you could feel many emotions from feeling broken to enlightened. I just love how different her music is, it has depth. Beautiful! ♡
The problem about people these days is they don't listen to tracks over and create relationships with them. I've been watching this over and over since 5,000 views and it gets better every time...that just means some genius went into this shit.
You still listening?
@@vintagerealityvr of course!
2019 and I still watch this for inspiration. God I love Banks!
Although 'drowning, this is what it feels like, better' & loads of others are completely melt my soul, Brain is the first song of hers I ever heard & will always remind me of my first heartbreak.
I always wonder who her songs are about, like whether if they're about one guy or different relationships. Like her new song 'better' sounds so raw, I feel like her heart was in pain :(
These are super difficult vocals to pull off live. It's a testament to her capabilities to sound this good live.
Wait, how did i not know she existed? I spend most of my time searching you-tube for artists and i only now in 2021 find this masterpiece.
Thank you to all that made this possible.
Truly.
Welcome to the family!! Xo from Argentina
2022 and still my absolute favourite live performance of Banks
Her voice is so soulful! 😍
it's been years since i first saw this TDC but i've never forgotten it, and i always come back to it, whether that was on my ipod classic in the 2010's or my smartphone in the present. her voice is just absolutely amazing and i've never been able to forget this performance.
07:50 her actual reaction to the audience clapping is crazy.
she really needed that reassurance from her percussionist
Yes! I love the way she sings.
the last 3 minutes just yanks my soul out of my chest. this girl goes in!!!!
your are just amazing, it's been more than 8 years I am dying each time.....when I listen to this album
The last piece was definitly one of the best i heared for a long, very long!, time!
she doesn't get the credit she deserves
+Shavaun Williams AGREED. She's better than a lot of the most famous pop singers today. Go BANKS
+Heather Christie 👍👍👍
Her voice has the incredible ability of calming me instantly. I always listen to her when i get aggrevated...
We need her back - 2023!
So much emotion in her voice and facial/bodily expressions.. Her eyes can tell a whole story. She's been through some shit.. Broken down to the bottom. I definitelyyyyy see through her and am there myself. Break ups and relationships man. This is amazing nonetheless
I love it when she hits her low register
And here I thought that "This Is What it Feels Like" was her best song. Wow.
almost 10 years... still my favorite artist ever. I love you Jillian. Thank you for everyting. Thank you very much.
got a full rounded sound with this combo of instruments. Very intimate.
it's so cute what she does with her hands while singing
ALIBI WAS EVERYTHING
CAN WE GET AN AMEN!!
+sonicroll3000 Brain :')
BEGGIN FOR THREAD!!
+sonicroll3000 alibi is always life.
I TAKE IT BACK! OMFFFGGGGG BRAIN WAS LIFE!! SLAY ME MAMA JILL!!!
I love the way she moves with the music
~ Hmmm...I purchased BANKS (LONDON) EP a couple of months ago shortly after hearing her song titled CHANGE and fell in love with it at first listen. It's sound is very now. A place between Low Tempo Electronic with R&B style. I knew she had the ability to pull off the EP's vocals live because I had seen several live performances of hers in which she rises to the occassion. But I had nooo clue just how versatile her voice was until I saw this!! Which is why I am soo impressed unlike that other gentleman complaining about shakyness among other things. I dont know much about BANKS personal details. I know shes young, American & how she has a minor degree in Psycology. Which I read in an article reviewing her full length debut album. Now it wouldnt surprise me one bit if she has Middle Eastern roots. No...Not because of her mysterious good looks. But because that is what would explain how she can do that with her voice. Anybody whom has an appreciation for world music, middle eastern in particular would know what I mean. For all others complaining, venture off into other musical genres!! Learn that there are different types of vocal styles. And for fucks sakes, learn about a culture other than your own.
What about her vocal technique reminds you of Middle Eastern music? I really can't hear it, on the other hand you can totally sense a Fiona Apple influence in both her lyrics and how she uses her voice.
Back in 2024
I'm stuck in some unstoppable loop. Keep hitting replay over and over and over and...
Banks helped me in so many difficult times to put myself through, now all things come to pass and I am still here listening her with ease my mind and calm my soul a little. I adore her voice.
She's a freaking goddess!
Shes so shyyy
In the early of her career she's quite a stage fright
Incredible. She is seriously so intriguing. I love how she doesn't do social media, love how she's an LA native, love how her voice is Lauryn Hill influenced, love how she dances but can't face the crowd....
Love. Banks. :)
Her voice is so defining and gives expression to a culture and era.
she's so different nowadays, bring her back to sing songs from III
I always go back to these videos because she's come so far ❤😍
I fall in love over and over again every time I watch this video.
Pure Gold! ❤
she's so beautiful, voice and all. I love her so much no one even knows