Labess Shows Music Has No Boundaries With This Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
Every January, I attend globalFEST at a New York City nightclub and see some of the most fantastic music I’ll experience all year. Now, given the pandemic’s challenges and the hardening of international borders, NPR Music and globalFEST moved the 2021 edition from the nightclub to your screen of choice and shared the festival with the world. We called it Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST. We presented 16 artists in intimate settings (often behind desks donning globes), all hosted by African superstar Angélique Kidjo.
WATCH
BY BOB BOILEN
This Algerian and Canadian band proves that music has no boundaries even in times of isolation. Recording its set from France and Colombia, Labess blends flamenco and Gypsy jazz-influenced North African chaabi into energetic soul music with a nonstop beat. Singing in Arabic, French and Spanish, lead vocalist Nedjim Bouizzoul mixes realism and hope, gentleness and fury, in stories about exile that illustrate the joys and the distress that pave the road from the native countries to new homes and back again. Through his poetry, he proposes we reflect on cultural diversity and the necessity to unite, no matter our differences. This concert took place on the opening night of our 2021 festival. —globalFEST
SET LIST
- “Yal Maknin”
- “Yemma”
- “La Vida Es Un Carnaval”
MUSICIANS
- Nedjim Bouizzoul: lead vocals, guitar (France)
- Simon Demouveaux: banjo, oud (France)
- Rabah Khalfa: derbouka, chorus (France)
- Simon Lannoy: cello (France)
- Loran Bozic: violin (France)
- Pierre Bonnet: bass (France)
- Mike Rajamahendra: drum (France)
- François Taillefer: percussion (France)
- Julio Frias: percussion (Colombia)
- Miche Molina: accordion (Colombia)
- Javier Villa: trombone (Colombia)
- Rafael “Pachalo” Gavilan: trumpet (Colombia)
- Moises Marquez Leyva: saxophonist (Colombia)
CREDITS
- Producer: Arte de Luz
- Video: Victor Delfim
- Audio: Arnaud “Peck” Dervaux
Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Bob Boilen
- Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith
- Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
- Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
- Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Maia Stern
- Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey
- Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
GLOBALFEST TEAM
- Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, and Bill Bragin
- 2021 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin, and Viviana Benitez
- Event Producer: Ian Thake
- Host: Angélique Kidjo
- Social Media Manager: Valerie French
- Publicity: Brendan Gilmartin, Chart Room Media
- Legal Services: Tamizdat
- Legal Services: Duane Morris
- Producer: THE OFFICE performing arts + film
- Video Production: MODEMA Studios
