Videos by American Songwriter
Cubicles have long been symbols of dreary days at the office and long, laborious tasks, but NPR is doing a good job to change that stereotype with their Tiny Desk Concert series.
The concept is pretty simple — take a band or musician, set them up with some instruents at a cubicle at NPR’s Washington D.C. office (more specifically, the desk of Bob Boilen, host of All Songs Considered) and roll the tape.
The most recent act to play in the series is the Swell Season. The duo of Irishman Glen Hansard and Czech native Marketa Irglova originally rose to fame when they starred in the 2007 film Once, but now write and tour under that alliterative moniker.
For their “Tiny Desk” performance, Hansard and Irglova played for nearly 35 minutes, with six songs coming from their upcoming album Strict Joy (due October 27). The audience was obviously held captive, as the Swell Season became the first act to play a Tiny Desk encore with Once’s “When Your Mind’s Made Up.”
The Swell Season’s Tiny Desk debut is proof that truly good music transcends all—even something as mundane as a day at the office.
Check out their performance here.
