Music

Music & Culture

'I'm Not Trying To Fit Within Any World': Vince Staples On Newfound Creative Freedom

6:16am July 09, 2021

by Jenny Gathright

On his new record, Staples is still drawing from the same well of emotion and life experience. But his vision and his voice are clearer than ever — a sign, he says, that he's found a sense of peace.

Music & Culture

Sufjan Stevens, Angelo De Augustine, 'Reach Out'

4:22pm July 08, 2021

by Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis

One of the first releases from the new collaboration between Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine, "Reach Out" is loosely based on a 1987 German film about angels.

Music & Culture

Attacca Quartet, 'Real Life'

3:21pm July 08, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

The musicians of the versatile, Grammy-winning Attacca Quartet have transformed themselves into an electronica-dance-ambient string quartet for their new album, Real Life.

Music & Culture

Allison Ponthier, 'Hell Is A Crowded Room'

12:46pm July 08, 2021

by Ann Powers

Allison Ponthier is the latest would-be It Girl of the In-Between.

Music & Culture

Crate Digging : Mulgrew Miller And Wingspan

12:37pm July 08, 2021

by Sarah Geledi

Christian McBride uncovers a concert from his big brother, figuratively speaking: the underrated piano innovator Mulgrew Miller.

Jordan Sand submitted the song "Palm to Chest" to the 2021 Tiny Desk Contest.

Music & Culture

The Best 2021 Tiny Desk Contest Entries We Saw This Week: Viking's Choice Edition

6:38am July 08, 2021

by Lars Gotrich

Resident Viking Lars Gotrich curates a selection of standout 2021 entries from acoustic guitar fingerpicking to dark ambient and beyond.

Jimmy Jam, left, and Terry Lewis stand after being acknowledged by inductee Janet Jackson during the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held at the Barclays Center on March 29, 2019 in New York.

Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis, Legendary Hitmakers, Release Their First Album

5:58am July 08, 2021

After nearly three decades spent producing massive hits for a long list of (other) legends including Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, the pair called in some favors for a long-belated debut.

Black Motion plays a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Black Motion: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

5:00am July 08, 2021

by Abby O'Neill

The South African production duo's Tiny Desk (home) concert, recorded at the former residence of Nelson Mandela, feels like a spiritual sound bath.

Music & Culture

Shungudzo Knows What She Wants To Change In The World

5:00pm July 07, 2021

The Zimbabwean-American artist offers a unique perspective on the world, including on how she'd like to see it change.

Singer Constance Hauman, in an archival photograph taken on Oct. 26, 1989 at Club MK in New York.

Music & Culture

Play It Forward: Singer Constance Hauman On Harmony, Rhythm, Opera And Funk

4:41pm July 07, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Constance Hauman about her new album, Tropical Thunderstorm, her experiences as a multi-genre musician and an artist she's grateful for: Daf player Asal Malekzadeh.