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NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concerts
Tiny Desk Concerts from NPR's All Songs Considered features your favorite musicians performing at Bob Boilen's desk in the NPR Music office. This is the AUDIO only archive.Are you a fancy A/V nerd and need video? Visit our new Tiny Desk Concert video channel. Eye-popping video and all of the music you've come to expect.

Marian McLaughlin: Tiny Desk Concert

By Bob Boilen
Published June 7, 2014 at 6:03 AM MDT

Marian McLaughlin is a unique musician based in the Washington/Baltimore area, and because she's lived in D.C., I've had a chance to watch her grow. She's an artist on her own path, making music like few others.

The closest comparisons might be Joanna Newsom or Diane Cluck, both of whom I admire; both are of their own place and time, and the music they make connects on a personal level. Listening feels as if you've entered their meticulously decorated living rooms. And so it is for Marian McLaughlin, with her quirky and wistful style of singing — and her unusual nylon-string guitar playing, which balances staccato and spacious sounds.

When I saw McLaughlin perform with a string quartet, I felt compelled to bring her to the Tiny Desk. Ethan Foote, the fellow on the upright bass, did the arrangements; Geoff Manyin is on cello and Nick Montopoli, on violin, is from the group Invoke. The strings add considerable atmosphere to McLaughlin's music; you can hear it especially in the opening song about Otto Lilienthal, a German mechanical engineer who was a precursor to the Wright Brothers. These three songs are from McLaughlin's self-released record on Bandcamp, titled Dérive.

Set List

  • "Heavier-than-air"

  • "I Am Of Ocean"

  • "Horse"

    • Credits

    Producers: Denise DeBelius, Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Olivia Merrion, Becky Lettenberger; Production Assistant: Faith Masi; photo by Meredith Rizzo/NPR

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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    Tiny Desk Concerts
    Bob Boilen
    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
    See stories by Bob Boilen
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