Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Premiere: Hot Chip

by Maia Stern

Hot Chip perform a Tiny Desk concert.
Elizabeth Gillis / NPR
Hot Chip perform a Tiny Desk concert.

Even though it was the band's first visit to the Tiny Desk, Hot Chip's performance felt like a homecoming — a sweet return to some of the instruments the group first created its signature, playful sound with. Hot Chip's "tiny instruments," as lead vocalist Alexis Taylor called them, fit right into the space.

The members of Hot Chip arrived at NPR HQ each dressed in a different colored top, their bright and brilliant looks matching the music's classic electro-pop vibe. The band, joined by Jonny Lam on pedal steel guitar (who played a Tiny Desk previously with Sinkane), began the set with two tracks from its 2006 album, The Warning, including "Over and Over" and "Boy from School." The latter of the two, Taylor explained, was written on the Casio keyboard that both Taylor and guitarist Rob Smoughton play in this set. Then the band slows it down a bit with "Look at Where We Are," before ending with the classic "Ready for the Floor."

And speaking of bringing the perfect look, after the show, Taylor got out an on-theme top: an NPR-branded sweatshirt that he asked us all to sign. It was a rare, tender and probably once-in-a-lifetime moment when one of your favorite bands is asking you to sign merch.

SET LIST

  • "Over and Over"

  • "Boy from School"

  • "Look at Where We Are"

  • "Ready for the Floor"

MUSICIANS

  • Alexis Taylor: vocals, guitar, keyboard

  • Joe Goddard: vocals, keyboard

  • Owen Clarke: keyboard

  • Rob Smoughton: backing vocals, guitar

  • Leo Taylor: drums

  • Jonny Lam: pedal steel guitar

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer/Director: Maia Stern

  • Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai

  • Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

  • Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Pierre Kattar

  • Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault

  • Production Assistant: Elle Mannion

  • Photographer: Elizabeth Gillis

  • Tiny Desk Team: Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer

  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

  • Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson

  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

300x250 Ad

300x250 Ad

Support quality journalism, like the story above, with your gift right now.

Donate