As Mellow Diamond, Leppin builds elegantly somber songs from a pedal board of effects and loops. American God was written and recorded during a fraught election and its fallout.
Tim Darcy of Montreal band Ought brings his mysterious solo work, from the album Saturday Night, to the Tiny Desk. The record he says, was his chance to "get back to my roots, in my own voice."
Danilo Brito and his band brought their dextrous expression of choro music to the Tiny Desk, a long-established musical style that has its roots in the streets and backyards of Brito's native Brazil.
The London-based percussionist and producer performs "Indefinite Leave To Remain," a song whose themes speak to the issue of cultural exchange in an era of high geopolitical tension.