Santigold brought a five-piece backing band to NPR’s Tiny Desk studio for a tight, five-song set published Monday morning (November 21). Supported by Ray Brady on guitar and synth, Chuck Treece on drums , George Lewis, Jr. (Twin Shadow) on bass, and Melanie Nyema and Stephany Mora on background vocals, the long-time pop innovator opened with punk-tinged renditions of “L.E.S. Artistes” and “I’m A Lady” — two hits from her 2008 self-titled debut — and played “Shake” and “Fall First” from September’s Spirituals before closing with “Ain’t Got Enough,” a song she released way back in 2005 under the moniker Stiffed. (Treece, a legendary pro skater who’s toured with such acts as Bad Brains and Pearl Jam, also played drums in that group.)
Over the weekend, Santigold shared a music video for Spirituals’ opener, “My Horror,” in which she runs through a sunlit suburban neighborhood, escaping an unseen pursuer. And on Monday, along with her Tiny Desk performance, a new episode of her “roundtable” podcast series Noble Champions arrived. This week’s show features a conversation between Santigold, Saul Williams, and climate journalist Mary Annaïse Heglar on the intersection of race and climate change.
Watch the Tiny Desk video above and the “My Horror” video below.
