June 11, 2018 | Sidney Madden -- It's a good thing the weather was
gloomy the day Jorja Smith rolled in for her Tiny Desk concert. Even
though the skies threatened rain and thunder, the overcast light
lingering in our dimmed office space allowed the teardrop pendant
lights, hung from the ceiling by her lighting team, to cast the desk in a
warm, honey-hued glow. And while the nimble guitar strings and
double-time drums of her supporting band was enough to dizzy the focus
in the room, it was the U.K. singer's slow, silky cadence that anchored
the performance in tranquility.
As Smith worked her way up the scales to each high note in "On My Mind"
(a track usually sung over a reverberated garage beat) and "Teenage
Fantasy" (a ballad to love lost written when she was 16), there wasn't
an ounce of pressure evident in her face or body language. When she
closed her eyes to deliver the rap verse of "Blue Lights," the
anti-injustice song that first positioned her as a SoundCloud darling in
2016, a hush fell over the room in awe of her precision.
Though Smith's boldface collaborations to date range from Drake to Kali
Uchis, her debut album Lost & Found is free of featured acts. Much
like this Tiny Desk performance, those 12 tracks show off Smith's talent
in a minimalist way — musing about life and love with the ambiguity and
sense of agency that only comes with newfound freedom.
After she finished, but before retreating to the comfort of Supreme
sweats, Smith and her band bestowed the Tiny Desk with a blue lava lamp
signed by every member. Keep an eye out for that Easter egg in future
episodes.
Set List
"On My Mind"
"Teenage Fantasy"
"Blue Lights"
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