Aurora — Tiny Desk (NPR), Washington D.C., 2015

This filmed live concert captures Norwegian singer Aurora in 2015 for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk series, recorded behind host Bob Boilen’s desk in Washington D.C. At just nineteen, Aurora Aksnes presents a stripped-down version of her Nordic pop world, between electronic folk and ethereal melodies, months before the release of her debut album. The session runs through three songs — Runaway, Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) and Running with the Wolves — in acoustic arrangements that put the voice and its emotional grain up front. The Tiny Desk format, without staging or amplification, reveals the singer’s singular presence and the precision of her writing. Representative of 2010s live pop and of the series’ international success, this capture is a valuable document on the early days of an artist since become a figure of the European pop scene. An intimate filmed live concert, ideal for grasping the genesis of an instantly recognisable voice.