Jorja Smith — NPR Tiny Desk, 2018

A live concert filmed on June 11, 2018 for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk in Washington, this capture presents British singer Jorja Smith, then a revelation of English soul and R&B, shortly after the release of her debut album Lost & Found. Backed by a full band — guitar, bass, drums, keys — she performs three songs live: On My Mind, Teenage Fantasy and Blue Lights. Stripped of their original garage or electronic productions, these songs reveal the purity of her tone and the maturity of her writing, notably Blue Lights, a socially conscious track about tensions between police and British youth. The Tiny Desk’s intimate, audience-free and unadorned format highlights the supple phrasing and emotional accuracy of an artist then just twenty years old. A reference filmed live concert to discover the raw talent of Jorja Smith in 2018, to watch online and appreciate one of the great soul voices of her generation.