Music·Curated by Richard

one take, no net

No overdubs, no do-overs — just a mic, a room, and the visible flicker of adrenaline. These sessions from Tiny Desk, THE FIRST TAKE, KEXP, Audiotree, COLORS and Like A Version turn performance anxiety into the actual texture of the music.

⇄ Remix this grid or start your own →Open as YouTube playlist ↗

#01
T.M.Revolution - HOT LIMIT / THE FIRST TAKETHE FIRST TAKE's entire premise is one uninterrupted take — you can hear T.M.Revolution deciding whether to commit before the chorus even lands.
#01
T.M.Revolution - HOT LIMIT / THE FIRST TAKE
THE FIRST TAKE
THE FIRST TAKE's entire premise is one uninterrupted take — you can hear T.M.Revolution deciding whether to commit before the chorus even lands.
#02
HANA - Blue Jeans / Live at CENTRAL26HANA's voice cracks just enough on 'Blue Jeans' to remind you there's no second take waiting in the wings.
#02
HANA - Blue Jeans / Live at CENTRAL26
THE FIRST TAKE
HANA's voice cracks just enough on 'Blue Jeans' to remind you there's no second take waiting in the wings.
#03
redveil: Tiny Desk Concertredveil's Tiny Desk is all close-quarters tension — a rapper used to studio polish suddenly exposed behind a literal desk.
#03
redveil: Tiny Desk Concert
NPR Music
redveil's Tiny Desk is all close-quarters tension — a rapper used to studio polish suddenly exposed behind a literal desk.
ALSO IN Tiny Desk: the deep cuts
#04
Faetooth - Death Of Day (Live on KEXP)Faetooth's KEXP take on 'Death Of Day' has that raw, slightly-too-loud-for-the-room energy unique to a single unedited pass.
#04
Faetooth - Death Of Day (Live on KEXP)
KEXP
Faetooth's KEXP take on 'Death Of Day' has that raw, slightly-too-loud-for-the-room energy unique to a single unedited pass.
ALSO IN The underground is doing fine
#05
Sincere Engineer - Twist My Tongue | Audiotree LiveSincere Engineer's Audiotree session catches the small vocal wobbles that a studio would've comped away.
#05
Sincere Engineer - Twist My Tongue | Audiotree Live
Audiotree
Sincere Engineer's Audiotree session catches the small vocal wobbles that a studio would've comped away.
#06
Emma Donovan - 'Some Things Can Never Be Bought' (live for Like A Version)Like A Version is built on the dare of covering a song once, live, no rehearsal safety net — Emma Donovan visibly rides that edge.
#06
Emma Donovan - 'Some Things Can Never Be Bought' (live for Like A Version)
triple j
Like A Version is built on the dare of covering a song once, live, no rehearsal safety net — Emma Donovan visibly rides that edge.
#07
Flagboy Giz - We Outside | A COLORS MOMENTA COLORS Moment strips everything to one mic and one shot, and Flagboy Giz's nervous energy becomes the whole performance.
#07
Flagboy Giz - We Outside | A COLORS MOMENT
COLORS
A COLORS Moment strips everything to one mic and one shot, and Flagboy Giz's nervous energy becomes the whole performance.
#08
Joyce Manor - I Know Where Mark Chen Lives (Live on KEXP)Joyce Manor's KEXP take on 'I Know Where Mark Chen Lives' has the scrappy, could-fall-apart-any-second charge of a band playing live to tape.
#08
Joyce Manor - I Know Where Mark Chen Lives (Live on KEXP)
KEXP
Joyce Manor's KEXP take on 'I Know Where Mark Chen Lives' has the scrappy, could-fall-apart-any-second charge of a band playing live to tape.
#09
Sarah Lola - How Cruel | A COLORS SHOWSarah Lola's COLORS SHOW performance lingers in close-up long enough that you watch her settle into the nerves in real time.
#09
Sarah Lola - How Cruel | A COLORS SHOW
COLORS
Sarah Lola's COLORS SHOW performance lingers in close-up long enough that you watch her settle into the nerves in real time.