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Music

Get Your Face Gently Melted By Thundercat's Tiny Desk Concert

Jazz keys! Violin! BASS!

On his recordings, Thundercat nearly qualifies as easy listening, but more in the sense of Hall & Oates than Jack Johnson (no disrespect to either parties). Live, however, his jazz-trained chops are unhinged, as is his use of effects pedals to transform his virtuosic bass playing into virtually any sound that's needed. While a recent appearance on NPR's always-reliable Tiny Desk Concertseries is toned-down in comparison, it still rips.

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Featuring Flying Lotus collaborator Miguel Atwood-Ferguson on violin, Thundercat's band is in-the-pocket as they jam on songs from Drunk. You could totally argue that it's tougher to play relaxed songs while keeping them interesting, and thanks to those wild effects and subtle interplay, the band totally does so. Watch the entire performance above.

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