You may not be familiar with Sacramento, CA’s The Philharmonik, but the producer, singer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist recently took a big step into the public consciousness when he emerged victorious from NPR Music‘s 2024 Tiny Desk Contest. This year, an office-themed entry performed by The Philharmonik and his band from a cluster of tiny desks beat out 7,000 other entries to take home the title, which earns him an interview on All Things Considered, an NPR Music-produced tour, and an official Tiny Desk Contest of his own.
The parameters for NPR Tiny Desk Contest entries are simple: Create a short video depicting a performance of a single, original song at a desk. For his entry, The Philharmonik, real name Christian Gates, recruited an eight-piece backing band and sat each of them at a desk of their own to perform his 2023 track “What’s It All Mean?”, a soulful earworm that questions the nine-to-five grind and ultimately resolves to keep carrying on: “We might fall on the way,” he croons from behind his keyboard, “Now, if you fall seven times, make sure you get back up eight.”
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“The planning for this was insane,” Gates said of the production of his Tiny Desk Contest submission in a YouTube comment. “The Sacramento community literally lifted me up to help me see this vision through when I had not a single penny to my name (been a super rough year lol but that’s life). We took 3 days to set up the space. First day was loading in and setting up sound and placement of the desks in the space. Second day was getting the lighting, photos, and dress rehearsal. 3rd day was the official shoot. There was a magic energy filling the space that I can’t explain, but I had a plan, and this turned out way better than the plan I had. This is a result of amazing teamwork and minds coming together.” Watch the winning submission below.
The Philharmonik – “What’s It All Mean” – 2024 NPR Tiny Desk Contest Winning Submission
[Video: The Philharmonik]
On Thursday, NPR unveiled the official Tiny Desk Concert by this year’s contest winner. The Philharmonik and his band—Courtney Miller (drums), Connor Chavez (electric guitar, vocals), Jimmy Toor (flute), Sam Phelps (bass), Moriah Wenzel (vocals), Alicia Huff (vocals), Darius Upshaw (electric guitar), Jeffery Archie (keys, synth)—once again don their business casual office attire for the five-song showcase from behind the former desk of the recently retired Bob Boilen.
After kicking things off with another lively rendition of “What’s It All Mean?”, The Philharmonik expands upon the particular brand of charm that got him to this point—something at the intersection of wholesome, humorous, and irreverent—with a song for everyone who has “thought about doing alternative things ’cause the paycheck was not enough.” That song, a Sesame Street-reminiscent, piano-led ditty, goes on to juxtapose “f—k it” attitude and sunny disposition with its sorta-kidding, sorta-not central theme: “For the first time in my life, I think I might sell drugs.”
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Gates’ many talents—and the talents of his band—continue to catch the light as he leads the band through dreamy, flute-forward R&B track “Chasing”, then shows that he can rap, too, on top of the sleek, ’90s-style hip-hop/R&B crossover groove of “Colors”. The set’s final song, “Pay Me” is perhaps its stickiest, a funky synth bounce for the underpaid underdog that demands commensurate compensation for the bulls–t endured day to day—with a smile and a wink, of course. Watch the official Tiny Desk Concert by 2024 contest winner The Philharmonik below.
The Philharmonik – NPR Tiny Desk Concert – Full Set
You can catch The Philharmonik on the Tiny Desk Contest on the Road Tour next month. Click below for a full list of dates. For ticketing details, head here. For more updates on The Philharmonik, follow him on Instagram or YouTube.
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The post The Philharmonik Wins 2024 NPR ‘Tiny Desk Contest’ With Underdog Soul & Irreverent Humor [Watch] appeared first on L4LM.
