Kevin Parker has regularly performed during the pandemic, a time when more late-night TV and similarly natured performances take place in non-traditional venues (usually at home). Now he has participated in NPR’s series of at-home Tiny Desk concerts, and he decided to mix things up by introducing what he described as “Tame Impala Soundsystem”
Parker was by himself for most of these performances, but this time, he was joined by Tame Impala touring band members Jay Watson and Dom Simper. Together, the three put on a more electronic-based performance, as the three all manned synths and other electronic thingamajigs for “Breathe Deeper,” “Is It True,” and “Patience.”
Parker explained his vision of it to NPR, saying, “I’ll get Jay and Dom and we’ll do this kind of electronic jam with heaps of equipment around us and we’ll recreate the songs with samplers and sequencers. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a while and thought Tiny Desk would be the opportunity to do it.”
Parker has tried out a bunch of different performance styles in recent months. In May, he was joined by clones of himself on The Late Show, and he simplified things with a recent acoustic performance.
Watch Tame Impala’s Tiny Desk performance above.