Bob Boilen
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
Significant listener interest in the music being played on All Things Considered, along with his and NPR's vast music collections, gave Boilen the idea to start All Songs Considered. "It was obvious to me that listeners of NPR were also lovers of music, but what also became obvious by 1999 was that the web was going to be the place to discover new music and that we wanted to be the premiere site for music discovery." The show launched in 2000, with Boilen as its host.
Before coming to NPR, Boilen found many ways to share his passion for music. From 1982 to 1986 he worked for Baltimore's Impossible Theater, where he held many posts, including composer, technician, and recording engineer. Boilen became part of music history in 1983 with the Impossible Theater production Whiz Bang, a History of Sound. In it, Boilen became one of the first composers to use audio sampling — in this case, sounds from nature and the industrial revolution. He was interviewed about Whiz Bang by Susan Stamberg on All Things Considered.
In 1985, the Washington City Paper voted Boilen 'Performance Artist of the Year.' An electronic musician, he received a grant from the Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to work on electronic music and performance.
After Impossible Theater, Boilen worked as a producer for a television station in Washington, D.C. He produced several projects, including a music video show. In 1997, he started producing an online show called Science Live for the Discovery Channel. He also put out two albums with his psychedelic band, Tiny Desk Unit, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Boilen still composes and performs music and posts it for free on his website BobBoilen.info. He performs contradance music and has a podcast of contradance music that he produces with his son Julian.
Boilen's first book, Your Song Changed My Life, was published in April 2016 by HarperCollins.
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This performance at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge re-imagines the Icelandic musician's magnificent work with a small orchestra: 28 musicians known as Ensemble LPR, along with guest Arnor Dan.
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Brash, zany, brainy, scary and danceable, the New York quintet's music mixes rock and jazz like King Crimson at its fiercest. From the moment the band squeaks its first squawk at the NPR Music offices, it's clear that it's about to conjure up an adventure.
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The improvisational music of father and son Pedro Soler and Gaspar Claus functions as a beautiful conversation. Soler plays a delicate flamenco guitar, while Claus turns the cello into an exquisitely expressive voice. The two bring that spirit to their intimate performance in the NPR Music offices.
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When The Holmes Brothers showed up to play a Tiny Desk Concert, the group arrived early — really early, and ready to work. These folks are pros: They've been working at it for more than 30 years, playing soul music steeped in Baptist hymns, blues and spirituals. Hear the group perform live at the NPR Music offices.
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For the past three years, All Songs Considered, NPR's online music show, has showcased the talents of both established artists and new voices. A newly released CD collects compelling music from the wide range of genres — from Latin jazz to electronica and Afropop — heard on the show. NPR's Scott Simon talks with All Songs host Bob Boilen.
