Mac Demarco: NPR Music Field Recordings

"I like living by the water. It's new and crazy for me," says Mac DeMarco, smoking and peering out at the bay in Far Rockaway, Queens. All around, nature blends with reminders of civilization: Behind him, sun-dappled waves are chopped up by freighter boats and the occasional jet ski passing by. Across the water sits JFK airport, with its distant engine hum of planes taking off and landing at a steady, rhythmic clip. The crisp, salty sea breeze mingles with wafts of stagnant water, decaying debris and dead horseshoe crabs that wash ashore. For the charismatic 26-year-old songwriter who grew up in the landlocked plains of Canada, the water still holds an exotic appeal. Plus, the area's laid-back feel is a perfect match for his laconic delivery and perpetually chill personality.
Living out in the Rockaways is a welcome escape from the action and distractions that come with living in a city. "I don't ever see anybody unless I want to," he explains. "And even if I want to, usually people don't come out here 'cuz it's so far away. And my phone doesn't really work. It's all just peace and quiet."
DeMarco moved to this house last fall, after touring behind last year's excellent Salad Days - just in time for the long, bleak East Coast winter - with the intention of playing his instruments loud and writing new music in isolation. The wistful, melodic mini-albumAnother One, released last week, was written and recorded in his room. A shaggy and surfy collection of love songs, it's suited for a lazy summer backyard barbecue or taking your second-hand rowboat out for a dusk cruise.
That's especially true of his song "No Other Heart," which has him wooing a crush from afar. "I'll put the sparkle right back in your eyes / What could you lose?" he sings in his very best "Jealous Guy"-era John Lennon croon over warbling keyboard voicings. In this wonderful, bare bones performance on his boat - which he bought as a gift for himself to cope with the "birthday blues" - DeMarco's peculiar charm shines through. --MIKE KATZIF
CREDITS
Director/Producer: Mito Habe-Evans; Editor: Adam Wolffbrandt; Videographers: Mito Habe-Evans, Mike Katzif, Adam Wolffbrandt; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Special Thanks: Mark and Rachel Dibner of the Argus Fund; Executive Producer: Anya Grundman

[@AlexMuccino]

Tiny desk ! Tiny desk!

[@ratchapel8974]

How dose he not have one yet

[@Alavey]

♠️ I still them to make that happen!!!!

[@Opqosite]

@@ratchapel8974 They probably asked him to come through, and this was his response: a tiny boat concert.

[@Rhababerschorle]

still waiting..

[@ameliak715]

Tiny boat! Tiny boat!

[@VinylGuruOfficial]

Mac offers such a free and peaceful place to escape. Thats why I love his music.

[@lukascoelho4421]

100% agreement! His voice, those instrumentals, those lyrics, I really love his music.

[@vhscopyofrainman163]

"Is it wrong? To think my love could really help you out. It's simply just my stubborn heart, no doubt, rambling away" God Demarco is such a good writer

[@dinastiachowfan1401]

The greatest artist of my generation. AT LEAST IN MY HEART, DAMN IT!

[@ewanmacintosh8562]

Dinastía Chow Fan everyone’s heart

[@Jowitaukaczynska]

I am officially in love with Mac DeMarco...

[@oB19o]

the title should be in Portuguese "Mac Demarco de Barco" or "De Barco com Demarco"

[@pytersan]

Acho que o ideal seria "Mac DeBarco"

[@willgb4198]

heuheueheueh

[@anathorpe4044]

@@pytersan genial

[@TheZakMan]

@@pytersan EAUHAEUHAEUHAEHUAEUH, Mac DeBarco!

[@noods3979]

Sopa de macaco uma delicia

[@sebastiancrawford1774]

this video brings me more peace than i could ever explain to anyone.

[@getschwifty8539]

I don’t know why people are saying he needs a proper tiny desk, if anything this is better than anything I could’ve expected or asked from them, so chill I love it

[@r3dsnow757]

hard to tell if you're sarcastic 🤣 or don't know Tiny Desk

[@tristanswim]

Used to listen to a lot of Mac all along on the river beaches in the start of my 20s. I was in love like never before and experiencing some of the most spiritually cleansing days of my life. A timeless period in my memories I'm so glad to have had Mac performing the score for :')

[@lastshanty]

Please NPR, give us a Tiny Desk Concert with Mac, prettypleeeeeasewithacherryontop!

[@thetalkingfly]

HAHA- This is so GOOD!!! funky film a about FUNKY FUNKY dude!!!

[@epicmood6839]

When u see Mac with a cigarrette u know that going to be a masterpiece ❤

[@sun.lover.]

When u find out u lived near Mac DeMarco but u didn’t discover his music yet 😢

[@Goctagon]

I wanna record a song on a boat in a lake. Dammit.

[@federicoguinand9451]

just do so, not that hard tbh

[@stardustcollective.]

Next to one of America’s busiest airports

[@bobsmith12345]

@@federicoguinand9451 aged well lol

[@impossibleskies]

the cloud at 1:47 is shaped exactly like france.

[@salsberry8287]

hey ur right

[@kkvvdd]

squeeze it a bit like a marshmallow then yea

[@personalidadestercermundis7679]

Andy King woke

[@LeWiS2K9SMUDGEMOONED]

not hexagon enough

[@NathanKt]

hahah mais tellement pas

[@TAGAPAW]

Ocean fit perfectly as ambient

[@goldgrillmafia757]

Mac is the man a lot of his live performances sound better than the recorded version’s amazing!!!

[@THAHITMAN509]

So beautiful, this keeps me at peace

[@Sophiaroxursox331]

This makes me feel so at peace

[@francescobaldo4967]

1:46 --> Amazing France shaped cloud

[@rustyjames1727]

Keep that to yourself buddy. This is America!

[@blueberrymilc]

@@rustyjames1727 this is the internet

[@chrisw0624]

@@rustyjames1727 you’re weird

[@bonitavidadevina123]

listening to your music while seeing the skyscrapers of Dubai is quite sad, i feel like a worm in this city

[@ellieflewin5902]

i love this video, like its genuinely of my favs!

[@crazymofo299]

Mac is a Stoney motherfuckin dude, this is him in his natural element and I love it

[@happyholiday4733]

This is pure

[@sandilekaunda7676]

How did I miss this? Took me 3 years to find this Mac video.

[@ievazak]

the one and only who could perform his songs in the moving boat on a water rather in a recording studio

[@Stepbackbrick]

This is the greatest video Ive ever seen thank you npr

[@lindsfort7596]

Even though this is old, still great

[@weeba06]

most beautiful man ever

[@pryingaa]

I love his quaint little life

[@TravisTheMoonstar]

This is rad.

[@kiikiihere]

Mac would fit right in on a Wes Anderson movie

[@MAAU3]

Te amo Mac

[@tvc670]

te quiero mucho maau 🥺

[@imancdr2131]

thanks for the recommendation youtube, I needed this

[@leyvaavilaaldo5708]

It made me feel calm...

[@ORGANICPANIC]

WE STILL NEED A MAC DEMARCO TINY DESK CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Nevercleverr]

this brings me peace

[@nasirpowell1138]

I hate that I laughed at the ropes pun.

[@thatbytc]

you're wonderful, don't stop making music.

[@MrSTEINHAWK]

if i could be another person for a little while, i’d be mac

[@enriquefernandez3183]

THANK YOU

[@Danielramirez-pt5sx]

amo esta cancion

[@najssiness]

first sentence and i go "this is my favorite person, love him"

[@donalias812]

i like how the song name waves with water, good detail

[@catalyst1101]

I love this man

[@cowchild777]

Get on his level bois

[@paisenpaisen]

you could say he’s ‘on the level’ huh

[@ffwlpe]

o sossego incomensurável que essa versão the "no other heart" traz ❤️

[@Pablo243]

Get my boy Mac a full tiny desk concert!

[@KR0OK]

Mac is so indie without even trying .

[@agapefaith]

Top 100 Videos EVER in my opinion 🎥

[@napndash]

So humble

[@dooshmagee2165]

this is real nice

[@spartacus2296]

Absolute tune at 3:43

[@jahsh1062]

This is like the perfect office episode of the office was this

[@OJ-sr6bg]

I love mac demarco❤️

[@adamantiumgonzalez8389]

Is it possible to be Demarcosexual?

[@bryanfabiancerros4321]

Adan BC oui!

[@DakotaSshow]

I hope so

[@Joe-wq4mo]

it is now

[@oliverseddon7950]

ah. takes me back to the thugs I'd say about celebrities I had crushes on before I realised I was bi.

[@octaviocastro8238]

don't think so

[@walmirelias1316]

Esse vídeo é pura arte!

[@lukascoelho4421]

Eu concordo MUITOOOOO, e por sinal, vc tem muito bom gosto! BR's also have a good taste for music.

[@woozyneck]

@@lukascoelho4421 nosso país é grande pra caralho, temos um dos pais mais culturais do mundo.

[@Ryantalope]

Really beautiful stuff

[@joelopezjr3237]

Kinda sad my birthday will be almost exactly like Mac's.... its lonely but somewhat nice.

[@drewroxy2400]

Such a cool video!

[@jerrypalmer3534]

great song !!

[@jeremiahpeer5507]

So good

[@egbcop]

great fragment!

[@jimimo6674]

Oh to be a mac demarco floating in a boat at sea 🌊

[@claudiasofia2831]

Please make a tiny desk with Mac, I need that in my life urgently!

[@brandoncoarita8863]

i love you mac

[@JessyFury]

ah this is so cool!

[@74knot]

can we get this on vinyl please?

[@marxprodijio6226]

Falta re poco para verlo en Argentina en el Lollapaluza!!!!😢😊

[@celsomartins7330]

I LOVE MACCCCCCC

[@DeadWookiee]

and no other, heaaaaart, WILL DOU

[@danielb.8340]

Does anybody know what synth he’s using here? Also, this is Tiny Deck.

[@homescene]

Beauty

[@michaelkennedy8270]

I didn't realise until this song of how similar Mac Demarco's voice is to Harry Nilsson's.

[@goatboatmoat2476]

2:51 waking up and forgetting where you are be like

[@julianbatista8286]

@NPRMusic tienen que hacer un tiny desk con Mac Demarco por favor!!

[@philipvaltadoros8926]

happy birthday to him

[@maadvillain]

The best npr

[@saskiahuibers7711]

Love love love 1:39

[@lukedoyle7802]

Imagine if tiny desk went on Spotify

[@laulaura6236]

Que lindooo!!!

[@musufdskk4429]

Sim

[@kidricoflynn5813]

How has he not been on a Gorillaz album? Him and Damon would be perfect together

[@haizi7179]

My current state of mind prevents me from singing along lol

[@balas9483]

U good now?

[@haizi7179]

@@balas9483 incredible actually (: i was in a very negative headspace when i commented this so it's nice being able to look back. Don't forget that ONLY YOU can dig yourself out of your own hole. Thanks for asking, hope all is good for you.

[@balas9483]

@@haizi7179 thanks for the words man

[@roamingbuffalostudios541]

@@haizi7179

[@matty_daddy]

@@haizi7179 how are you now?

[@beatrizsanchez2471]

tssss the coolest man

[@marioanjel6287]

How’ve i never seen this 🫣

[@aldoenriquealcantarapaniag4264]

This video is so romantic and artistic that was painted by David Friedrich.

[@murmurrrr]

Big Mac fan, how did I never find this video before?

[@thatbytc]

because you were maybe pooing at your bath.

[@marysia9679]

Idk i love this guy

[@tamasstekler4383]

Yeah, life is good.

[@MrJuggslover]

his la blogotheque performance magnificent, this npr performance mucho perfecto. he should try doing it in a rainforest. comeback to the bee

[@lauraanttila371]

happy birthday :)

[@anthonycampbell5908]

Nice song

[@DrFunkenstein123]

What kind of recording gear was most likely used for this one??? Looks like simple but sounds so good

[@AnonymouseZillenial]

What synth is he using here?

[@nickmeadows2185]

yamaha dx100

[@issam1398]

Gold

[@charcoalfish]

Sick

[@death_060]

Brazil 🐐

[@broccolirob.]

does anyone know what he has in the synth to make it play sound without being plugged into a wall and an amp?

[@romimarianta]

MAC DEMARCO TINI DESK CONCERT PLEASEEEEEE!!!

[@EmilySheilaMusic]

mac demarco we need to collaborate wed make such an epic song