2 founding members of Washington DC’s Tiny Desk Unit have made a new collection of music called Danger Painters. You can download the entire record here. The music was made in response to the RPM Challenge, a challenge set up to inspire musicians to create music during the lonely winter month of February. The music was created long distance, with  Bob Boilen on the east coast, Michael Barron on the west.

The Only Time is Now

Hear the Wind Blow

Perfect Moment

Save Your Self

Lullaby

Fat Lazy Crows

Fourteen Fountains

Phone Call or Something

We (Bob Boilen and Michael Barron) have been writing and playing music together since we met nearly 30 years ago (god that’s scary). It was there in Washington, DC that we formed Tiny Desk Unit. Oddly, in all that time, this is the first full album we’ve released.  The collection of songs called Danger Painters is our response to the 2008 RPM Challenge, to make an album in a month (February) 10 all new songs, or at least 35 minutes worth of music.

This is also the first collection of songs in the past decade featuring Michael singing, and an event even more rare, Bob singing. (Bob stepped up to the microphone in the final moments of the challenge to make some harmony on the duo’s first waltz, Phone Call or Something, the final cut on the album.)

The approach to songwriting for this project took a very interesting turn; on several cuts (Perfect Moment, Save Your Self and Phone Call) Bob sent what was essentially a fully produced song without lyrics, and Michael came up with lyrics and vocal melody. On two cuts this happened in under an hour. Michael’s theory is, “don’t think too hard about it; get in the space and do it. Second guessing has kept me from finishing things for centuries now.”

The tracks “Perfect Moment” and “Save Yourself” began as attempts by Bob to write a folk song, something with strumming guitars and his new mandolin. Much like the rest of life, the result, although nothing remotely akin to what was planned, turned out wonderfully.

Give the album a listen and let us know what you think.