Merrill Garbus Becomes tUnE-yArDs

Studio 360
The World

Merrill Garbus is the performer and multi-instrumentalist behind  tUnE-yArDs  – a music project that blends African-inspired rhythms and vocals with electric bass and saxophone. But she only discovered music after a failed career as a puppeteer. She tells Kurt Andersen she found musical inspiration as a student living in Africa; her mother’s ukelele, purchased at an Army-Navy store, helped her to take the plunge.
Watch tUnE-yArDs perform songs from the album  w h o k i l l   below.
(Originally aired: June 3, 2011)
  
  
Video: tUnE-yArDs performs “Gangsta”

Video: tUnE-yArDs performs “You Yes You”

Video: tUnE-yArDs performs “Bizness”

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.