Recently, Wo' Pop favorites Tinariwen played a live set for KEXP while moving through Seattle on their sold-out international tour to promote their new album, Emmaar. Drawing influence from West African music, traditional Tuareg assouf stylistics, and bootlegged albums by western artists, Tinariwen's bluesy sound is informed by a deep appreciation for diverse composition. Interestingly enough, Tinariwen's music has not only received positive international acclaim, winning a Grammy for Best World Music Album, but also has been the target of political violence. In 2012, the militant Islamist group Ansar Dine demonized their music, later resulting in the capture of their guitarist, Abdallah Ag Lamida, while attempting to save his instruments. Fleeing the violence, Tinariwen temporarily relocated in the southwest, near Joshua Tree National Park, to finalize Emmaar. Because of the dislocation, the lead singer, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, decided to remain in Mali to reconcile with the issues caused by the political crisis. Despite the traumatic situations, Tinariwen put forth great effort and utilized the chaos as fodder to carve ambitious, political, Tuareg rock. Watch this uplifting in-studio performance now:
Full Performance:
Unless you've got a bad case of phonophobia, Big Scary isn't too terrifying. Featuring Joanna Syme on percussion and heavenly-voiced Tom Iansek on guitar and keyboards, the Melbourne-based duo has broken the mold for Australian music. Their 2013 album, Not Art, was nominated for the triple j Austra…
Ever since Warpaint first made their mark around 2008, the words "hypnotic", "atmospheric" and "brooding" have been applied by critics and fans in the most appealing ways. Their recent self-titled, sophomore full-length finds the LA band no less ethereal yet stretching further out with their minima…
KEXP DJ Darek Mazzone is out of town and unable to be on the air, but he still wanted to share his passion for listener-powered radio and his show Wo'Pop in particular. Watch his video below:
