Brooklyn’s brassy big band Red Baraat stopped by on their way across the country on a national tour to bring their infectious world music into the KEXP live room. Led by percussionist Sunny Jain, the eight members draw on a Bhangra blend of North Indian rhythms mixed with hip-hop, funk and New Orleans jazz to create undeniably unique party music. Featuring a selection of cuts from the grandiose new release, Gaadi of Truth , their recent in-stuido performance at KEXP is full of irresistible grooves with tracks like "Zindabad" or the closing "Tunak Tunak Tan", lending an air of spontaneity and plain old good times. Watch the full set to see a band whose live energy is hard to match and nearly impossible to resist.
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba are set on changing the way we think about world music. Pushing the limits of traditional West African instruments themselves to embrace western styles and a more versatile melodic range, Bassekou Kouyate is proud of the modern innovations he's made with the ngoni, a…
Merchants of sound A Place to Bury Strangers once again drops by KEXP to flex their effects pedals and energetic noise. Armed with songs from their new release, Transfixiation, the Brooklyn trio delivers skull-splitting feedback in true Strangers style but also evident in the opening track "Superma…
With Ibeyi, every song is a blessing, sometimes quite literally. The Parisian born twin sisters reach deep into their French-Cuban ancestry and call upon the spirits of Santería on their debut LP, which blends Yoruban evocations with contemporary expressions of love and loss. Their music is, as the…
Seattle duo Chimurenga Renaissance is generating heat in both International Music and Hip-Hop. They are musical royalty and prodigal sons who have managed to cross-pollinate the traditional and the modern, bridging two continents, two cultures, two generations and two genres.
