For Bombino, making music is not only a form of expression - it is also a political statement. Born in Agadez, Niger, a small desert town in the Tuareg region of Africa, Omara Moctar creates music under the name Bombino despite the near deadly dangers posed by strict government rule. After having to flee from Niger due to the government executing fellow musicians, he was able to return to work on his latest record, Azel. Working with producer Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, Bombino crafted a new “Tuareggae” style on the record, the infectious hybrid result of mixing blues and reggae. Recently, Bombino stopped at KEXP to perform an in-studio while on tour in the States in support of Azel, playing four new songs from it, plus “Tar Hani” from his 2010 album, Agadez. Watch the full session below.
There's a bittersweetness to the latest from long-running power pop veterans The Posies. The Bellingham-bred band endured two tragedies prior to the new album's release: bassist Joe Skyward passed away from cancer earlier this year, and drummer Darius Minwalla passed from unknown causes last year. …
There's a lot of things we love about our KEXP New Home, like having the space to house a beautiful baby grand piano (on permanent loan), and then hearing the gorgeous playing of artist John Grant down the hallways, with each chord reverberating and filling our in-studio space with the purest of so…
