Next on the KEXP broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival is the boss MC of Iceland, Emmsjé Gauti. The stage name for Icelandic rapper Gauta Þeyr Mássonar) Emmsjé Gauti is reigning king of Iceland’s burgeoning hip hop scene. Though he’s only in his mid-twenties, he’s been r…
We've got new music to share from local fave Manatee Commune: check out the single "Clay" below, featuring gorgeous guest vocals from Marina Price. The track will be released on 7" single tomorrow, November 6th via Bastard Jazz. Manatee Commune plays Saturday, November 14th at The Showbox with Blo…
The middle set of today's broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is British pop artist Lonelady. The pseudonym for british pop artist Julie Campbell, LoneLady combines funky guitar riffs with fun, dancy synths and beats, and influences the likes of “That’s Us/Wild Combination”-era Arthu…
Next on the Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel was Icelandic indie-rock artist Júníus Meyvant. Hailing from the remote Vestmann Islands, Júníus Meyvant (the pseudonym used by Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson) started playing music later than most, after finding a beat-up guitar at his parents…
There are many paths that lead one to emigrate and there are many roads to becoming a musician. When you combine the two, you often find a unique beast that exists in between dimensions. The legendary Balkan band Kultur Shock is such a beast. Sometimes a musician or band creates a persona to sell t…
Opening day two of the Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel is Icelandic composer, producer, and musician Úlfur Eldjárn. Like many of his Icelandic contemporaries, Úlfur has his fingers in many pots: He plays in Apparat Organ Quartet, he composes music for film, TV, video games, and comm…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we are featuring songs by …
Rounding out the first night of of KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel is Icelandic punk band Fufanu. The band began life as techno outfit Captain Fufanu, but after the theft of the computer containing their record, they cut “Captain” from their name and jumped into a completely …

In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.