"Bouncing keyboards." "Thumping four-on-the-floor beats." "Synth-driven." Those are just a handful of phrases that probably wouldn't have been used to describe Ra Ra Riot prior to 2013. However, for their third full-length, Beta Love, the now-quartet moved away from their string-laden sound in favo…
Throughout the nearly five decades of his career, Aaron Neville has performed and recorded hundreds of songs in a variety of styles, from his Billboard topping 1967 solo R&B classic "Tell It Like It Is" through the creole rock of The Neville Brothers, and he's covered innumerable greats of soul…
As Kaoru Ishibashi himself admits, a year ago no one knew who he was. Now, with his musical project Kishi Bashi, he's selling out shows with his intricate and ecstatic performances. Inspired by as much by free jazz as bluegrass, hip-hop, and classical music, Kishi Bashi's baroque indie pop easily d…
With roots that stretch back to carefree two person jam sessions at Gasworks Park, the well-rounded Seattle septet Hey Marseilles has grown in the last nine years not just in size, but in the power and scope of their songwriting and performance. In this KEXP live in-studio performance they show wh…
Brooklyn-based band Antibalas, which is Spanish for "bulletproof", released their fifth studio album last August. This release really launched them on a sizable worldwide tour and lucky for us they happened to make a stop in Seattle. Founded in the late 90s, Antibalas has never strayed from their s…
"I'm just going to test out the sampler." That's what Chaos Chaos drummer Chloe Saavedra says right before she fills the room with a loud piercing tone. ("That's why I always wear earplugs around Chloe," remarks her sister and bandmate Asy Saavedra.) Fortunately for John Richards, the crew, and any…
Despite being recorded in December, Lavender Diamond's in-studio session was one of the warmest things that KEXP broadcast in 2012. Singer Becky Stark's voice is nothing short of radiant, buoying the Los Angeles quartet's tender, winsome sound. Across the folk pop bounce of "There's A Perfect Love …
Last month, KEXP, STG, and Starbucks hosted the 5th edition of the Little Big Show at the Neptune Theater to benefit Youth In Focus, an after-school program that gives students an opportunity to develop positive identity, social skills, and voice through intensive photography training. The Walkmen…
From the big stadium to the intimate studio, British group Bloc Party, who made a name for themselves with a big Brit Pop influenced guitar sound, recently stopped by KEXP to strip down their sound to bare essentials. What makes this acoustic session even more special and rare is the band's continu…
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.
