Yes, it’s about to occur again: The Experience Music Project’s Pop Conference, where the best minds of our music journalist generation melt into a whorl of theory, debate, fussy details, bold assertions, bizarre reveals, and loving feels. Papers are given by salty academics, biz workers, scribe-ner…
There was a very distinct moment at the Ibeyi show last Sunday night where the energy for the evening turned from simply good to really, really great. It happened during the duo's explosive self-titled album single "River", the song most well known by the world and easily the most far reaching in i…
The best collaboration projects seem to happen effortlessly. When two masters of their craft come together, both bringing all their respective elements to the table and begin mixing them, oftentimes, they end up with a heterogenous mixture, swinging unevenly between two opposing poles. Some pieces …
"An encore. How predictable," said a pre-recorded video of the cover model from Belle & Sebastian's latest album right before the Glaswegian pop stalwarts returned to the stage. And she was right. Contrary to their historical tradition, encores at modern concerts are almost always planned well …
Last week, three generations of Northwest rock converged to shake the dust off the walls of Seattle's venerable Moore Theatre. Headlining the night, Tacoma band The Sonics, celebrated the release of their first album in 48 years, which, if you've been hearing us spin it regularly on KEXP, sounds li…
Here's a counterintuitive factoid: Lost River is Johnny Jewel's first fully commissioned film soundtrack. Any fan of Johnny Jewel or his multifaceted Italians Do It Better disco dynasty knows that every record the man has ever produced is a soundtrack. There is a film playing with a story that only…
It's been an interesting couple years for Henry Laufer, a.k.a. Shlohmo. Just about this time last year, we were all waiting on pins and needles for a collaborative EP to drop between Shlohmo and R&B singer Jeremih, spinning the new single "No More" to death and begging for a set in stone releas…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…

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.