2015 has now officially seen its first perfect debut of the year, and the award goes to Ibeyi. Last year, we got a wonderful double A-side introduction to the twin duo of Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz with the Oya EP, together with "River". Now, we have a full 46 minutes of pure magic and mystery that…
Unless you've got a bad case of phonophobia, Big Scary isn't too terrifying. Featuring Joanna Syme on percussion and heavenly-voiced Tom Iansek on guitar and keyboards, the Melbourne-based duo has broken the mold for Australian music. Their 2013 album, Not Art, was nominated for the triple j Austra…
A little internet detective work, combined with reading between the lines in our DJs' comments, leads me to believe that this is not the first LP copy of Sandra Bernhard's double LP Without You I'm Nothing to grace the shelves at KCMU. There's no date on this record, but it was originally released …
There's one aspect to booking Man or Astro-Man? for an in-studio session that the band didn't reveal until they were on air. "We steal one thing from you guys, and if you figure out what it is, we'll give it back." Well, we don't think they took anything when they stopped by KEXP's studio in March,…
Can you believe it's been over a year since our last David Sylvian post? My, how time flies. Back in 2012, we looked at his 1986 album, Gone to Earth, so it seems only fitting to move forward in time by another year and see how KCMU reacted to its followup, 1987's Secrets of the Beehive, his last s…
We can't say the song title on the air, but we sure can on the KEXP Blog! So, check out the clip for the track "Shithole" from Toronto stand-outs Weaves. Director Trevor Blumas fixes his lens on frontwoman Jasmyn Burke. In a press release, Burke says, "We shot this video on a hot Summers day with …
It was a busy weekend for Jamie xx: not only did he bring the beats to the Capitol Hill Block Party, but he also released a mix for Apple Music's Beats 1 featuring tracks from The War on Drugs, The Persuasians, Deadboy, Apparat, The Durutti Column, The Doors, and more. You can listen to it here. J…
Although he made his name as a collaborator of the fast-rising Aussie producer Flume, Chet Faker's solo material is a much starker affair, dealing with heartbreak and isolation. Considering that, it's a little strange that he played to a fervent, mid-sized audience at Sasquatch in the dance tent on…
Steamier than a geothermal pool, My bubba write songs that will warm your heart (and other parts) on a cold winter's day. The Icelandic/Swedish folk duo, formerly known as My bubba & Mi, shared their sultry songs for the second year in a row at KEX Hostel in Reykjavik during Iceland Airwaves, t…
Thurston Moore has thrown us for a couple loops in the last couple years, starting with the long-time coming disbandment of Sonic Youth. Arguably one fo the most influential American bands of all time, Sonic Youth have, for many years, had a turbulent air about them, but after 2009's noisy but exce…
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 Christmas…
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 Christmas…
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 Christmas…
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 Christmas…
First band on air for the 2013 Iceland Airwaves broadcast, live from KEX Hostel, is the 14-man Samúel Jón Samúelsson Big Band. First formed in early 2000 for a short series of performances in their native Iceland, the band was reformed in 2007 and released their first studio album Fynkur. In addit…
"This is an instrumental about weed," Acapulco Lips bassist Maria-Elena Juarez said pointedly as the band started their set at the KEXP stage. It got giggles at first, but the second they started leaning into their psych-meets-surf jam, the laughter turned into dancing and some serious vibing. It w…
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 Christmas…