Drangar: their name translates roughly in English to “pillars of rock”, and it's about as apt a description you'll find for this Icelandic group, whose members — Mugison, Jónas Sigurðsson and Ómar Guðjónsson — are each highly respected musicians with their own projects. Thanks to the chance occurre…
KEXP is heading back to Rennes, France, for our second year at the Trans Musicales de Rennes, December 6th through 10th! Our goal, as always when partnering with international festivals like Les Trans, is to discover and share new music from across the globe with you from artists that we may not ha…
The last time Foals were in town, frontman Yannis Philipakkis jumped off the Neptune Theatre's balcony into the crowd. It was, quite frankly, as thrilling as it was dangerous. On the band's return trip to Seattle three years later, he (wisely) did not jump from the Paramount Theatre's balcony. Pers…
You could feel the weight of the road lifted from their shoulders. After wrapping up their North American tour with a packed, energetic show at The Neptune the night before, indie-rock legends Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks joined us in the KEXP studios with Springtime on their minds. "It's pretty…
Since the mid-'90s Omaha, Nebraska natives, The Faint, have been composing within the dance-punk tradition, but not without a distinctive tinge. On their website, they state that, they're "disinterested in making anything except what their own inspiration drives them to make." This philosophy, albe…
There's a new pop-savvy sheriff in Sub Pop town, and he goes by the name of Cullen Omori, and instead of having to wield a Smith Western to corral a crowd's attention, all he has to do is coo his name. Omori quickly became a wunderkind as one of the instrumental brains of the Chicagoan outfit Smith…
It's going to take a little practice, but you'll be saying the name Ásgeir like a true Icelander soon enough. When we first introduced the young singer-songwriter to Seattle audiences two years ago, we knew his ethereal falsetto and captivating songs would appeal to KEXP listeners even if his songs…
Foals frontman Yannis Phillipakis has 5+ water bottles put out for him every set, and he drinks maybe one of them during the Oxford quintet's set. That's because he kicks or sprays them on the audience, typically while taking a brief break from wailing on guitar or crowdsurfing in the audience. It …
London's Kitchens of Distinction, like so many bands championed by KCMU, were a promising and critically acclaimed band in the late '80s and '90s that never quite broke as big as they might have hoped, but have maintained a devoted following over the years. Last year, almost two decades after break…
Punk trio Dude York has made a name for themselves in Seattle for being a guarantee for at least a half hour of overflowing joy. As "America's Band," they cannot tell a lie and totally followed through on the promise on Day One of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Even when they had techni…
Beloved New York dance-punks LCD Soundsystem have announced their first show of 2017: headlining the Forecastle Festival, taking place July 14-16 in Louisville, Kentucky. Also on the bill are Weezer, Odesza, PJ Harvey, Run the Jewels, to name just a few. Founder/frontman James Murphy announced ear…
For every country music star who seems to pop out of nowhere with a new mega-hit single, too many other talented artists struggle to reach even half the audiences they deserve. It's a sad fact for musicians of all genres, but the ethics of "hard work for little pay" seem particularly true for count…
History was made (and relived) this weekend in Portland with the first ever Project Pabst. The festival, a testament to the PDX+PBR love affair, tossed Portland into a beer-fueled time warp. Along with newer acts, Zidell Yards hosted some 80s and 90s greats like Tears for Fears, Violent Femmes, GZA…
Digable Planets is officially back. After announcing their reunion tour at a NYE show in Seattle, the group followed through with the announcement as they took the main stage of Sasquatch! Music Festival by storm Saturday night. Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Craig "Doodlebug" Irving and Mary Ann "Lad…
KEXP can never get enough of Sóley. The charming Icelandic songstress has a knack for covering a deep emotional range and some occasionally morbid subjects in the most disarming and endearing way. In fact, we've recorded her six out of the past seven years we've been covering Iceland Airwaves, and …
In the last few years, there’s been a slew of English, (mostly) London-based bands emerging from basement gigs with world-beating ambitions and the musical elements to make good on them: a heavy dose of pop melody, a balance of snarky storytelling and heartfelt appeal, and most of all, hooks that a…
There are some people that say there is art in restraint. Those are the types of people Sleigh Bells eat for breakfast. Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss are back for round three this week with Bitter Rivals, and they are going even harder and even heavier. And it’s a good thing too – now more than ev…
As far as guitarists who have stopped by KEXP recently go, Kurt Vile is the most-laid back of the bunch, letting his gauzy guitar playing do the talking as he hides behind his now-trademark long, brown hair. (In fact, one of the few points in the video where you can actually see his face is when Vi…
KEXP begins Day 2 of Bumbershoot in-studios at the new home with Black Joe Lewis and his band the Honeybears. The Austin blues singer is three years deep into a cathartic rampage. With the release of Electric Slave in 2013, Lewis shed all extra weight from his warpath. The band name is slimmer, the…
davOmakesbeats is a San Francisco-based DJ/producer, co-owner of Molly House Records, resident DJ and co-owner of Swagger Like Us, and former member of the electro-hop duo Double Duchess. Heavily involved in the Bay Area queer music community since moving to SF in 2007 from the Baltimore/Washington…
