This week, Seattle lost a shining star as legendary producer Rick Parashar passed away on Thursday. With his brother Raj, Rick Parashar founded London Bridge Studios, where many of Seattle's iconic records were recorded, including Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Louder Than Love, Alice in Chains' Di…
Opening day two of the KEXP broadcast live from KEX hostel at Iceland Airwaves is Icelandic singer-songwriter Snorri Helgason. His music has classic American folk sensibilities, reminiscent of the likes of Harry Nilsson and Nick Drake. some with sparse instrumentation, and words sung so quietly and…
Back in October, we took the first opportunity we had to bring Scottish group Django Django live on air. Their self-titled debut, soon to be nominated for a Mercury Prize, had been released just the day before, and a full U.S. tour was still a dream, but the band was able to drop by the Cutting Roo…
Seattle emcee DoNormaal offers surprise after lyrical surprise in the tightly packed, staccato rhymes brimming on her latest LP, Third Daughter. The rapper, who burst on the Emerald City scene in November 2015 with the release of her beloved first full-length Jump Or Die has maintained status as on…
Sleater-Kinney guitarist/vocalist and Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein did probably the most adorable interview of her life for the new podcast Bea's Big Laughs hosted by 10-year-old Bea. The interview focused mostly on Brownstein's work in Portlandia, but Sleater-Kinney was brought up as well, wi…
Love & Hate, the sophomore release from soulful UK artist Michael Kiwanuka was a fave for many KEXP DJs last year. (It was even a nominee for the prestigious Mercury Award in 2016.) Kiwanuka revisits the release with a video for the track "Cold Little Heart" -- watch below. The video was direc…
Every year, EMP's Sound Off! competition showcases emerging stars in the all-ages music scene. Previous winners have included The Lonely Forest, Dyme Def, Sol, Kithkin, Brothers from Another, Manatee Commune, Fauna Shade, Schoolyard Heroes, Tomten, and Brite Futures, just to name a few. COSMOS took…
"Voodoo in my blood is living" - that's how Young Fathers kick off the third track on Massive Attack's return to the scene after nearly six years away. And after all that time, Young Fathers aren't lying - the voodoo is still strong. Last time we saw them was 2010's fantastic Heligoland, their firs…
Both Friday and Saturday's Decibel Festival festivities were stacked top to bottom with incredibly good sets, at pretty much every venue in the greater Seattle area. And somehow this year, the festival organizers have done an incredible job at giving each set an incredible sense of creative continu…
Get ready of an alt-country battle royale when local musicians take on the songs of Uncle Tupelo vs. The Jayhawks on Thursday, January 30th at the Tractor Tavern! Don Slack of KEXP's Swingin' Doors will referee the rockin' ruckus, but really, everyone wins because all proceeds from this event go to…
Just off of the 99 overpass, Feed stowed themselves away in their practice space affectionately referred to as the Dank Dungeon. Armed with a Tascam 488 tape recorder, the trio of guitarist Chase Hoyt, bassist Matt Kolhede, and drummer Pat Schowe spent months crafting their self-titled debut album,…
XL Records is entering a very fun new chapter - chapter six to be exact. Last fall (and this spring with the physical edition), the label released Chapter VI, the first entry in their ongoing electronic compilation series since Chapter V back in 1995. The label has seen a ridiculous amount of growt…
Broken Social Scene are releasing their highly anticipated new album Hug of Thunder this Friday, July 7th but, luckily for us, NPR is streaming it ahead of time. Seven years after last release, Forgiveness Rock Record, the album sees all 15 original members featured on the album, including Feist, M…
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…
Legendary '90s dream pop band Luna have reunited and are releasing two new albums on September 22 via Double Feature. One is a covers album called A Sentimental Education and the other is an instrumental EP entitled A Place of Greater Safety. They've previously shared a few songs off A Sentimental …
Is it really only the fourth annual Fisherman's Village Music Festival? In just a few years, this Northwest fest has established itself as a must-see musical bonanza. This year is no exception: from Friday, May 20th through Sunday, May 22nd, the streets of Everett, Washington will shake with the so…
If we've learned anything from the fact that teen paranormal romance is now a legit genre of modern literature, it's that we love relating to the unknown. Or, more specifically, the undead. Eric Elbogen, a.k.a. Say Hi has been keen to this fact since the summer of 2006, when dropped Say Hi's breakt…
Talk about "a movie script ending": in the brand new music video from Death Cab for Cutie, frontman (and future KEXP guest DJ) Ben Gibbard stars as a film director, shooting an action movie. Watch the brutal slow-motion footage for the track "Black Sun" below. Their forthcoming release Kintsugi hi…
"I'm sorry, I have to interrupt. My mind was just blown," DJ Cheryl Waters revealed after Milagres opened their recent in-studio session at KEXP with "The Letterbomb." With its funky drums and shifts between baritone and falsetto, it's easy to see why Milagres' music made her feel this way. In fac…
It’s been quite a year for Matthew Hemerlein. The Los Angeles-based musician operating, under the name Lo-Fang, has been piecing together his debut record Blue Film since 2009. First as a mixtape, now as a fully rendered personal work, the collection of songs seen here is awe-inspiring and striking…
