It all started with four lads from London with a brash attitude and a bone to pick with the system... oh wait, that's what got us started on International Clash Day, a theme show based on a whim that became an annual event for KEXP DJs. As we thought about ongoing impact of The Clash and how their …
One might have thought that after the wild party thrown by FM Belfast, Kex would have calmed down a bit. But the beer fueled buzz continued and the room stayed full. We closed out an amazing second day of our Iceland Airwaves broadcast live at Kex Hostel in downtown Reykjavik with yet another dose …
It's another jam-packed week of new releases! Highlights include the latest from London-based artist Adam Bainbridge (aka Kindness). KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the relase "finds him toning down the disco influences of his promising debut album in favor of an often-gorgeous set of ‘80s R&am…
While his previous release, Temple Beautiful, looked backwards, particularly at the storied past of San Francisco, Chuck Prophet's latest, Night Surfer (out today!), looks brazenly forward. But even if the future isn't always bright on this, his 13th album, the songs are characteristically punchy, …
With his eighth album, Infinity, on store shelves, international sensation Yann Tiersen, with his current collaborative outfit and a dazzling array of multicolored bells, toy pianos, and obscure woodwinds, cleverly crammed themselves into the studio for a cinematic live set, bringing the highly-acc…
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, all Song of the Day podcas…
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, all Song of the Day podcas…
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, all Song of the Day podcas…
San Francisco's Mikey Maramag has a gift for painting landscapes. As Blackbird Blackbird, Maramag has made our heads spin with dense texturing and ear-worm hooks that take you far away to a place untainted by the imperfections of daily life. Always alternating between driving pop accessibility and …
Mutual Benefit's Jordan Lee has lived in various locations throughout the United States from Austin, Texas to Boston, Massachusetts. While traveling around America, Lee discovered and performed with many other musicians, eventually convincing them to join his music project. In fact, save for Lee, t…
Seattle-based musician and producer Scot Porter makes beautifully layered electronic music under the name Vox Mod. Recently, he stopped by to perform live in the KEXP studio for Audioasis -- and it's good the cameras were on him because Porter also creates wonderfully strange animations, which are…
If Brooklyn producer The Range and Atlanta rapper Rome Fortune have any one thing in common, it's an unfettered line of sight towards a marvelous horizon. Both artists make music that is wrought with present-tense turmoil, but the future always looks brighter - and not only that, it looks magnanimo…
Hidmo was a community center cleverly disguised as an Eritrean restaurant in Seattle's Central District, and a mecca for Seattle hip-hop, a space co-created by the late Rahwa Habte. DJs Gabriel Teodros and Larry Mizell, Jr bring together a playlist of some of Rahwa's favorite artists who graced the…
In sad news, drummer Scott Asheton, a.k.a. "Rock Action" Asheton, of The Stooges passed away over the weekend at the age of 64. Along with his brother, guitarist Ron Asheton, he helped form the influential punk band in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967. In a statement on the band's Facebook page, front…
Every year, Seattle sends a multitude of great artists down to Austin this week to showcase how our great city continues push the independent music scene forward in our own unique way. Of course, there is no shortage of Seattle bands at SXSW this year. But it was a special treat for us to get to se…
"If you're meaning to seduce anybody, you don't announce your intention", Joe Henry joked when introducing his new song "Swayed", but nevertheless, the LA-based singer-songwriter hooked us by the heart during a recent in-studio. Undoubtedly, it's his warmth, openness and charm that has made him so …
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…
