Deep in the heart of this festival weekend, the brave souls that get out of bed before noon and head out in the pouring rain will be joining us for another spectacular day of Icelandic music at Kex Hostel. Though our live broadcast wrapped yesterday, we'll still be streaming live video for four ban…
Since the release of his debut 7" single in 2010, this project spearheaded by Seattle native Justin Vallesteros has steadily won over fans with a lush and bittersweet style of dream-pop that has shone brightly on two albums released via premiere NYC-based indie label Captured Tracks. Craft Spells' …
Merchants of sound A Place to Bury Strangers once again drops by KEXP to flex their effects pedals and energetic noise. Armed with songs from their new release, Transfixiation, the Brooklyn trio delivers skull-splitting feedback in true Strangers style but also evident in the opening track "Superma…
Recess is the founder of Shameless Productions and has an illustrious tenure in the underground music scene of Seattle. His DJ sets often reflect Shameless' aesthetic by focusing on forward-thinking music while cherishing the gems of the past. Widely respected for his ability to seamlessly blend a …
Stas THEE Boss lives up to her name. When she's on the stage, she's in total control. It'd been awhile since I'd seen the former THEESatisfaction MC hop on the mic, but seeing her DJ around town (and on KEXP's Street Sounds) has continued to prove that she has impeccable taste and style.
On this episode, Stas THEE Boss and her Black Constellation family reflect on her artistic journey, her heartbreaks, and the philosophies that made her one of America’s most gifted and slept-on rappers and producers. We also hear reflections on the term “Afrofuturism,” the burden of being the first…
Junior Boys return this week with their first record in five years. Listening to it, it's hard to picture the space in between. Truly, the electronic scene to which the Ontario duo belong has seen a massive shift in that time period, largely towards a directive that Junior Boys initiated. For compa…
Renowned director Lance Bangs helms a video from Americana veterans Drive-By Truckers. Watch the clip for "Surrender Under Protest" below, a track from their most recent release, American Band, out now on ATO Records. A press release describes the video as "a gritty portrait of today’s America wit…
Brooklyn band Caveman are back with their first new album since their 2013 self-titled LP. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "a well-crafted blend of driving, War On Drugs-style rock and atmospheric, '80s-steeped pop-rock." We can't wait to hear the new songs live when the band perform at Conc…
Seattle's own Beat Connection make their Anti- Records debut with an album KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes as, a "first-rate set of sleek electro-pop inflected with New Wave, R&B, funk and other styles, with consistently strong songs featuring bright synths, jangly guitars, shimmering…
Portland-based electronic producer, singer, and songwriter Natasha Kmeto is a multifaceted talent that has recently introduced the new DJ Gigs alias to her arsenal in order to separate her DJ'ing sets from live performances. A stunning live performer, Kmeto transfers her magnetic and kinetic energy…
Like a modern-day Frank Zappa, LA-based artist Ariel Pink flirts with many genres of music, often times all in the same song. While on tour for his latest 4AD Records release Pom Pom, Pink and his madcap crew stopped by the KEXP studios to tear through a slew of styles: '80s goth-wave, '70s glam-ro…
Seattle's Shaprece samples many musical styles and fuses them into a rich sound that you can dance to, mellow out to or go wild to. Her big, bright voice fills large spaces as soon as her songs start playing and the unique music behind her vocals tantalizes. Before Shaprece performs the Capitol Hil…
This week we celebrate the 15th year of one of Seattle’s favorite hometown labels: Barsuk Records! Since its birth in 1998, Barsuk has helped create a platform for dozens of great bands, from the Pacific Northwest and otherwise, to get off the ground and put forth incredible music. Even in the deca…
Knox Fortune is a Chicago-based, Grammy Award-winning artist and producer that's been a prominent behind-the-scenes figure within his home city's vibrant music scene over the past couple years. First making waves on collaborations with fellow Chicago artists Chance the Rapper, Joey Purp, Vic Mensa,…
If Thao and the Get Down Stay Down and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were related and they had a uniquely uncompromising third sibling it would be vocal-and-guitar-wailing Weaves. The Toronto four-piece isn't afraid to push the envelop in an free form, experimental effort to expand their own style of indie r…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Aft…
GEMS is the blossoming musical duo of LA-via-DC artists Lindsay Pitts and Clifford John Usher. Their recent debut full length album, Kill The One You Love, has quickly become a KEXP favorite, with the record's brilliant lead single, "Living As A Ghost", handsomely showcasing their rich and dreamy m…
Happy backwards, Yppah is the music project of Long Beach, CA-via-Texas producer and multi-instrumentalist Joe Corrales Jr. Over three albums on the esteemed Ninja Tune label, Yppah has become a KEXP favorite with his lush and psychedelically welcoming sound that uniquely blends downtempo, shoegaze…
Lusine is the alias of Seattle-based electronic producer Jeff McIlwain, a veteran artist within our local music community who's sublime and meticulous blend of techno, house, ambient, and downtempo styles has found a home on the premier American record label Ghostly International for over a decade …
