Seven years without a new album. Nearly biannual membership shuffles. Repeated reports of studio sessions without any release. For a minute, Modest Mouse looked like they might have been heading down the lucrative but artistically fruitless legacy act path that a few of their contemporaries are sta…
The good folks over at Decibel Festival have made April of this year really special for Seattle. For those of us who are waiting on pins and needles for this year's lineup to drop, the announcement of DB Micro Fest was a wonderful surprise. All April, we've had incredible shows, from John Talabot &…
On their dreamy fifth album, Scottish band Camera Obscura adds a local flavor by recording with Portland based producer (and former Seattleite) Tucker Martine. Our Music Director, Don Yates, calls Desire Lines "a beautifully crafted set of bittersweet, soul-tinged indie-pop, featuring a warm, lush …
You don't have to be a DJ, or even relate to anything on this list, to go to University of Washington's Rainy Dawg Radio's excellently curated 10th Anniversary Party this Thursday the 23rd - they've managed to captured many of Seattle's local sounds in one show. From the electro-soul of Natasha Km…
The ascent of electronic producers from the obscure underground scene to the fringes of pop mainstream is a path that is becoming more and more common these days, and few have done it as seamlessly and organically as San Francisco's Barrett Richards, best known to the music world as Kastle. With a …
Last year, Odd Future (a.k.a. OFWGKTA) really stepped up its game. Although it has always been more than the negative headlines that circulated around co-founder Tyler, the Creator, who nonetheless held critics' praise, the LA hip hop collective proved to be more than a gimmick with the huge succes…
Join KEXP on Monday, September 16th as we celebrate the music of Mexico to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month and commemorate Mexican Independence Day.
Seattle songwriter Raven Matthews goes by many names, from his birth name to RVN and now Raven Hollywood. With each new moniker, you can feel his progression as an artist. On his latest EP, IRL, the Raven Hollywood name aptly embodies the grand and murky folk noir visions. Following up last year's …
The popularity of today's folk rock stars, from Iron & Wine and Billy Bragg to Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters and Men, all owe a large debt to American folk legend Pete Seeger, who passed away yesterday at age 94. To the end, Seeger was a champion, activist and resounding voice for civil ri…
Nearly 25 years after influential Seattle grunge band Mudhoney released their debut album on Sub Pop Records, the group rounded out their hometown tour during a busy year-- releasing their 9th album, playing on top of the Space Needle and at Sub Pop's Silver Jubilee along with a slew of internation…
Live on KEXP brings you the very best of KEXP’s world-renowned live in-studio and remote performances. Each week, we’ll bring you a new live session, from emerging artists to well-established acts, spanning styles, genres and cultures. Full video of all Live on KEXP performances available at youtub…
Carpainter is the alias of Tokyo-based DJ/producer Taimei Kawai, one of the most exciting young artists representing the fertile Japanese electronic music scene. A co-founder of beloved Japanese net-label Trekkie Trax, Carpainter's colorful, high-energy, cutting-edge club tracks have been capturing…
Well, Seattle, it looks like we've corrupted Flight of the Conchords. Jemaine Clement, the gap-toothed glasses-wearing half of the New Zealand duo, confessed to the audience: he ate half a banana... and just left the other half sitting backstage! WHOA. "I'm the Iggy Pop of the band," he admitted ru…
KEXP has been incredibly fortunate to return to Iceland these past six years, not only to discover new artists to share with our listeners, but also to witness the astounding growth of bands like Vök. When we first heard them in 2013, Vök had recently formed, starting as a duo and winning Músíktilr…
Now in its third year in Iceland, All Tomorrow's Parties returned Thursday to the former NATO U.S. Air Base Ásbrú in Keflavík. Music lovers from around the world came for the weekend's killer lineup, including Iggy Pop, Public Enemy, Belle & Sebastian, Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and lo…
For all of those in attendance at the Crocodile on Saturday night, rest assured that you got see a show that will never, ever happen again. Tonight, we saw Columbia and RCA's freshest flagship acts play a co-headlining date showing off records that are only crawling up the charts as we speak, and t…
Aminéisn't just up-and-coming anymore -- he's arrived. The Portland rapper made his Seattle debut in probably the biggest way possible -- playing to a packed out crowd at Key Arena at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Walking on to the beastly, hyphy-like beat of "Red Mercedes," Aminé kept…
Rock n' roll legend Fats Domino has passed away at the age of 89, due to natural causes. Born Antoine Domino in 1928, "Fats" combined the bluesy sound of his hometown of New Orleans with a boogie-woogie style to become one of the top artists of the 1950s and early '60s, including the hits "Ain't T…
