Something felt different in the Neumos basement last week as the crowd packed in to see Shy Girls. The Portland electronic act, led by Dan Vidmar, has been around for a couple years, dropping lush EPs including the lauded Timeshare, making earnest love songs for the introspective bedroom-ridden lis…
Seattle's Jason Baxter & Kyle Hargus craft colorful electronic music under the moniker USF, rising up with the pioneering chillwave album Ocean Sunbirds in 2009 as Universal Studios Florida. They've been unleashing more club-inspired jams on a string of EPs under the shortened alias, most recen…
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, we are featuring songs by …
Filling the KEXP studio with his breezy pop/rock tunes, Nic Hessler flawlessly paints a picture of summer by the shore with a sound that is unmistakably Californian. Originally signed to Captured Records under the name Catwalk, he halted his career when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with an autoimm…
DJ Kevin Cole shares great new music he discovered and experienced recently at Tallinn Music Week, a showcase for new and emerging European artists across all genres that takes place in Tallinn, Estonia. 1. Giungla - Sand 2. Žen - Žal (Strand) 3. Frankie Animal - KICKDRUM KICKDRUM! 4. Mikko Joen…
Senior Video Producer Jim Beckmann joins DJ Kevin Cole to preview some of the great Icelandic bands playing Iceland Airwaves 2016, featuring psych rock, hip hop, indie pop and more, from bands like Sin Fang, Singapore Sling, WESEN, SUÐ and JFDR. 1. Ljóðfæri - Intro 2. Andy Svarthol - Ofbirta 3. Si…
DJ Alex shines a spotlight on 16 artists performing at this year's 11th annual Decibel Festival, Seattle's premier electronic music and arts event, happening all over the city from September 24th to September 28th! As with years past, tune in to get a taste of this year's massive, diverse internat…
DJ Kevin Cole (aka Fire) and Online Content Manager Jim Beckmann (aka Ice) preview the 2013 Iceland Airwaves Music Festival with tracks from 18 Icelandic artists including múm, Snorri Helgasson, Retro Stefson, and Moses Hightower. 1. Grísalappalísa - Allt Má (Má Út) 2. Mono Town - Jackie O 3. Oy…
French musician/producer Jean-Christophe Le Saoût first emerged as Wax Tailor in 2005 with his breakout album, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies, showcasing a confident and refreshing fusion of cinematic trip-hop, hip-hop, and soul styles. Since then he's continued to master an eclectic fusion of div…
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…
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 Mid…
The alias of Portland-based musician Douglas Appling, Emancipator has become well-known for his blissful, lush, and cinematic style of music that organically fuses downtempo, trip-hop, and instrumental hip-hop elements into his own enveloping style. A stellar live performer that's a staple on the f…
As the music world reels from the news of Alan Vega's passing, several fans have shared cover versions of Suicide songs online. Check out Win Butler of Arcade Fire's take on the 1979 single "Dream Baby Dream" below, shared under his DJ Windows 98 name, and MGMT's resurrection of Vega's 1983 track …
British outfit The Big Pink burst on the scene with their 2009 debut album, A Brief History Of Love, for 4AD, propelled by the massive pop single Dominos that showcased their widescreen fusion of rock, pop, and electronic styles. The band recently released their new EP, Empire Underground, signalin…
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 DJs think you should hear. This week, we’ll be featuring song…
This is one of those records where reading the DJ reviews from 1987 really makes me want to hear the album (without having to do anything so crazy as, say, buy it on iTunes or Amazon, cheapskate and preferrer-of-physical-media that I am). A lot of tantalizing phrases and references get thrown aroun…
Seattle. 1998. The Murder City Devils, a band of Seattle's top garage punks, is playing shows with Pacific Northwestern 90s greats Pearl Jam, Built to Spill, and The Black Halos. Flash forward to 2014, and the band has gone through three albums, a deficit of one member, and most importantly, one br…
When it comes to whimsical multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi, we should've known we had nothing to worry about. A couple of years had passed since his beloved debut release, 151a, and as DJ Cheryl Waters said to a co-worker a few months before the release of his latest, Lighght (pronounced "Light")…
