We've packed the house at Kex Hostel during our broadcasts during Iceland Airwaves over the last few years, but no session was filled with as many fervent Icelandic fans as the performance by Emilíana Torrini. The Iceland native (her father is Italian, if you're wondering about her name) grew up in…
"There are so many mountains in the world, but not all of them are on the top 10 list... but if you stand on top of one, you feel like you're on the highest point on earth." This is the concept behind super-duo Minor Alps. Multi-talented musicians Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Juliana Hatfield do j…
Congratulations to local hip-hop heroes Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who were nominated last Friday for the 56th Grammy Awards in seven categories, including Best New Artist, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. James Blake also received a nomination for Best New Artist, and Daft Punk racked up f…
Up and coming sister bands Waxahatchee and Swearin’ gave us a lovely night this past Wednesday at Capitol Hill’s Chop Suey. It was a short and sweet set that the audience won’t forget any time soon as they swayed and bobbed to the piercing lyrics and layered instruments - loud in the best possible …
Across the last few years, Neko Case has been more active on her Twitter feed than in the studio. That's not a dig - Case remains a prolific and fascinating online personality - but nearly 43,000 tweets later, she (impressively) hasn't revealed much about herself on the social network beyond a hand…
Back to school, back to work, back to record shopping. This post-Labor Day week, it's time to get off your duffs and get back out into the world. To get you motivated is a handful of fantastic new releases, many of which you'll find getting major spins on the KEXP airwaves. Among them, is the lates…
For being as strange as they are - and in fact they looked possessed on stage this weekend - I have an awfully easy time listening to Sacramento experimental rap group Death Grips. While I know some purposefully avoided the Bigfoot stage during their hellish and angry set, I also watched many flock…
Day two started off cool and got warm - and at the sun drenched Yeti Stage, Rose Windows started the day with their deep psychedelic mystic rock. Singer Rabia Qazi's voice rumbled high and low as the Seattle band played through most of what we can assume comes from their upcoming album, The Sun Dog…
Today marks the release of Dormarion, the third full-length from Seattle power pop project Telekinesis. The band was in-studio this morning celebrating its released, and a couple of weeks ago they played a bunch of material from the new album for the crowd assembled at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop in…
Only 14 months after the release of their sixth album, Valtari, Sigur Ros have announced details about their seventh. Entitled Kveikur (which roughly translate to "priming" in English), the nine track effort will arrive on June 18th via XL Recordings. Now a trio after the departure of multi-instrum…
It's a short list of new releases this week, as all eyes and ears are on the SXSW festival, but there are a few key releases you'll want to pick up in stores today. First and foremost, the latest from David Bowie, whose first album in ten years is not only a surprise to all David Bowie listeners an…
When every member of a band comes from other (and sometimes more commercially successful) bands, it's usually a sign that the members are either doing it as a lark or following a true passion. In the case of Portland, OR's Black Prairie, the five bandmates seem truly to be loving what they do. Comp…
Charlotte Gainsbourg has announced that she will release her first album in seven years in November. Called Rest, Gainsbourg has released the album's title track as well as a teaser for its accompanying music video, which she directed herself. In a statement, Gainsbourg says that Lars Von Trier, he…
Theoretically, if you asked me what show would constitute my ultimate pipedream throwdown in a basement by an active, living band, I think I'd pick METZ. The Ontario group signed to Sub Pop in 2012 and immediately took throneroom space aside some of North America's finest punk names. Two albums dee…
Icelandic etherealists Sigur Rós have released a special remix of their track "Hoppípolla," exclusively for the BBC TV series Planet Earth II. This nature documentary program is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. In a statement to the BBC, the band state:
In Iceland we are blessed wi…
Local duo Shabazz Palaces have announced a new album on the way, Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star out July 14th via Sub Pop. Check out the first single "Shine a Light (feat. Thaddillac)" below, via a lyric video directed by Cristina T. Bercovitz and Jonathan Snipes of clipping. In addition to Thad…
